EASY TO GROW.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 243, 13 October 1936, Page 9

EASY TO GROW.

CHOICE ASPARAGUS.

"QUEEN OF THE VEGETABLES"

ROOM FOR NEW INDUSTRY?

In the extensive growing of asparagus, "queen of the vegetables," for export and domestic markets an Auckland resident sees the possibility of the establishment of a profitable new industry in New Zealand. She is Mrs. A. Bradley, a much-travelled woman, who drew attention to the fact that asparagus can be grown easily in Auckland, and tna , in fact, it grows like a weed in some parts of the Dominion. . . ' "In England to-day it is still _ a luxury; the supply is never equal to the demand, and asparagus is never in London," said Mrs. Bradley. Havin 0 found that asparagus could be grown quite easily, she had reached opinion that if small sections of waste land were turned into asparagus s > a thriving industry could foe started an employment provided for many persons. Seven years ago, said Mrs. Bradley, a relative of hers decided to plant 500 acres of land with asparagus a Bathurst, New South Wales. In three years it matured, and by that time he had built a cannery for the packing ol his crops. Now, employing 400 hands he distributes tinned asparagus to all parts of Australia. The vegetable is grown extensively in the district about the factory, and during the season SU P" plies are collected each morning and taken to the cannery just as cream is collected for the butter factory in dairying districts. The extraordinary success of the industry in California was commented on by Mrs. Bradley. That State produced three-quarters of the world supply. She added that she had seen asparagus freight trains leaving San Francisco for X e w York laden entirely with fresh crops, which reached London in cold storage twelve days after it was cut in Sacramento. In the off-season flowers for market were grown between the beds there, and it was not unusual for a

grower to make as much as a thousand dollars a year from a quarter-acre section. "New Zealand consumes very large quantities of asparagus,"-Mrs. Bradley pointed out. "In 1934, for instance, the imports of canned goods to Auckland were valued at £33,000, and half that amount was asparagus. Besides the possibility of filling our own needs, a point worth considering is that the New Zealand product could be sold in London in December and January. At that time of the year the supply of fresh asparagus from California has ceased, and it would be an opportune time for the Dominion to exploit a strong market. Some of the Eastern countries, including the Malay States, are eager buyers, too, and their demands could be met during the American off-season." Asparagus can be grown well in almost any garden where there is good drainage, and it especially favours sandy soil close to the sea, where seaweed is easily procurable as a manure. The preparation of the beds, however, needs special attention, and it is three or more years before the crop comes to maturity. But, as Mrs. Bradley pointed out, apple and lemon trees take five years to reach a profitable stage, and once the asparagus beds begin to yield they need little attention, except for weeding and manuring, for the next 15 years. There is an instance of an asparagus crop grown on a property in Symionds Street which enhanced the value of the land when it was sold.