PREPARE ASPARAGUS BEDS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 79, 14 March 1936, Page 15

PREPARE ASPARAGUS BEDS

Tho planting of asparagus crowns takes place in May and June, but for successful cultivation long preparation is necessary. A good asparagus bod will last from one to fifteen years with attention now and again, and so one should not grudge a little time spent on the correct preparation. Beds may be prepared in either raised or flat form. Personally I recommend the former, and shall deal with that in accordance.

Raised beds: A bed should be marked out five feet wide and as long as desired. Cut a path two feet wide each side of the bed and remove the soil to the depth of one foot, throwing it on top of the bed. Raising the surface say four to six inches in this way ensures that it will be both warmer and drier. If the soil is inclined to be heavy and clayey, an abundance of old mortar, road scrapings, ashes or sand should be thoroughly mixed with the soil to keep it porus. ’ The top surface should be dressed with rotted manure, lime and slag, 5 oz. per square yard. Flat bed: If the soil is very light and inclined to be very dry, a flat, bed will be best. For here the aim .is to retain as much of the natural moisture as possible. Severe trenching should take place burying a layer of stable manure with each spit. The surface should be dusted freely with lime and instead of slag Kainif should bo substituted at the rate’of 2 lb. per square yard. ~ If the beds are made five feet wide, it allows three rows of crowns 18 inches apart and 12 inches between the crowns.