Esculent Asparagus
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Read about Esculent Asparagus in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Esculent Asparagus, (Asparagus officinalis, Linn.). Liliaceae. A perennial herb, cult, for the succulent young shoots that arise from the crown in spring. Asparagus is native to Europe. It has been cultivated 2,000 years and more. It was known to the Greeks and Romans. The so-called Lvs. of asparagus are really leaf-like branches. The Lvs. are the scales, which are well shown on the shoot at the left in Fig. 411. From the axils of these scales, branches may arise, a a. At b b are shown clusters of branchlets, or "leaves," issuing from the axils of scales or Lvs. Being a rugged plant, asparagus will live and in a measure thrive on almost any kind of soil, even under adverse circumstances and when entirely neglected. Occasionally one may find apparently thrifty plants in fence rows, or strong stalks pushing up through stone heaps or other rubbish piled foot-thick upon an old abandoned asparagus bed. Plants on good soil will get so large, and the immense network of roots so well anchored in the soil, that all the strength of a good team may be insufficient to pull them out, and sometimes several years' persistent efforts may be required to clear thorn out of a piece of ground once used as an asparagus patch. The stalks that the discriminating growers and fastidious consumers want are those an inch in diameter and deliciously tender and succulent, and these can be grown only on good plants set far enough apart on well-drained, well-manured and well- tilled soil. To secure the choice early stalks that bring the high prices, the land selected for an asparagus patch should be a warm rich loam, preferably exposed to east or south. Manures and fertilizers, also, must be used most lavishly. In this respect, many growers fail to obtain best results, such as are within their reach by greater liberality. Unless the soil is already well supplied with vegetable matter and for that reason very loose and mellow, bulky manures, such as fairly well- rotted stable manure or rich compost, are almost or quite indispensable at the start. A heavy dressing is to be plowed under, and should be well and deeply mixed with the soil by replowing and reworking the land. Afterwards concentrated manures, rich especially in nitrogen and potash, will do very well for loose soils, and may be used broadcast on top, as the crop appears to need them from year to year, at least for a while. Even then an occasional, or better, yearly, application of good stable manure or compost placed in furrows plowed (with a one-horse plow) on each side of the rows after the cutting season or in early fall, will be of benefit or become necessary to keep the yield up to a high mark. To start a plantation in the right way, the selection of good strong one-year- old plants is of much importance. They are usually preferable to the ordinary two-year plants. To grow one's own supply for starting a plantation a year later is usually a safer plan than to depend on purchased plants. The male, or pollen- bearing, plants are often more vigorous and more productive of good stalks than the female or seed-bearing plants; but one cannot very well tell the one from the other unless they bloom, until long after they are already established in the plantation, when it would be impracticable to tear out the less desirable female plants and replace them with the male plants.—The seed, obtainable from any regular seed house, is rather hard-shelled and sometimes slow to germinate. It is important to give the seedling plants the longest possible period of growth so as to secure the strongest possible plants. It is advisable, therefore, to soak the seed, or give it special treatment or seed stimulation, before sowing it, and to sow it just as soon in spring as a rich mellow seed-bed can be prepared. The rows or drills may be made a foot apart, and seed sown rather thinly. Plants are to be thinned to 3 inches apart at an early age, and weeds should be carefully kept down from the very start. In short, nothing should be neglected to prevent any interference with the rapid and healthy growth of the seedlings, for the future outcome hinges, to a great measure, on a favorable early start.—When getting ready to set the plants, and after the land has been carefully and deeply plowed and harrowed, plow out furrows 4 or even 6 feet apart. It may look like a sinful waste of good land to set asparagus so far apart, but even at 6 feet the roots will fill the soil and reach across the rows, and the fat stalks obtainable by wide planting are worth more in our markets than the inferior ones usually found there. Some markets demand or prefer green stalks which are mainly grown above ground. In that case, make the furrows 5 to 9 inches deep. In other markets blanched shoots are wanted, and these are of superior flavor and tenderness, provided they are grown in mellow soil and under high and skillful culture. In that case, make the furrows a few inches deeper than for plants set for green stalks. Set the plants in the furrows about 2 feet apart, each on a little mound of soil, spreading the roots in the same way as they grew in the seed-bed. Cover with mellow soil to the depth of a few inches, and afterwards, in the course of some weeks and by means of some suitable tools (cultivators, harrows, and the like), gradually fill the furrows even with the ground-level. A still better plan when the material can be had, especially for the home-gardener, is to fill the furrows with fine old compost, wood's earth, leaf-mold, or any other loose and rich material, as the covering above the crowns of the plants cannot be made too loose. It is advisable and will insure closer attention in cultivation, to grow some hoed crop, like beets, turnips, radishes, cabbage, beets, beans or peas, between the rows of asparagus the first year. In the fall, and every fall thereafter, cut the asparagus stalks close to the ground and remove them from the patch, to avoid the scattering of the seed. In early spring of the second year, the surface of the ground is to be loosened by shallow plowing or deep cultivating; and when the first sprouts appear, the rows may be hilled up to some extent if any of the sprouts are to be cut for use. Under especially favorable conditions a few may be cut the second year. It is better for the plantation and its future value, however, if no cutting is done that year. Plants left intact until the third year, and kept in a high state of cultivation, will grow much stronger and be more productive afterward. Commercial growers use specially devised asparagus knives for cutting the stalks. In the absence of such, any ordinary sharp table or kitchen knife may be used, or in the mellow soil the blanched shoots may be broken off at the base with the finger. In cutting, be very careful, and try to avoid cutting later shoots or injuring the crown of the plants. The third season and every season thereafter, loosen up the ground as directed for the second season. The shoots are now to be cut indiscriminately and clean, up to the beginning of the green-pea season. After that, allow them to grow undisturbed, but continue cultivation, to keep the ground-surface mellow and free from weeds. For market, wash the freshly-cut stalks and tie them in neat, compact bunches of the size demanded in the particular market, using some bright-colored ribbon, or perhaps rubber bands. If to be shipped, especially for longer distances, pack the bunches in moist moss or other material that will keep the stalks fresh. The varietal differences in the asparagus plant do not appear to be very pronounced except in the color of the young shoots, and most of the variations seem to be due to differences in culture and environment rather than to those characteristic of the variety. American seedsmen offer the following as distinct varieties: Colossal (Conover's), Palmetto, Mammoth (Barr's), Columbian (Mammoth Columbian White), Argenteuil (Giant Argenteuil), Bonvallet Giant, Reading Giant. To save the seed, strip the ripe berries off the stalks by hand, or thresh them off with a flail, put them in a sound barrel or tank, and mash them with a wooden pounder, to separate the hard, black seeds from the pulp. Clean them by washing in plenty of water, pouring off the pulp and skins; then dry and store. To any person who has even a little land to use for a home-garden, no better advice could be given than to plant in a corner or at one side of it 50 or 100 asparagus roots for his family, as no other use of that spot, ordinarily, may be expected to give more real benefit, enjoyment and value. The number of roots named will under average conditions give all the stalks that a large family could use, and several times the quantity that a person of ordinary means would feel able to purchase for the family table in the open market. For the market-gardener, especially one with a regular retail trade, few if any vegetables offer equal chances of profit and regular returns and a sure income at a most opportune time (spring). Enemies.—The asparagus rust (Puccinia asparagi) has often done considerable damage. Planting rust- resistant varieties is the best procedure. Argenteuil and Reading Giant afford the best relief. Dusting completely with flowers of sulfur when the dew is on, and after the cutting season, is the best remedy; two applications, three or four weeks intervening, are usually sufficient. Of insect enemies, two have become well known on asparagus plants in America, namely, the common asparagus beetle (Crioceris asparagi) and the twelve- spotted asparagus beetle (C. 12-punctata). The following remedies are recommended: chickens and ducks; close cutting of the young shoots in the early season, and the use of arsenate of lead or of dry arsenites dusted on the dew-wet plants after the cutting period. The subject of asparagus and asparagus-growing is treated in the following books and bulletins: Asparagus, by F. M. Hexamer, Orange Judd Company. Farmers' Bulletin No. 61 (Asparagus Culture), issued by the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Bulletin No. 151 of the Maryland Station (Fertilizers for Asparagus). Bulletin No. 34 of the Missouri Station (Asparagus and Rhubarb Culture). Bulletins Nos. 165 and 172 of the California Station (Asparagus and Asparagus Rust in California). T. Greiner.
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Cultivation
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Pests and diseases
Varieties
Gallery
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
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