Growing Your Own Vegetables: Asparagus, Cabbage, & Sweet Corn

Asparagus: Asparagus grows best in fertile well-drained soil and, although it can be grown from seed, the general practice is to start the plants from purchased roots. Dig a trench at least 12 in. deep, fill the first 2 in. of the trench depth with well rotted manure, and then cover with 4 in. of regular rich soil. Place the plants 20 in. apart on top of this soil, with 24 in. between rows. Spread the plant roots flat, point the crowns up, and cover with soil to 3 in. below the ground level. Cultivate very lightly as the roots grow, and gradually fill the trench with soil to ground level.

Asparagus can also be planted in a 6-in. deep trench using the above method, filling the trench with a mixture of manure and soil. Do not cut asparagus until after the second season so the plants can store vitality for good continued growth. The plants are perennial, maintaining good production for a minimum of 15 years. They grow best in the central and northern sections of the country in locations where there is some soil freezing. Fertilize annually after cutting begins with a complete fertilizer (10-10-5 type) at the rate of 3 Ib. to a 40-ft. row. When starting plants from seed, use only the healthiest plants for transplanting. A light cutting may be made after the third year of transplanting and regular cuttings each year thereafter.

Cabbage: Cabbage is easily grown and all gardens except the very smallest should have a few cabbage plants. This vegetable may be eaten raw as coleslaw or cooked in many different ways. Cabbage requires a fertile soil or heavy applications of fertilizer high in nitrogen content for good growth. Some midseason and most late-season varieties make excellent kraut. All of the late varieties are good for fall use and winter storing.

For an early crop of cabbage, start the seed in a hotbed or greenhouse. For medium early cabbage, seed may be started in a coldframe or open-ground seed bed in the very early spring. Sow late cabbage for winter use in seed beds outdoors when the soil becomes warm. Be sure to give the cabbage plants plenty of water, especially during dry weather.

Sweet Corn: The home gardener should plant only hybrid sweet corn varieties - kept seeds do not always come true to the original hybrid seed. Do not keep corn seed for the following year plantings. Sweet corn is sweetest and best just as the silk blackens. Pick the ears in the late afternoon and cook them immediately. Harvest sweet corn immediately upon its reaching maturity as the sugar in the kernels rapidly turns to starch and the sweetness is lost. Corn does well in almost any good garden soil and can be grown in almost all parts of the country. Plant the seed after danger of frost is past in rows 30 in. apart, spacing the seeds 4 to 6 in. apart in the row. Cover the seeds with at least 1 in. of soil and later thin the plants to stand about 10 in. apart. Plant corn in blocks of at least four rows side by side, rather than in a single row, to insure pollination and full development of the ear kernels.