No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 617 



advantage to plant as deeply as the soil will peimit. Under no cir- 

 cumstances, however, is it desirable to set the crowns or roots in the 

 sub-soil because this will invariably interfere with root development 

 ior the roots grow laterally rather than downward. A safe rule is 

 never to plant deeper than the land is plowed unless shallower jjIow- 

 iug is practiced than is expedient considering the character of the 

 land. Under conditions as found in most fields where this crop is 

 grown, it is preferable to plant from six tu eight inches deep. Be- 

 cause of the tendency of the crowns to get nearer the surface of the 

 land every year it is an advantage to plant ten or twelve inches deep, 

 providing the soil will permit planting at this depth. 



Care of Plantation. — There has been much dispute upon methods 

 of fertilizing asparagus, although some points have been well estab- 

 lished. There is no question about the importance of maintaining 

 the supply of vegetable matter. It is highly probable that not less 

 than twelve tons of stable manure annually is necessary to provide 

 the soil with the proper amount of humus. A common practice is 

 to apply the manure any time after the tops are cut in the fall and 

 the first tillage operation in the spring. This is a safe practice in 

 light soils but on heavy soils the better plan is probably to apply the 

 manure about the first of July or immediately after the cutting sea- 

 son. Heavy applications in the fall or winter may make it almost 

 impossible to harrow the plantation early in the spring because heavy 

 mulches of manure retain the moisture in the spring and thus pre- 

 vent early tillage. Heavy applications of commercial fertilizer are 

 undoubtedly essential to the best results. The most successful grow- 

 ers of the country are using from one-half to one ton of a com- 

 plete fertilizer to the acre. It is possible that the largest returns can- 

 not be realized with less than a ton to the acre of a fertilizer carry- 

 ing four to six per cent, of nitrogen and eight to ten per cent, of pot- 

 ash and phosphoric acid. A safe practice is to apply one-half the com- 

 mercial fertilizer early in the spring and the other half immediately 

 after the cutting season. Some growers contend that it is better to 

 apply all of the fertilizer after the cutting season. This plan is en- 

 tirely satisfactory, {provided there is abundant rainfall after the fiist 

 of July, otherwise it is better to apply the mineral elements early in 

 the spring so that they will be well distributed through the soil in 

 case there is a light rainfall after the first of July. Nitrate of soda 

 can often be applied to advantage as a top dressing, using from 75 

 to 150 pounds at each application. It is often profitable to use as 

 much as four or five hundred i)0unds of nitrate of soda to the acre. 

 The asparagus plantation should be kept free from weeds through- 

 out the season. Eust is the only disease that gives very much trouble 

 in growing asparagus. Although some spray materials have been 

 more or less valuable in controlling the disease, it is generally 

 conceded that the most practical means of control is to cut the tops 

 in the fall as soon as the leaves begin to turn yellow and burn them. 

 With good treatment, an asparagus plantation will last for twenty- 

 five or more years but it is not considered desiralde to retain the plan- 

 tations more than fifteen years, and many growers destroy them when 

 they are ten or twelve years of age. The shoots get smaller as the 

 plantation become older and this is the reason for making new plant- 

 ings at short intervals. 



