CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 213 



mon practice is to trench the soil to the depth of 2 or 3 

 feet before planting and to work in large quantities of 

 manure. Formerly, trenching was popular in this coun- 

 try, but it has been abandoned among commercial 

 growers. A study of the habit of root growth has led to 

 the conclusion that little if anything is to be gained by 

 unusually deep preparation. 



Subsoiling is seldom practiced by commercial growers, 

 and it is of doubtful permanent benefit. The soil should 

 not be plowed deeper than its natural depth, but there 

 should be complete pulverization to the full depth of the 

 plow furrow. To accomplish this a disk or a cutaway 

 harrow can be used repeatedly to advantage before plow- 

 ing. This treatment is especially important when sod 

 lands are to be planted. After plowing, the same types 

 of harrows should be employed until the ground is in 

 perfect condition. While it is customary to plant land 

 that grew other vegetables the previous year, some of the 

 most successful growers prefer to precede the asparagus 

 plants with clover sod. The crop has been known to 

 thrive remarkably well planted on land which has pro- 

 duced alfalfa for several years. 



277. Fertilizing. Earliness, high quality and large 

 size are the factors that count for the most in securing 

 remunerative prices, and liberal and intelligent feeding 

 bear a direct relation to each of these requisites. The 

 gardener expects a great deal of his asparagus plants ; he 

 wants them to produce salable shoots for two months or 

 more and then recuperate sufficiently to yield a good 

 crop the next year. 



When starting a new field the plants should have all 

 the food they can utilize. Soon after setting, 800 pounds 

 of a 5-8-10 fertilizer should be applied along the rows, 

 and a top-dressing of nitrate of soda used at intervals of 

 three or four weeks. Rotten manure can be used profit- 

 ably before planting. A similar treatment should be 



