VEGETABLES AND THEIR CULTURE 385 



are to be grown. The crown of the asparagus comes nearer to the surface 

 of the ground every year, because the new bulbs form somewhat higher 

 than those from which the shoots of the previous season grew. This 

 necessitates planting in trenches, which is also an advantage when the 

 rows are to be ridged for the production of white shoots. 



The roots should be planted just as early in the spring as the ground 

 can be prepared. It is not desirable to make the trenches any deeper than 

 the soil is ordinarily plowed. The fleshy roots are set on a tiny mound of 

 soil, spread out and covered at first to a depth of not more than two inches. 

 If conditions for growth are favorable, the new plants will soon appear and 

 the trenches should be filled in gradually as the plants increase in height. 



Thorough tillage is essential to the highest success. In new planta- 

 tions it should begin early in the spring and continue until fall; old plan- 

 tations should be cultivated as long as a horse and cultivator can be used 

 without damaging the plants. It is especially important to disk the land 

 as early as its condition will permit in the spring and again at the close of 

 the cutting season, thus incorporating into the soil whatever manure has 

 been applied. 



No specific rule can be given for the fertilization of asparagus. One of 

 the best methods is the application of ten tons or more of stable manure to 

 the acre — late in the fall or early in the spring — supplemented with at 

 least 1000 pounds of commercial fertilizer containing about 5 per cent of 

 nitrogen, 8 per cent phosphoric acid and 6 per cent potash; half of the 

 formula to be used early in the spring and half at the close of the cutting 

 season. Intensive growers use at least a ton to the acre. 



Some commercial growers cut approximately $50 worth of asparagus 

 to the acre the second season from planting. If vigorous crowns have been 

 used and a satisfactory growth obtained, this practice is not regarded as 

 harmful to the plants. The cutting period of the third year should not 

 last more than three or four weeks, but after the third year the usual 

 practice is to cut until about the first of July. 



The length of the shoots depends upon the demands of the market. 

 Ordinarily, they are cut about nine inches in length and tied into bunches 

 four and one-half inches in diameter. Two thousand bunches to the acre 

 is a good yield, but this number is often exceeded. Twenty cents a bunch 

 is a fair average price. 



The asparagus beetle is the most destructive insect pest. In small 

 plantations it is best controlled by setting coops of young chicks near the 

 plot. Arsenate of lead is effective and is often used in young plantations 

 and in old plantations after the cutting season. Air-slaked lime will also 

 kill the larvse. 



Rust is practically the only disease to be feared. If it appears anywhere 

 in the patch, the affected plants should be cut and burned before the foliage 

 drops in the fall. Burning the tops is not regarded as a desirable practice 

 in plantations which are free from rust. 



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