24 Perennial Crops 



6 to 10 inches deep. The crown is covered with loose earth 

 or old compost to the depth of 3 or 3 inches. As the plants 

 grow, the trench is gradually filled. If the trench is filled 

 at first, the young plants may not have sufficient strength 

 to push through the earth. In a commercial plantation, 

 this filling may be performed by the subsequent tillage. 

 Sometimes the furrows are partially filled by running a 

 light harrow over the ground. The plants are usually set 

 in spring, and by the succeeding autumn the furrows 

 should have been filled. The plants should be one-year- 

 old seedlings; two- or three-year-old plants give less sat- 

 isfactory results. 



The distance apart varies greatly, depending on the price 

 and kind of land, the implements to be used in tillage, 

 whether the rows are to be banked, and the personal pref- 

 erence of the grower. In garden plantations the rows may 

 be as close as 3 feet. Usually 4 and 5 feet are allowed 

 between the rows, and a greater distance if the shoots are 

 to be blanched. In the rows, 18 to 34 inches is the* usual 

 space, although persons desiring the "hill method" and 

 very large shoots may plant as far as 3 or 3^ feet. 



Tillage and care. 



Since the crowns of asparagus are so far beneath the 

 surface, it is possible to till the whole area with shallow- 

 working tools late in autumn and early spring. It is essen- 

 tial that this general tillage be given to keep the plan- 

 tation free of weeds and to maintain the physical texture 

 of the soil. In the growing season, little tillage can be 

 given when the crop is being harvested, it is not prac- 



