Placing The Roots

The proper planting of the roots is the most critical point in asparagus

culture, as upon the manner in which this is performed--more than upon

other detail--depends the success, yield, duration, and profit of the

plantation. Almost any other neglect can be remedied by after-treatment,

but careless and faulty planting, never. Whatever care and personal

attention the grower may give to this work will be repaid manyfold in

future returns.






As stated before, only strong, healthy one-year-old plants with three or

four strong buds should be used, so as to insure an even growth over the

entire field, and at every stage of the work great care must be taken

not to expose the roots to the drying influences of sun and winds. When

everything is in readiness for planting, the roots are placed in the

trench, the crown in the center and the rootlets spread out evenly and

horizontally, like the spokes of a wheel, and at once covered with three

inches of fine, mellow soil, which is pressed around them. If the ground

is dry at planting-time it should be pressed down quite firmly about the

roots, so as to prevent their drying out, and to hasten their growth.






To still more insure success it is an excellent plan to draw up little

hills of soil in the bottom of the trench over which to place the roots

with the crowns resting on the top, thus raising the crowns a few inches

above the extremities of the roots and providing for them a position

similar to what they stood in before transplanting, as seen in Fig. 17.



The subsequent covering of the roots can usually be done with a

one-horse plow, from which the mold-board has been removed, passing down

the sides of the row. This leaves the plants in a depression, the soil

thrown out in opening the rows forming a ridge on each side, as shown in

Fig. 18. This depression will gradually become filled during the process

of cultivation the succeeding summer.