Part 5

Let the old bed stay, and set out a new one according to rational methods. Some years ago the writer came into possession of an asparagus bed which was known to be forty years old, and may have been much older. It was a solid mass of roots without any distinguishable rows. The spears produced were so small and tough that the first impulse was to dig up the roots. But as this proved to be a more formidable task than was anticipated, another plan was pursued. In autumn the bed was thickly covered with fine yard manure. The following spring the bed was marked out into strips of two feet in width. When the sprouts appeared those in every alternate strip were cut clean off during the entire summer, and the others allowed to grow. In the autumn of the year another heavy application of manure was given to the entire bed. The following year but few shoots appeared in the strips which had been cut all through the summer. These were treated the same as before, and in the third year not a sprout appeared in the alleys. The stalks left for use improved greatly during the first year and the third year were of good serviceable size and quality, so that even after the new bed, which had been planted at the time this experiment was commenced, came into bearing, the old one was retained for several years longer. Probably if the vacant strips had been made three or four feet wide the result would have been still better. This experience suggests the idea that the easiest and least expensive way of exterminating an old asparagus bed is to persistently mow down all the shoots for a season or two.

X

FERTILIZERS AND FERTILIZING

Asparagus is a gross feeder. There is hardly another plant in cultivation upon the vitality of which so great a demand is made. The cutting of all its sprouts, or shoots, as soon as they appear above the ground, for several weeks, is an abnormal and enormous tax upon the plant, which is thus forced to extra exertion in order to reproduce itself and perpetuate its kind. Therefore, it should have the most tender care, and an abundance of nourishing and readily available food. The earliness, tenderness, size, and commercial value of the product depends principally on the rapidity of its growth, and, as this is materially promoted by the richness of the soil, it is evident that the plants should receive all the food they can assimilate during the growing season.

There is a wide difference of opinion among growers as to which is the best kind of manure to use. Whatever the individual preferences may be, there is this satisfaction to know that no kind of plant food can come amiss on the asparagus bed, although the use of some kinds and combinations may be more economical than others. Formerly animal manures only were thought to be of any use for asparagus, and there are still some growers who cling to this opinion. In recent years, however, there has been a decided reaction in this regard in some of the principal asparagus sections. The objections made against stable manure are that it is more expensive to handle, that it is apt to get the land full of weeds, and that it does not contain sufficient phosphoric acid and potash. At present many growers use commercial fertilizers exclusively, convinced that asparagus needs liberal feeding of potash and more nitrogen than is generally supposed to be required.

The composition of 1,000 parts of fresh asparagus sprouts is, according to Wolff:

Water 933 parts Nitrogen 3.2 " Ash 5.0 " Potash 1.2 " Soda 0.9 " Lime 0.6 " Magnesia 0.2 " Phosphoric acid 0.9 " Sulphuric acid 0.3 " Silica 0.5 " Chlorine 0.3 "

This analysis shows very accurately what a given weight of asparagus abstracts from the soil, but it does not, and can not, show or even indicate certain indispensable demands. In this, as in other cases, the analysis of a crop is a very uncertain guide to its proper fertilization. It should be clearly understood by every cultivator of the soil that no rigidly fixed formulas can be given for any one crop on all soils. The question of quantity of application and of proportion must always, in the very nature of the case, remain more or less a matter of individual experiment. The following formula, given by Prof. P. H. Rolfs, makes a good asparagus fertilizer:

Nitrogen 4 per cent. Potash 5 " Available phosphoric acid 7 "

One thousand five hundred pounds of the above formula should be applied per acre. When possible apply twenty to forty tons of vegetable material, such as partially rotted rakings of barnyard manure. Where such vegetable matter is procurable, the quantity of nitrogen may be decreased proportionately. If manure is obtainable, allowance should be made for the fertilizing elements contained therein.

An excellent formula for one ton of asparagus fertilizer, given by Prof. W. F. Massey, consists of:

200 lbs. nitrate of soda 700 " cottonseed-meal 800 " acid phosphate (13 per cent.) 300 " muriate of potash

This will yield 4.9 per cent. ammonia, 6.1 per cent. available phosphoric acid, 8.4 per cent. potash.

The effects of the application of a scientifically balanced fertilizer ration upon asparagus is clearly illustrated in Fig. 21, which presents a photographic reproduction of an experimental plat of the North Carolina State Horticultural Society at Southern Pines, N. C., fertilized with

250 lbs. nitrate of soda 400 " acid phosphate 160 " muriate of potash

per acre, while Fig. 22 shows a plat of equal size which remained unfertilized.

The following table gives the amounts of different fertilizer materials necessary to give the desired quantity of each element:

_Element_ _Pounds of different materials for one acre_ { 800 to 1,000 lbs. cottonseed-meal; or Nitrogen { 350 to 400 " nitrate of soda; or { 275 to 300 " sulphate of ammonia; or { 400 to 600 " dried blood.

{ 300 to 500 lbs. kainit; or Potash { 150 lbs. muriate of potash; or { 150 to 300 lbs. sulphate of potash

Phosphoric acid { 750 to 1,000 lbs. acid phosphate; or { 600 to 800 dissolved bone.

"Asparagus requires very heavy manuring, and yet its composition would not indicate it," writes Mr. Charles V. Mapes. "The explanation is found in the fact that it must grow very rapidly, otherwise it is tough, stringy and flavorless, the same as with radishes. If it had a long season to grow in, like timothy hay, it might grow successfully in very poor soil. A half ton of timothy hay contains about as much plant food, and in similar proportions, as two thousand bunches of asparagus, or five thousand quarts of strawberries, and yet while this quantity of hay will grow on an acre of almost any poor soil, the strawberries or asparagus for a fair crop per acre require a rich garden soil. If the hay were obliged to make as rapid growth as the asparagus, then it also would require rich soil. With the strawberry there is but the lapse of a few weeks from the time of blossoming to the full development of its fruit. The plants need a superabundance of plant food within easy reach, otherwise the fruit is small and inferior. The plant can not bear profitable fruit and at the same time be compelled to struggle for existence. The same is the case with asparagus. Neither of these crops can take up out of the soil all the fertilizer that needs to be applied for their successful growth, and therefore there is necessarily a large quantity of plant food unused and left over in the soil."

For these reasons, asparagus, while not necessarily an exhaustive crop, requires heavy manuring. One ton of high grade vegetable manure is none too much per acre, and is small, particularly in the expense, as compared with the larger quantities of stable manure per acre, as recommended by some successful growers. As already stated, formerly it was thought necessary to place large quantities of manure in the bottom of the deep trenches in which the young plants were set out, in order that sufficient fertility might be present for several years for the roots, as after the plants were once planted there would be no further opportunity to apply the manure in such an advantageous place. This theory has been found erroneous and the practice has been demonstrated to be rather a waste than otherwise, and besides the roots of asparagus thrive better when resting upon a more compact soil; nor is it necessary that the soil should contain great amounts of humus, or be in an extremely fertile condition when the plants are first put out, since by the system of top-dressing a moderately fertile soil soon becomes exceedingly rich and equal to the demands which the plants make upon it.

The plan of top-dressing beds during the fall or early winter is gradually giving way to the more rational mode of top-dressing in the spring or summer. It was believed that autumn dressing strengthened the roots and enabled them to throw up stronger shoots during the following spring. This is a mistake, however. In the Oyster Bay region formerly all manuring was done in the spring, but the practice of applying all fertilizers immediately after the cutting is finished is rapidly increasing. The reason for this is found in the fact that, during the growth of the stalks, after the cutting season is over, the crowns form the buds from which the spears of next season spring, and it is probable that it is principally during this period that the roots assimilate and store up the materials which produce these spears. This being true, the plant food added to the soil and becoming available after the cessation of vegetation in the autumn can have little, if any, effect upon the spears which are cut for market the following spring; it first becomes of use to the plant after the crop has been cut and the stalks allowed to grow. Thus the manuring of the autumn of 1901 will not benefit the grower materially until the spring of 1903.

Nevertheless, some highly successful asparagus raisers continue to apply fertilizers in the spring, as evidenced by the following directions given by one of the most prominent growers in the Oyster Bay district. "After the roots have been set in the drill, put enough soil on them to cover about two inches. Then sow about 500 pounds of high grade potato fertilizer per acre in the drill. As the weeds commence to grow, cultivate and hoe, letting the soil cave down in the drill. About the middle of the season sow about 500 pounds more of fertilizer in the drill. Continue to cultivate and hoe the remainder of the season. At the end of the season the drill should be entirely filled up. The second year sow about 2,000 pounds of fertilizer per acre broadcast, plow the ground and harrow it down level, and keep the ground clean. The third year open the drill over the asparagus with a one-horse plow, broadcast 2,000 pounds of fertilizer per acre about the time the shoots begin to show, and back-furrow it up with a plow over the drill to form a ridge. Then smooth the ridge down with a home-made implement resembling a snow-plow reversed. Cut every morning all the shoots that show through the ground. Do not cut more than four weeks in the first cutting season. Continue to broadcast 2,000 pounds of fertilizer per acre every year."

From what has been said in regard to the various methods of applying fertilizers to asparagus, it will be readily understood that it can make but little difference how it is distributed, whether on the rows, between the rows, or broadcast, so long as enough of it is put on the land. In an established asparagus bed the entire ground is a dense network of roots, and wherever the fertilizer is put some of the roots will find it, but not those of the plants over the crowns of which it has been planted; not more so than the feeding roots of an apple tree can reach a heap of manure piled around its trunk.

SALT AS A FERTILIZER

Salt is but little used now by commercial asparagus growers, though it has been recommended for this crop from time immemorial. About the principal advantage to be derived from its use is that of killing weeds without injuring asparagus, although it may be applied in sufficient quantities to injure the asparagus. The indirect fertilizing value of salt is mainly due to the fact that it has the power of changing unavailable forms of plant food into available forms; but this object may be secured cheaper and better by the use of kainit. In sandy soils it may encourage the supply of moisture, but on naturally moist and retentive soils heavy dressings of salt may do more harm than good.

Much of the benefits to asparagus for which salt gets credit is its use in a small way in the home garden, due to the fact that not dry salt, but the brine and residue of the pork and corned beef barrels is applied to the asparagus beds. This brine is rich in animal matter extracted from the meat, and usually also in saltpeter, which has been used in pickling. The latter substance alone, without the addition of salt, exerts a strong fertilizing effect upon the plants.

After a series of carefully conducted experiments by Mr. Charles V. Mapes, he writes:

"Salt was only effectual as a fertilizer in proportion as the soil contained accumulated supplies of plant food, either from previous manurings or from natural strength. Asparagus, unlike nearly all other crops, will stand almost unlimited quantities of salt without injury. It also thrives near the seashore, and it was therefore generally believed that liberal quantities of salt were a necessity to its successful growth. Experience has shown, however, that its presence is not at all necessary for its growth, and that the reason that a bed to which salt has been applied shows quickened and improved growth is that the salt dissolves out of the soil plant food which, without the presence of the salt, would have become too slowly reduced to available condition for producing good crops. The salt acted practically as a stimulant and added nothing except chlorine and soda, neither of which in any considerable quantity is essential for growing this crop. It is this dissolving action that takes place in the soil whenever any soluble salt or fertilizer, like kainit, potash salts, acid phosphates, etc., be applied to the soil, that is often mistaken for a manuring one. The result is an exhaustion, not a strengthening, of the soil. The crop is grown at the expense of the limited supply of food that the soluble salt can act upon. The fertilizer has acted practically as a stimulant."

XI

HARVESTING AND MARKETING

The chief labor in asparagus culture is the cutting and bunching. As it is of the greatest importance that the work be done promptly and expeditiously, it is desirable to have more help than is wanted merely for the asparagus, and then, when the asparagus is ready for market, they can go to hoeing and tilling other crops. Five acres in full bearing will require from six to eight men from four to six hours per day to do the cutting and three or four to do the bunching. A successful farmer in western New York, who has four acres of asparagus, employs eight or ten boys and girls, for from three to six hours per day, to do the cutting and three women to bunch it. The women are paid by the bunch, and work five to ten hours per day. Piecework, if properly done, is nearly always cheaper than day work, and is better for the employés and the employer.

CUTTING

As has been stated in a previous chapter, cutting should not begin until the plants have become strong and vigorous, which requires two or three years from the planting. In the latitude of New York City the cutting season commences usually the last week in April and closes July 10th, although but few growers cut after the 1st, particularly if the season has been a favorable one. Except on old and well-established plantings, cutting should not extend for more than six or seven weeks. Some growers cut asparagus as long as it pays to ship, regardless of the damage done to the plants. The old rule to discontinue cutting asparagus when green peas are abundant is a safe one to follow, especially in the home garden. Unlike other crops, about as much can be cut each day, or at each cutting, as the day before, during the season, varying only according to the weather.

_Manner of cutting._--The mode of cutting asparagus varies according to the requirements of the markets, whether green or white stalks are desired. Whatever individual preferences may be, the fact is that in New York City, and some other large market centers, 75 per cent. of the asparagus sold is white or blanched, and it would be useless to try to persuade the buyers to take any other. To show how extreme the convictions are in this matter of taste, we quote from Prof. J. F. C. Du Pre, of the Clemson Agricultural College: "Why any one should prefer the almost tasteless, insipid white to the green 'grass,' into which the sunshine has put the flavor of ambrosia, is beyond my comprehension." On the other hand, Leboeuf, the famous asparagus expert of Argenteuil, writes: "Properly blanched asparagus is infinitely more tender and delicate than green. To serve up green asparagus is to dishonor the table."

In recent years a compromise has been made between the two styles. By allowing the tops of the hilled-up sprouts to grow four inches above the surface, the upper half of the stalk is green while the lower half remains white.

For green asparagus the sprouts are cut when six or seven inches high, and then only so far below the surface as to furnish a stalk about nine inches long. For the white style the rows have to be ridged twelve inches above the crowns, and the stalks are cut as soon as the tops show above the ground, the cutting off being eight or nine inches below the surface.

Whichever method is followed, it is very important to cut every day during the season, and to cut clean at each cutting, taking all the small sprouts as well as the large ones. If the weak and spindling shoots are allowed to grow they will draw away the strength from the roots, to the injury of the crop.

When cutting, the sprout is taken in the left hand and the knife run down close alongside of it to the proper depth, carefully avoiding other spears that are just beginning to push up all around the crown. Then the handle of the knife is moved away from the stalk, to give it the proper slant, the knife shoved down so as to sever the stalk with a tapering cut, and at the same time the stalk is pulled out. After cutting, the asparagus should be removed out of the sun as soon as possible to prevent its wilting and discoloring. Usually this is done by dropping the stalks in a basket which, when full (Fig. 23), is carried to the bunching shed. On large plantations, however, the cutters leave the stalks on the ground to be picked up by boys following closely, as seen in Fig. 24. To facilitate the picking up and carrying away, horse carriers are used, as shown in Fig. 25.

In some sections of Europe, especially at the famous asparagus regions of Argenteuil, a knife is never used. According to W. Robinson: "The slightly hardened crust around the emerging bud and on top of the little mound is pushed aside, the fore and middle finger separated are then thrust deeply into the soft soil, pushing the earth outwards. If a rising shoot be met with on the way down, it is carefully avoided. A second plunge of the two fingers and pushing out of the earth usually brings them to the hardened ground about the crest of the root; the forefinger is then slipped behind the base of the shoot fit to gather, and rushed gently outward, when the shoot at once snaps clean off its base. This plan has the advantage of leaving no mutilated shoots or decaying matter on the ground. Once gathered, care is taken that the shoot is not exposed to the light, but placed at once in a covered basket. As soon as the stalk is gathered, the earth is gently and loosely drawn up with the hand, so as to leave the surface of the mound as it was before, not pressing the earth in any way, but keeping it quite free. The shoots are not rubbed or cleaned in any way--it would disfigure them, and they do not require it."

_Knives._--There are several styles of knives for cutting asparagus, but an ordinary ten-inch butcher-knife with the point cut square off, leaving the end about an inch and a quarter wide and ground sharp like a chisel, answers the purpose as well as any of the implements made especially for the purpose. Another serviceable tool for cutting asparagus is a carpenter's thin firmer-chisel, one and one-half inches wide, nearly flat, and the thinnest that can be obtained ground on the convex side or back, about an inch from the end, which should be rounded off on the inside to prevent them from injuring sprouts near by. Other styles of asparagus knives are seen in Fig. 26.

SORTING AND BUNCHING

In some local markets asparagus is sold loose, by weight, in which case but little regard is paid to the size and length and color of the stalks, nor to the style of packing. This is the most profitable way for the grower to sell, as it saves him all the expense and labor of bunching, and as even the smallest stalks are thus salable, there is no waste whatever, while the prices obtained are about the same as those for first-class bunches--that is, two pounds of loose asparagus sell for about the same price as a full-sized bunch. But in city markets asparagus could hardly be sold in such a condition, and it is of first importance that it should be carefully graded and neatly bunched.

_Sorting._--Careful growers assort into three sizes: extras, primes, and seconds. The size and weight of the bunches vary somewhat in different markets. Bunches varying from six to twelve inches in length are received at wholesale centers, but the most convenient and popular size for a bunch of prime white asparagus is eight and one-half inches long, averaging thirty spears, and weighing two pounds. The side view of one and the end view of three bunches of this size of white asparagus are shown in Fig. 27. To assure uniformity some ingenious contrivances have been invented, most of which are a great improvement over the old-time bunchers, consisting merely of a board with four pins, six inches long, and placed about four inches apart each way, to form a square. Two strings, usually of bast matting, were laid down on the board, which was set on a bench up against the wall, or had a back made of another board tacked on it at right angles. The asparagus was laid on the buncher between the pins, the tops touching the back or wall to keep them even. When the bunch was large enough the strings were tied firmly, and the butt end of the bunch cut square.