Then level
the ground, and cover the row with a light mulch of stable-manure
as you would strawberries. If more convenient to set out the
plants in spring, do so as soon as the ground is dry enough to
crumble freely when worked. In the spring rake off the mulch, and
as early as possible fork the ground over lightly, taking pains
not to touch or wound the crowns of the plants. The young, slender
shoots will soon appear, and slender enough they will be at first.
Keep them free of weeds and let them grow uncut all through the
first year; mow off the tops in late October, and cover the entire
bed with three or four inches of coarse barnyard manure. In spring
rake off the coarsest of this mulch, from which the rains and
melting snows have been carrying down richness, dig the bed over
lightly once (never wounding the roots or crowns of the plants),
and then sow salt over the bed till it is barely white. Let the
tops grow naturally and uncut the second year, and merely keep
clean. Take precisely the same action again in the autumn and the
following spring. During the latter part of April and May a few of
the strongest shoots may be cut for the table. This should be done
with a sharp knife a little below the surface, so that the soil
may heal the wound, and carefully, lest other heads just beneath
the surface be clipped prematurely.
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