Q: I‘m a first-time asparagus planter and just received my plants in the mail. The directions say to open up a trench in which to plant them. Do I bury the connected part of the roots or should I burying each individual root, leaving the middle exposed?

A: I call the center part of asparagus roots the “crown” and the thick fingers spreading from it the “roots”. It’s best to bury the crown relatively shallow, just an inch or so, but the roots can be two to four inches deep. I typically dig an area six inches deep and wide enough to contain the root system when spread out. I put a clod of clay under the crown to support it a couple of inches higher than the roots around it.