Growing asparagus in early 20th-century South Carolina

My friend Hank Stallworth has strong memories of asparagus production on his grandfather Henry Wienges’ farm near Saint Matthews. Each year, workers produced thousands of crates right on the property. The cut and graded asparagus were put in water and then packed upright with wet Spanish moss in the crates – made two inches taller than the spears which continued to grow on their trip north. Asparagus must be picked each and every day. However, Sundays were a day off for farm workers. On that day of rest, people who did not grow that vegetable were invited to come to Singleton and pick asparagus to their hearts’ content. Picking asparagus is stoop labor; the spear is cut right at the soil surface with a sharp knife. A deceased older friend said he preferred picking cotton to harvesting asparagus.