Asparagus are delicious.? They are also expensive.? The ones you get in the store have been transported long distances and are not at all like the ones you get from your own garden.? While asparagus have a reputation of being hard to grow, that is not really true.? They just take their sweet time producing edible spears.? Of course, when a crown can last 15 to 25 years, it may not seem long to the asparagus.
Asparagus has separate male and female plants.? The stems, or spears, of asparagus are what most people want.? Male plants produce better stems because they are not wasting resources reproducing.? For the average family of four, 20 crowns, or root knots, planted in a 20 foot row produces all the asparagus they can eat.? Uta, from Crooked Run Orchard, tells how to grow asparagus from seed, but I will be discussing the more usual method of growing it from 1-2 year old crowns.
Because asparagus live so long, it is important to place them in a well prepared bed where they can stay for the next 25 years.? Prepare the area by mixing in 3 inches of compost into the top 10-12 inches of topsoil.? Do this the fall before planting.? Then test the soil around December and lime if necessary to bring the pH up to at least 6.0.? It would be better to have it around 6.5-7.5.? Lime takes a while to work, so do this in December if necessary (Northern Hemisphere, if in Southern Hemisphere, June).
Planting requires some effort.? Dig a furrow in your prepared bed that is 4-12 inches deep and 4 inches wide.? Spread phosphate fertilizer (0-0-46) in a band in the furrow at the rate of.75 ounces per 20 foot row.? Place the crowns 12-14 inches apart in the furrow.? Cover the crowns with one inch of compost and 2-3 inches of soil.? Leave the rest of the furrow open. Water the crowns in.
As shoots grow out of the crown, gradually fill in the furrow around them.? By the end of the year, the furrow should be level with the ground and the stems should be above the ground.? Asparagus does not compete with weeds, so it is very important to keep the weeds eliminated in the area of the asparagus bed.? Once the stems are above ground, mulch three inches of mulch around them to control weeds and keep in the moisture.
Every year in late January or early February, scatter 2 pounds of 10-20-10 fertilizer per 20 feet of row.? After the harvest is over, apply an additional fertilizer of 21-0-0.? Always water in your fertilizer.
Asparagus needs lots of water.? If watered properly, the roots can go down 10 feet.? Water one inch at a time, then let the top inch of soil dry out again before watering again.? That usually takes 3-5 days.
Finally, the good part.? Asparagus beds are established after about two years, and you get to start eating them then.? They are harvested for about 8 weeks in the spring.? Cut spears when they are 4-10 inches long.? Any bigger and they are fibrous and nasty.? It is important to cut the spear at ground level so no stump remains.? That way, diseases and bugs do not invade the plant.? You need to stop harvesting when the spear diameter becomes less than 3/8 inch or the heads open up in the heat.? At this point, let the stems grow and fern out.
After the first hard frost, but off the ferns and mulch the bed with manure or compost.? Burn or compost the ferns to avoid leaving a pest residue around the plants.??? It is important to keep the beds clean, with just compost and mulch on them, throughout the year to avoid disease or pests.
So, asparagus are a lot of trouble to get established, but need normal maintenance and fertilization after that.? They are so good to eat that they are worth it, though.
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