Growing Asparagus: Tips on How to Grow Asparagus Both from Seed and Crowns

Growing asparagus is easier than you think with these simple tips on how to grow asparagus from seeds or crowns right in your own backyards. By good soil preparation and care, you can harvest asparagus for more than 20 years. One family I knew was harvesting from the same plants 50 years on! Asparagus growing isn't difficult, but you do have to be patient.

Like rhubarb, asparagus is a perennial but it does take a while before you can harvest your first crop and really you won't have a good harvest until your plants have been growing for at least 4-5 years.

BEST GROWING CONDITIONS FOR ASPARAGUS

Growing asparagus successfully means that your climate should be in an area where the winters are cold and the summers are hot, although it dislikes heavy frosts. They love free draining, light soil that has had generous quantities of organic matter added before planting. The soil should have a pH value of 6.5 - 7. Any higher than this and you should add lime to your soil to get the pH level right. They like an open and sunny site which is preferably north-facing and protected from strong winds.

GROWING ASPARAGUS: PLANTING

Plants can either be raised from seed or from crowns purchased from a commercial supplier. When you raise asparagus from seed you should allow them to grow there until they die down at the beginning of their second winter. After that they can then be dug out, and removed to their permanent positions as young crowns.

Since the male plants are more productive than the female plants, it is wise to remove these as soon as they are identified as female and replant male crowns in their place.

GROWING ASPARAGUS: USING SEED

Both seeds and crowns can be planted in late winter or early spring when the frosts have finished. If growing asparagus from seed, germinate the seeds first in a seedling tray in a warm and protected area like a hothouse or a cold-frame.

Keep the seedlings moist and be patient as they may take some time to shoot. When you grow asparagus from seed in this way, they can remain where they are for the first 2 years before they are transplanted out as they will not produce any spears before then.

In order to speed the process of germination soak the seeds in water for 24 hours before planting.

GROWING ASPARAGUS: USING CROWNS

When you buy asparagus crowns that are already 2 years old it will give you a crop a lot faster. Prepare the soil but digging a trench in the bed to a depth of 30 cm and place the crowns 30-45 cm apart.

Surround them with well-rotted manure and a good, light soil allowing for the shoots to push through easily. The crowns should be buried about 5 cm under the soil.

Leave 30-45 cm between plants and ideally 1.2 metres between rows, although if space is a problem you can space the rows closer together without too much of a problem at 60 cm.

Water well while growing and as the plants grow more manure and soil should be added to the plants until the soil is level with the surrounding ground. By continuing to hill the soil around the plants in the early spring the shoots will have to push through about 15 cm of soil. At the time of harvest the stems will be largely white rather than the green stems that will emerge if you don't hill the soil.

GROWING ASPARAGUS: CULTIVATION

For the first two years of your plants' lives there won't be too much foliage to worry about. However, when it does start appearing, don't cut it as this will affect abundance of the crop. Cutting the foliage can only be done in the winter when the plant is resting.

Continue to keep the beds moist making sure that they never dry out. Any weeds that appear should be removed by hand so as not to damage the shoots in any way.

Every year, during spring, the asparagus should be fed with a good fertilizer such as seaweed, and in the autumn the soil should be mulched with a good layer of well-rotted manure which should be watered in well.

During autumn or winter when the foliage has turned yellow it can be cut down to within 3 inches of the ground. Make sure that the foliage is cut down before the berries start dropping to the ground. If they have already done so these should be removed by hand to prevent them from germinating.

GROWING ASPARAGUS: HARVESTING

Asparagus should not be harvested in the first season after planting out the crowns. In the second spring they should only be picked for 3-4 weeks after the spears first appear, and then very sparingly. In fact it would be best if you only picked one spear off each crown during this season.

When the plants are 4 years old you can extend the harvesting season to 4 weeks of the year.

When the plants have reached maturity in year 5, and thereafter, the spears can be picked for 6-8 weeks during the season.

Cut the spears with a curved knife about 3 inches below the surface when the spears are about 5 inches long. These will be tender and succulent. If you leave them any longer you will risk them being very woody.

Always stop cutting in late spring so as to allow the plants to rest. The new spears which appear after the end of the cutting season in spring are allowed to develop fully, the stems being cut off at ground level and removed in late autumn after they have died back.

CONCLUSION

Asparagus growing takes great patience and it is not a quick cropping vegetable like radishes or rocket. However, if you learn how to grow asparagus properly, and take care with soil preparation and growing asparagus according to our guidelines, your patience will be justly rewarded for many years to come.

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