Growing Vegetables

The crisp and tasty spears of this hardy perennial spring up from heavy root masses from early spring until warm weather arrives and occasionally through mid summer. Asparagus needs a winter dormancy to thrive. Mature asparagus plants look completely different from the spears. They will reach 4 to 6 feet in height. They will spread to a width of 3 feet. The feathery, decorative plumes should be left on the plant until they have begun to dry In late autumn. They manufacture the food reserves that maintain the strong crowns from year to year. Cut the stems to the ground only after the foliage turns brown. Asparagus take several years to come into full production, and the lifespan of a plant is up to 20 years or more. Two dozen plants should yield enough to feed a small family.

Planting

From seed grown plants it takes three years to produce spears. Most gardeners will prefer to start from a root. Roots are available during the late winter in western states and can be planted as early as they are available. They need to be planted as soon as you receive them. The asparagus plant needs a lot of room to grow and full sun exposure.  Plant them to the outer edge of your garden as they will virtually be permanent feature plants, and you don’t want the tall foliage to get in your way. Since the plant will be there for so long the soil needs to be broken up to a depth of 18 inches and large volumes of organic matter, such as well rotted manure should be thoroughly worked into the soil. Don’t skimp on the width of the bed either, the prepared soil should extend 18 inches beyond the crowns. The mixed in organic mixture should raise the bed 2 to 3 inches , which will improve drainage. For each crown dig a 5 to 8 inch hole  in the prepared bed and fill it with water. Create a cone of loose soil 4 inches high at the center of the hole. Set the crown in the hole and spread out the roots. Fill the hole with soil and firm it down lightly around the roots and water the crown again. The wide spreading root system of asparagus makes it a poor choice for container gardening.                              

Care

Cultivate in the top inch of soil so that you do not damage the roots. Pull weeds by hand before they get started in the bed. They will become difficult to remove if they become established around the asparagus roots. A drip line watering system is ideal for the watering needs of the asparagus, since beds are to wide for basins or furrows. Let run for several hours each week during dry weather. Feed with a complete fertilizer high in nitrogen around mid summer when the plants hit their growth spurts. When you remove the brown foliage in the fall, add a mulch of 2 to 3 inches of  coarse organic material. Do not use peat moss or leaves they will form a crust or pack down preventing moisture from penetrating the bed and will hinder emerging spears.

Harvesting

Begin harvesting spears the second year after planting crowns or the third year after planting seeds. Harvest for two to three weeks or until the spears start appearing thinner. Then let them grow foliage for the rest of the season. Cut spears when they are 6 to 8 inches high, at a point between the surface of the soil and 1 ½ inches deep. Try to avoid damaging the spears that are developing beneath the surface. At the start of harvesting you will be able to harvest some spears every three days. As the soil gets warmer you may have to harvest daily. Spears taller than 8 inches have passed the best harvest stage so let them develop into foliage.