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How to Grow Asparagus
comments (6) July 31st, 2008
KitchenGardener Magazine, archive
144 users recommend
The edible stems of asparagus rise directly from the ground. Spears that are about 8 in. tall are ready to harvest.
Photo: Susan Kahn
My family didn’t grow asparagus when I was a child. We found it. My dad had a sharp eye for the tender green spears that grew wild along roadsides near our home in Piqua, a wisp of a town in southeastern Kansas. He could spot even a single spear when he took the family on Sunday afternoon drives. He would stop our Plymouth Fury and gather the crop.
I developed a passion for asparagus, too. Only now, though I fondly remember those asparagus hunts, I find it much easier to simply step out the back door of my house and snap a few delicious spears from the bed in our garden. When I first planted asparagus, I was a little intimidated by all the folks who said it was hard to grow. Starting a bed does take more work for asparagus than for many other vegetables. But after 15 years, and expanding to 20 acres for commercial production on our farm in Lawrence, I know asparagus is one of the tastiest, easiest vegetables you can grow.
Long lives the bed of crowns
| Asparagus needs a big start • Choose a sunny part of the garden with good drainage. • Dig a trench and check the pH, which should be 6.5 to 7.5. • Plant the crowns about 8 in. deep and 15 in. apart. • Cover initially with 2 in. of dirt, and gradually fill the trench as the spears emerge. |
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Asparagus is a perennial crop, its long green fingers coming up year after year. So when you make your bed, do it carefully. Your asparagus may be growing in it for 20 years or more. A sunny, well-drained part of the garden will yield the best crop. Asparagus, a good candidate for raised beds, should be planted in soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. I’m lucky my patch was once a cattle feed lot, so I rarely add fertilizer, but people with poor soil may want to fertilize lightly.
Consider weather in selecting a variety. New hybrid asparagus varieties abound. The old standard ‘Mary Washington’ has long been good, but research and breeding have produced some fine alternatives. California varieties tolerate the heat better and keep a nice, tight tip, even above 80˚F. I prefer ‘U.C. 157’, a University of California plant, because we can get many hot days in late spring. New Jersey breeders are offering “all male” plants, which yield more than female plants since they don’t use energy to produce flowers and seeds. In my garden, the ‘Jersey Giant’ tips tend to loosen if the temperature gets above 80˚F, resulting in many undesirable spears.
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Sources for asparagus crowns |
posted in: asparagus
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Comments (6)
First, I determined that my soil was not right. This was a raised bed that existed when my wife and I bought our house (along with two other larger raised beds). I read how asparagus likes loose somewhat sandy soil with lots of compost so I decided to dig up what was there and create the environment I needed. I did that this weekend. What I found was, that there were just three or four inches of top soil and then clay! Solid clay. No wonder my asparagus wouldn't grow. I'd like to get some feed back from anyone who has experience as to my "perscription" for the soil. Here goes:
Removed the existing topsoil and saved it.
Dug down and removed the clay to a depth of about 18". (In one spot, I used a long-nosed spade and a post-hole digger to see how much farther the clay went down - I was able to dig down another 10 inces or so and still solid clay!)
My six by four foot bed now looked like a big bath tub with clay sides and bottom.
Put the old topsoil back in the hole first after removing the surviving asparagus crowns (about nine of them). Interesting thing about that topsoil - it was full of little bitty roots of all varieties (probably mostly weeds) - but zero, and I mean ZERO roots in the clay!
Mixed with the old topsoil, in the bottom of the hole, three 50 pound bags of gravel for drainage.
Layered fresh garden soil (in bags made for flowers and veggies) two cubic feet with 25 pounds aged manure and 50 pounds sand, well mixed together - two layers.
That brought me within six inches of the top of the raised bed. Laid in my surviving crowns and some new crowns and watered in.
Then covered with more top soil and some more sand. I did not want to add more manure because I was afraid of burning the plants with direct contact.
So, what does anyone think my chances are?! I think they are pretty good. The reason I was struck by the hardiness of asparagus is that it did ANYTHING at all in that clay soil with so little topsoil. One crown was big enough to divide. After digging them, I dunked in a bucket of water to remove all weeds and mud (a great tip from one site) and found that some of the soil up underneath the crown was clay! Again, if these could survive in these conditions they should love their new home. The new crowns I planted were Jersey Giant. I still have room for about eight more plants so would appreciate any feedback on that as well.
Posted: 5:59 pm on April 7th
Posted: 4:25 am on February 23rd
We grow asparagus just for us to either eat raw or if it lasts long enough cooked. I dont think it grows wild in NZ My husband was more interested in the car your father had but he does do most of the vege gardening. We are not organic but dont use sprays or artificial fertilizers
wildgarden
Posted: 9:57 pm on October 14th
Posted: 11:52 am on April 5th
Posted: 12:01 pm on March 16th
Even though the asparagus took up a lot of space in the garden last year and I didn't get to eat anything, the fern-like fronds were beautiful--especially when red berries emerged late in the season. The unique-looking plants drew many comments and questions from fellow gardeners in my community garden.
Posted: 8:41 am on March 16th