How To Grow Asparagus

Asparagus is a delicious gourmet vegetable loved by many and surprisingly it is not difficult to grow. Supermarket spears are quite expensive but once an asparagus bed is established in your garden, it can produce many succulent spears year after year with not a great deal of upkeep.

You need a little patience when growing asparagus. It is a long lived perennial plant with beautiful feathery foliage so will look good in any garden situation. You will need to give it lots of space with plenty of sun and shelter from the wind. You are able to grow asparagus from seed but it is often easier to buy 1 or 2 year old crowns and they save you a year until your first crop.

Prepare the ground well in advance and incorporate some well rotted manure or garden compost. An established asparagus bed can crop for between 20-25 years so it is worth putting in a little effort in the beginning, to get the bed friable, free draining and weed free.

Dig a trench 20cm deep and 30cms wide. Along its centre bottom, mound up the soil to about 10cm in height to accommodate the trailing roots of the asparagus crown. Gently place the crown on top of the mound and drape its roots down the slope. Cover the crown with about 5cms of riddled soil to avoid stones. As the young shoots grow, add more riddled soil and in about October, the trench should be full.

Published May 6th, 2015 by Jordan. Article ref 3772

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