The asparagus-growing months are short, from May through June, and also you won’t reap the very best harvest for 3 years after planting. However for enthusiasts of those delicately flavored, tender spears, waiting for makes it worth while. Asparagus plants just like a sunny position, protected against wind. After they are in place, this perennial crop will produce tasty shoots for ten to fifteen years.
If you wish to learn to grow asparagus in order that it can join the components inside your kitchen garden, this really is what you ought to know…
Pick The SEX Of The PLANT
Really! Asparagus plants could be either man or woman – and you’ll need in your veggie bed if you would like these to pollinate and convey seeds that you could then sow. However, most gardeners will grow asparagus plants from crowns, can be bought as either man or woman.
Male asparagus plants generally have thicker, taller stems and therefore are more lucrative, and therefore are prized for his or her sweetness and tenderness. Female asparagus spears are slimmer and smaller sized, and therefore are less prolific.
You are able to identify female plants because they produce seeds and berries, out on another have stamens in the center of the flowers. A mans flowers have small yellow stamen.
GROWING ASPARAGUS FROM CROWNS
For any faster crop – 2 yrs from planting, rather of three when growing from seed – then plant asparagus crowns. They are dormant plants which are baby.
The crowns ought to be placed a minimum of one foot apart and 6 inches deep. The plant’s roots are delicate, so try not to break these when planting. The crowns will dry up rapidly if overlooked under the sun, so plant them rapidly to ensure that they’re fresh and healthy.
Prepare the soil for planting with the addition of a bucket of compost or well-rotted farmyard manure every yard, then digging it in. In case your soil is heavy and clay-based, add grit towards the soil to enhance drainage for much better growing conditions.
To provide your asparagus plants the very best possibility of success, dig a trench and line the underside with manure of compost. Return the soil you’ve dug to the popularity, mounding up to create a ridge. Space the crowns across the ridge, using their roots within the edges, then cover the roots with 3 inches of soil and firm the plants in.
Water the crowns and mulch with increased compost or manure.