How to Organically Grow Asparagus
Slender asparagus spears pushing through the spring soil each year in your vegetable garden will reward you after you plant asparagus crowns. When you wish to organically grow asparagus, the process is no more difficult than standard growing methods. Fertilize and weed asparagus throughout the growing season, using organic methods instead of methods that involve chemicals. The asparagus plants will respond with energetic and reliable growth. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Garden spade
- Aged compost or manure
- Shovel
- One-year asparagus crowns
- Hand rake
- Straw or grass clippings
Instructions
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Choose a full-sun location and cultivate the soil down to a depth of about 8 inches with the garden spade. Work the soil to break up large chunks of soil, removing any stones and rocks you find. Add about 2 inches of aged compost or manure over the soil surface and work the two mediums well to mix them. Rake the soil surface smooth to finish preparing the growing area.
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Dig holes for the asparagus crowns with the shovel. Make the holes 4 inches deep and about 18 inches apart. If you plant rows, space the rows 1 foot apart.
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Plant the asparagus crowns in the prepared holes. Place each crown in a hole, spacing the roots gently in the soil. Cover the crowns with 4 inches of soil.
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Keep the soil evenly moist during the growing season. If less than 1 inch of rain falls in a one-week period, water the asparagus to saturate the soil.
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Pull weeds carefully by hand as they appear. Do not allow weeds to encroach on the asparagus or the plants may suffer.
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Mulch around the asparagus crowns with straw or grass clippings to reduce weeds and keep the soil moist. Apply about 2 to 4 inches of mulch evenly over the soil.
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Cut off the plants at soil level after two or three frosts occur in autumn. Discard the plant material in a compost bin or the trash.
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Add 1 inch of aged compost or manure over the soil surface and work it in gently with the hand rake. Cover the entire planting area with about 3 more inches of mulch to insulate the crowns over the winter.
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Harvest spears in the spring when they become over 4 inches long. Cut or break the spears off at the soil level as they grow to the proper length.
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Add about 1 more inch of aged compost or manure to the soil after you finish harvesting the spears in late spring. Work the organic fertilizer into the soil with the hand rake and water the soil thoroughly.
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Tips & Warnings
The Mother Earth website recommends planting only male asparagus plants. Because female asparagus plants produce seeds, this requires growing energy that they could otherwise use to produce spears. Male asparagus plants do not produce spears. The seedlings of female plants can also become problematic because you must remove them by hand to keep the growing area from becoming overcrowded.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Polka Dot Images/Polka Dot/Getty Images
