How to Harvest Asparagus
If you grow asparagus, you have to learn to harvest it too. Use these tips and techniques to help grow, harvest and store your home garden asparagus. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Asparagus crowns
- Deep garden bed
- Compost and other organic materials
- Sharp knife
- Freezer bags
Instructions
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1
Purchase asparagus root crowns, sold as one-year crowns, in greenhouses, home and garden stores and some department stores. Try to find two year asparagus crowns if you want to get a head start on harvesting asparagus.
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2
Build the asparagus bed at least one foot deep. Till the bed and pick out any rocks and large clumps of dirt. Add in compost and other organic materials such as leaf litter or crushed pine needles. Use an all-purpose vegetable fertilizer at least a week before you plant the asparagus crowns.
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Dig a trench eight inches deep to plant the crowns in the asparagus bed. Place the crowns in the trench and spread out the roots a little. Cover the crowns with five inches of soil. Add soil as the asparagus sends spears up through the soil.
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4
Choose asparagus spears that are at least as thick as a pencil. Make sure the spears are also at least seven inches tall before you harvest them. The spears should have tight heads with no signs of disease, damage or starting to spread and flower.
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Bend the asparagus spear until it snaps off. This will leave the bottom two to three inches of the plant. The bottom part is usually stringy and hard and you can also use a sharp knife to cut the asparagus spear at soil level.
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Store asparagus spears in freezer bags as quickly as possible, and place in the refrigerator for up to a week. Freeze asparagus spears by first blanching them for two minutes in boiling water. Dry them on paper towels and place them in freezer bags to store them in the freezer.
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Tips & Warnings
Harvest asparagus in early morning or evening when the weather is cool. It's better for you as the harvester and it's less stress on the asparagus plants.
Wait to harvest any asparagus the year after they are first planted. The longer you wait, the better the yield will be. The year after you've planted the asparagus, you can harvest for two or three weeks once the asparagus has started to grow. The years after that, you can harvest asparagus through the whole season until late summer when you let the asparagus fern out.
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Comments
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I wanted to know just where does the Asparagus grow I planted some and it is getting tall and fern like but cant see any actual Asparagus.
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Today will be my first harvest day!
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Tonight I will be harvesting Asparagus for the first time. I can't stand the stuff but its for Kiane.
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Our asparagas crop seems lovely and we're harvesting the first tonight, to be served with halved hardboiled eggs, hollinadise sauce, Canadian bacon. heated in the oven until the sauce bubbles. Divinbe..
