How to Plant Asparagus Roots
Asparagus is a favorite vegetable of diners and chefs. It is not only a delicious vegetable, it is also known for adding a touch of aesthetic elegance to a meal. Asparagus can be grown in the home garden, but it takes careful preparation of the soil and requires patience. You likely won't be able to harvest your first asparagus for three years, but once you do you will be rewarded with a tasty bounty. An asparagus patch will often last 15 years or more. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Gardening spade or small shovel
- Compost or manure
- Asparagus roots, known as crowns
Instructions
-
-
1
Prepare the asparagus bed in the fall for planting the following spring. The bed usually works out best if it is made next to another garden or flower bed, but so that the asparagus grows alone. Select a sunny location with well-drained soil. Base the size of your bed on knowing that, eventually, each asparagus plant will produce up to 15 to 20 spears when mature.
-
2
Clear the area of all weeds and till it so it is loose and well-aerated. Enrich the soil by working in compost or manure. Add additional compost monthly so that by the time spring arrives, the soil is fertile and rich.
-
-
3
Purchase asparagus crowns (roots) in the spring after the threat of frost has passed. Find these at a nursery or garden store. Search for crown bundles that have 10 to 15 roots with no green shoots, and that look firm and fresh. Purchase these at a time when you are able to immediately plant them.
-
4
Dig a trench that is 6 inches deep for the crowns. Plant the crowns in the trench, about 1 foot apart, and cover them with 2 inches of soil. Add an inch of soil to the trench every two weeks, as long as the plants are growing. If they are not growing, hold off on adding more soil until they do. Work toward filling the trench to level by the end of the first growing season.
-
5
Water the plants every week as a general rule, but dig into the soil a little to check for moisture and adjust your watering schedule if needed. Asparagus thrives in moist but well-drained soil. Keep the bed free of weeds.
-
6
Do not cut any of the asparagus shoots the first year. Instead, allow the plants to grow, then yellow and die. Use the dead foliage as additional compost. In year two, cut a few of the stalks that are at least as big around as your finger. Enjoy the real harvest in year three. Snap off the stalks as they reach about 6 inches in height. Don't harvest every stalk to ensure a good crop the next year, and always leave the asparagus foliage to stand all summer and fall.
-
1
