Asparagus is a fantastic early spring delicacy full of vitamins. It can be pricey at the grocery store, so growing your own is a good way to save money. Asparagus takes one to three years to establish itself before it is ready to harvest - but it’s proof that delicious things come to those who wait!
Asparagus is a perennial which makes it a great choice for busy gardeners. Plant it once and it will come back year after year without a lot of maintenance needed.
Asparagus plants are very attractive and great for edible landscaping. You will love the cute ferns of the foliage, and the cheerful red berries in autumn.
Asparagus does great in raised beds and makes a nice landscaping plant. Photo by Forest Starr .
Varieties
Purple
This is one of my favorite varieties. The plant produces beautiful, deep purple spears that have a delicious, slightly sweet flavor.
This variety is also very tender and I often eat the spears fresh in salads. It can also be used in cooking, but it won’t retain its lovely color.
Harvest from early April through mid-May once they are established. F1 Hybrid however only 60% male so it may produce seeds. Seeds are NOT edible.
Erasmus
Erasmus is a purple variety that is known for its high yields. It has a mild flavor and is tender enough to be eaten fresh in salads, or else sauteed with a little bit of olive oil.
Does well in cool weather. This is an all-male cultivar so cannot be used to produce new asparagus plants
Green
Jersey Supreme
If you have struggled with diseases in your asparagus patch before Jersey Supreme is a good choice to try. This green variety is highly disease resistant. It is also one of the first varieties to start producing so a good choice to combine with others for a long harvest season.
This is an all-male cultivar so cannot be used to produce new asparagus plants
Mary Washington
Mary Washington is a classic green variety. My favorite way to eat this type is braised and roasted but it can be cooked in a variety of ways like steaming.
Mary Washington is an heirloom variety, so if you have both male and female plants, you can use this variety for seed saving and for propagating through rhizomatous roots.
Planting
Asparagus is best planted as one-year-old crowns. Plant nurseries typically ship crowns in early spring.
They are frost-tolerant, so you can plant them before the last frost of the year. For USDA Zone 6 plant crowns in the last week in March and early April around the time you put in potatoes.
Choosing a Location
Since asparagus is a long-lived perennial you need to give some thought to where to plant it. Choose a location in full sun and where the tall fronds won’t cast a shadow on other sun-loving plants.
Tip: lettuce loves to grow on the shady side of asparagus!
Take a soil test. Asparagus likes a pH of 6.5 - 7.0 which is higher than most USDA Zone 6 soils. You can read our article on soil testing here.
Pick a spot that won’t be disturbed as you go about your other garden chores.
How To Plant Asparagus
Remove the sod from your planting location and put it in your compost pile
Dig your trench 10 inches deep and place the soil in a wheelbarrow
Mix in 1/2 as much well-rotted compost, 2 - 4 quarts of perlite, and lime if your pH is lower than 6.5. The amount of lime will vary with your soil test.
Spread 5 inches of your mixture back into the trench to form a nice foundation
Next, place the crowns in the trench and spread out the roots. Space the crowns 18 inches apart. They will fill in as they mature.
Spread the remaining soil mixture gently over the crowns
Apply a thick layer of organic mulch such as straw along the sides of the trenches
If you prefer to plant from seed, make sure you have an open-pollinated variety such as purple passion, place the seed in a pot with seed starting mix; keep the soil moist but not wet. Asparagus seeds take about three weeks to germinate, so don’t lose hope if it takes a while.
Asparagus can also grow in containers for patio and other small space gardens. If you grow them in containers, make sure to choose a large, deep pot that will allow the plant’s roots to have plenty of space.
Care
Mulch
Asparagus plants can be delicate, so it is better to hand-pull weeds than hoe them. Applying mulch can also help suppress weeds while also reducing how often you need to water.
One of the biggest differences is that you need to overwinter perennials. In fall when the plant foliage begins to turn brown, cut the plants down to a few inches above the soil. Adding a layer of mulch will also help insulate the plants during cold winters.
Fertilize
Asparagus plants do best in well-drained, moderately rich soil. I like to add extra compost to my plants a week after I harvest the spears.
Perennials have different care requirements from annuals, and often take an extra bit of planning. You can learn more in Planning for Perennials in Zone 6B.
White Asparagus
Green varieties can also produce white asparagus if you prefer white spears. Cover your rows with hoops and black plastic to prevent sunlight from getting in, and the spears will emerge from the soil white.
Problems
Because asparagus is a perennial, you can’t practice crop rotation to reduce damage from pests and diseases like you can with annual vegetables.
According to PennState University Extension, some major problems that could hurt your asparagus crop include asparagus beetles, asparagus aphids, Japanese beetles, and cutworms.
If you carefully monitor your plants, you can remove pest bug eggs before they hatch, and can also manually kill beetles and cutworms. Ladybugs love to eat aphids, so if you run into issues with asparagus aphids, try attracting ladybugs to your garden using companion plants.
According to the University of Kentucky common diseases that can harm asparagus include Fusarium root and crown rot, asparagus rust, and Cercospora leaf spot.
The best way to prevent damage from disease is to choose disease-resistant varieties and to keep the area weed-free. Good sanitation practices like sanitizing your clippers between plants when doing fall cutback.
Companion Planting
Planting flowers that attract ladybugs are a great way to keep aphid populations under control. Marigolds, calendula, and chives all help attract ladybugs to your garden. The strong smell of chives can also help mask the scent of asparagus, which makes it harder for pest bugs to find.
Harvesting and Storing
Most asparagus plants are ready to harvest their third spring after planting from seed. If you planted crowns, may be ready the second spring after planting, depending on the age of the crown. When spears are 7 to 9 inches long, snap them off by hand near the ground level.
Asparagus goes bad quickly at room temperature, so you should use or refrigerate it quickly after harvesting. Refrigerate asparagus without washing it, as washing it could cause bacterial growth. Then wash before cooking or eating fresh.
Asparagus also freezes well if your garden produces more than you can eat fresh. Wash the spears, chop the ends, and then place them in quart-sized freezer bags.
Seed Saving
Asparagus plants can produce for fifteen or more years, so many gardeners prefer to buy asparagus crowns at a nursery. The most common way to produce new asparagus plants is by dividing the well-established crowns in early spring. Asparagus plants have rhizomatous roots which help them self-propagate.
But, if you are ambitious, you can also learn how to save asparagus seeds.
*** Note: asparagus seeds are toxic to humans, dogs, and cats
It is important to get an heirloom variety of asparagus that produces both male and female plants. Many modern hybrids only produce male plants, which cannot be used to propagate new plants.
In the fall, your plants will produce small red berries. When the berries begin to droop over, harvest the stems with the berries and hang them upside down in a paper bag to dry out.
You can remove the seeds from the dried berries by breaking the berries open and rubbing the pulp against a mesh strainer. The pulp will go through the strainer and the seeds will stay behind. Wash and dry the seeds, and then store them to plant the following spring.
Guest Author, Taryn Dawn, first began food gardening with her family when she was four years old and planted a patch of radishes. Now, she and her husband have a food garden on one acre in Virginia, which they have expanded over the last decade to include many vegetables, fruit, and nuts. Taryn has an MSc in Sustainable Food Systems from Green Mountain College and tries to implement sustainable production practices. Follow her on Twitter @taryndawntweets
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