Posted on August 12, 2009 in latest news
All that asparagus requires is full sun, well drained soil of pH of 6.5 to 7, plenty of organic matter and consistent space to stay and spread. The best time to grow asparagus is spring when all danger of frost has passed. Start seed indoors 12 to 14 weeks before the last frost is beneficial. Asparagus requires 3 years to become established and full productive.
Here are few steps to grow asparagus in your garden:
- Choose a site where there is plenty of sunshine and the plants won’t be disturbed and can happily coexist for few years.
- Loosen the soil from 8 to 10 inches deep adding well-aged compost. Asparagus is most commonly grown from crowns. Choose one-year-old crowns that are well-rooted and have not gone dry. Dig a trench or furrow 10 inches wide and 10 to 12 inches deep, and place a 2 to 4 inches tall mound of loose soil in the bottom of the trench.
- Soak the crowns in compost tea for 10 minutes or so and lay them on their sides on top of the organic matter, 12 to 16 inches apart, in rows 4 feet apart.
- Fill in the trenches gradually as shoots emerge, taking care not to cover any foliage. Weed diligently and mulch heavily with chopped leaves or straw after you’ve filled in the trenches.
In the first two to three weeks, water the asparagus with 2 to 3 inches of water. After that span of time, you may water them once every week. If rain has not visited, then water more frequently.
- Side-dress plants with a balanced organic fertilizer in late summer, and top the bed in organic mulch in the fall.
- It is very important to have patience while growing asparagus. It takes time as each spear needs to “fern out” so that the roots can grow stronger and more productive. An asparagus crop can be harvested in its third year. Do not be tempted to harvest it on the first and second years since that will yield not so good results. The third year will be the golden year for harvesting it for the first time. The prime years of growing asparagus would be when it would be 6-8 years old.
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