GROWING ASPARAGUS

When planting asparagus into your garden, you should choose a site that is elevated, to provide for a well-drained soil, and one that you are willing to dedicate as an asparagus patch for years to come.  Once established, these plants can continue to live and reproduce for decades.  When you buy asparagus from us, you will be buying bare root crowns that should be planted into a prepared bed as soon as possible.  For every ten asparagus crowns that you will be planting, work one half bag of compost, and five pounds each of our landscape mix and worm castings into the bed that you are preparing.  After the soil has been readied, plant the individual crowns 10-12 inches apart into the bed, burying each one 1-2 inches deep.  Water them in.  For the first year you are not going to harvest any of the spears as they come up.  Instead, allow the spears to fully develop.  They will grow 4-5 feet tall and produce a dense, ferny growth of foliage.   By allowing your asparagus to grow wild in its first year, you will be giving the plant the energy that it needs to establish a sturdy root system, and thus, increased future yields.  Adequate soil moisture is important during the first growing season.  Weekly applications of water, sufficient to wet the soil to 8 inches deep should be ample.  After the first growing season, asparagus plants do not require much water due to their extensive root systems.  In the fall, cut down any stalks that have been allowed to grow to maturity and lay them down as a mulch over your bed.  Then in mid winter cover the entire bed with an inch or two of well-composted animal manure, and/or a finished compost.  This should be enough to enrich the soil and provide for hearty growth the following year.  The individual spears can grow 2-4 inches a day, and during their season, they will need to be harvested every other day.

This year we are selling the Millenium variety of asparagus crowns. They are $2 each, or 10 for $15.00. while supplies last