Home
About Us
Blog
Free Newsletter
Design Your Garden Online! Free Garden Planner
eBook Best of Gardening
Questions & Answers Have a Question?
Free & Fun Stuff Free Worksheets
Free Garden Plans
Videos & Pictures
Your Stories
Gift Shop Garden Gifts
Garden Seeds
Garden Supplies
Garden Tools
Planning a Garden Beginner Gardens
Container Gardens
Garden Layout
Getting Started
Grow a Garden
Home Gardening
Indoor Gardening
Raised Bed Garden
Small Garden Designs
Starting a Garden
Square Foot Garden
Planting a Garden Companion Planting
Compost & Fertilizer
Heirloom Seeds
How to Plant
Mulching
Organic Garden
Planting Tips
Planting a Garden
Tips
Weed Control
When to Plant
By Vegetable... Acorn Squash
Artichokes
Asparagus
Basil
Beans
Beets
Bell Peppers
Broccoli
Broccoli Raab
Brussels Sprouts
Bush Beans
Butternut Squash
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cayenne Peppers
Celery
Chili Peppers
Chinese Cabbage
Cilantro
Collard Greens
Corn
Cucumbers
Dill
Eggplant
Egyptian Onions
Fennel
Ground Cherries
Garlic
Gooseberries
Green Beans
 Leeks
 Herbs
Horseradish
Hot Peppers
Kale
Lettuce
Lima Beans
Melons
Okra
Onions
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Pole Beans
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Rosemary
Runner Beans
Sage
Shallots
Snow Peas
Spinach
Squash
Summer Squash
Sweet Corn
Sweet Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Thyme
Tomatoes
Turnips
Zucchini
By Fruit Blackberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Canning Foods Canning Fruit
Canning Green Beans
Canning Vegetables
Canning Salsa
Canning Tomatoes
Canning Tomato Juice
Canning Tomato Sauce
How to Can
Preserving Food
Making Sauerkraut
Freezing Foods Freezing Broccoli
Freezing Green Beans
Freezing Tomatoes
Freezing Vegetables
How to Freeze
Recipes Blueberry Pie
Freezer Jam
Making Jelly
Raspberry Jam
Raspberry Pie
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Pie
Fresh Corn Recipes
All About Tomatoes Brandywine Tomato
Cherokee Purple
Fertilizing Tomatoes
Growing in Containers
Growing in Pots
How to Grow
Planting Tomatoes
Watering Tomatoes
Fertilizer Tips
Tomatoes in Pots
Container Gardening Container Designs
Container Ideas
Container  Plans
Container Vegetables
Gardening in Pots
Grow Herbs in Pots
New Pages Basil
Cilantro
Leeks
Harvesting Onions
Planting Times
Small Space Gardens
Beautiful Gardens
Raised Bed Garden
How to Plant Garden
Small Gardens
Garden Plants
Wood Garden Fence
Preparation
Make a Garden
Compost Bin Plans
Compost Pile
Make a Compost Bin
Garden Layouts
Organic Gardening
Plant a Garden
Indoor Garden
Vertical Gardening
Garden Plans
Garden Designs
Watering a Garden
Garden Fence
Raised Beds
Peas
Brussel Sprouts
Planting Brussel Sprouts
Artichokes
Growing Asparagus
Beets
Planting Beets
Planting Cauliflower
Celery
Horseradish
Kale
How to Okra
Shallots
Sweet Corn
Turnips
Planting Turnips
Contact, Privacy, Sitemap Contact
Privacy Policy
SiteMap
Herb Gardening
Compost Tumbler
Sauerkraut
Free Planner
Container Pictures
Building a Raised Garden
Fence Plans
Indoor Tips
Freezing Corn

Subscribe To This Site
XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Subscribe with Bloglines

How to Plant Asparagus, How to Grow Asparagus, Harvesting Asparagus



how to plant asparagus

Easy tips on how to plant asparagus in a backyard vegetable garden. Learn all about growing, caring for, and harvesting asparagus plants fresh from your garden.

Create Your Own Free Square Foot Garden Or Planting Guide

Asparagus is a member of the fern family.

The stalks that are eaten are actually young shoots that will turn into a frond if not harvested promptly.>p>Shoots should be harvested when they are about the height of your hand.

Download Free Garden Planning Worksheets, Garden Diary, Zone Chart, Or Planting Guide

About Planting Asparagus

The success achieved when growing asparagus is in direct proportion to the care taken in preparing the soil.

Asparagus matures very slowly.

It takes three years from seed to first light harvest.

Planting seed in the garden is taking the longest possible route to fresh, homegrown asparagus.

Most gardeners begin planting the crops in May.how to plant asparagus

Cut a full year off the maturation time by planting one year old roots.

Two year old roots are also available but many gardeners prefer the younger ones.

When the two year old roots are dug from the nursery bed, so much of their structure is left behind that they are slow to recover from the shock of relocation.

How to Grow Asparagus

  • Growing asparagus roots need a thick layer of soil protection from the elements and the hazards of cultivation.

  • Home gardeners have learned how to plant asparagus deeply by digging a trench a foot deep and 18 inches wide.

  • Leave a distance of 4 feet, center to center, between the trenches.

  • At the base of the trench, break up the soil to the depth of a spading fork, around 8-10 inches.

  • Add ½ pound of 10-10-10 fertilizer to each 10 foot stretch of trench.

  • How to plant asparagus--soil preparation:

  • Asparagus thrives in neutral soil, with a pH of about 7.0.

  • If a soil test shows the trench soil is too acid, sweeten it with ground limestone.

  • Then add 4 inches of aged compost in the bottom of the trench, which will keep the plants well fed for years.

  • To give the roots a solid base to rest on, walk over the soil in the bottom of the trench to firm it.

  • Then rake it to make it level.

  • Fan the roots out like the arms of an octopus.

  • Lay them at 2 foot spacing along the floor of the trench.

  • Cover the fragile roots gently with 2 inches of garden soil.

  • how to plant asparagus

    Caring for an Asparagus Bed

    As the summer progresses, pull in more soil from the sides of the trenches until it is filled in completely.

    Every three months or so, dress the rows of growing asparagus with a handful of 10-10-10 fertilizer for each plant.

    Harvesting Asparagus Plants

    When learning how to plant asparagus, learning when and how to harvest the fresh tender shoots is most important.

  • Two years after planting, the one year old roots will have produced a healthy crop.

  • The growing asparagus will be ready for harvest when the stems are about 8 inches tall and ½ inch or greater in diameter.

  • Keep the first harvest to a minimum.

  • This allows as many stems as possible to continue growing and nourish the plants in the following years.

  • Make it a priority that the growing asparagus be harvested on time.

  • During warm weather, you will want to harvest every day.

  • The growing stems quickly send out side branches and foliage, and when this happens the harvest opportunity is lost.

  • You do not need any special tool for harvesting.

  • Bend the stems until they break.

  • Fertilize the bed with 5-10-5 or 10-10-10 immediately after the harvest and again in mid-July and mid-August.

  • how to plant asparagus

    Choosing Asparagus Varieties

    Purple Extra Sweet

    Purple Extra Sweet is a new strain of asparagus with uniquely colored burgundy spears that are larger, sweeter, and tastier than most other varieties.

    The vegetable turns green when cooked but has the same great flavor as when eaten raw.

    Mary Washington

    Mary Washington is crisp, green, delicious and an excellent selection for freezing.

    Plants and seeds are both available with this variety.

    Plants are rust resistant and should not be cut for two years.

    Jersey Knight

    Hybridizers have developed Jersey Knight, a variety that grows only male plants.

    Gardeners have been known to pull female plants from the asparagus patch.

    This left the bigger, more succulent male plants.

    Stalks are larger, up to 4" around.

    The yield is three to four times more top quality than older varieties.

    The perennials are disease resistant as well as vigorous growers.

    If your space is limited, learn how to plant this asparagus type as it produces larger, flavorful spears in a quarter less gardening space.


    Back To Top



    How to Plant Asparagus to Vegetable Gardening



    You Might Also like to Read:

  • How to Plant Asparagus to Planting a Vegetable Garden

  • "Get the Dirt!" on Vegetable Gardening!

    > > A FREE Vegetable Gardening Tips and Ideas Newsletter < <

    "Where to begin with my own vegetable garden? I need some help!"

    Should I just try planting some seeds in the ground? Is there more to vegetable gardening than meets the eye? How about a container garden?

    Get the answers, tips, ideas, and more by subscribing to our FREE "Get the Dirt" newsletter.

    Yes, sign me up now!

    Easy & Inexpensive

    Vegetable Gardening Help, Tips, and Ideas:

    Where to Start When Planning a Vegetable Garden?

    "Conquer 27 Gardening Challenges that Steal Your Time, Sanity, & Money!"

    Gardening Mistakes are
    Frustrating and Unnecessary...


    27 Gardening Challenges & Their Solutions, Explained in Detail.


      FREE Bonus Included!
    • Gardening Worksheets
    • Garden Planting Guide
    • Sample Garden Plans
    • Garden Diary

    Only $9.97
    Instant Download


    Learn More Here


    OR







    footer for how to plant asparagus page