Committing to this vegetable means you are effectively putting yourself in a long-term relationship. Tomatoes, pumpkins (squash) and cucumbers are just simple warm-season flings – the types of vegetables you would meet in a bar and spend a summer with. You won’t encounter asparagus on the bar scene. This is a plant of real substance.
Though asparagus is a long-term investment, particularly in a small-space garden, that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t worth your effort and a piece of your precious real estate.
It’s best to plant from established root balls, or crowns, which will give you a head start on expected yields. However, it can be grown successfully from seedling and seed.
You can choose female varieties that are slenderer and more beautiful looking, or the stumpier, stockier male version. We have a fondness for both, because variety (in asparagus) is our spice in life.
PLANTING
Best planted from mature crown in late spring/early winter, in trenches 20–30cm deep and with the tops of the crowns covered over with roughly 10cm of soil. Make sure to water in well with seaweed extract upon planting and then keep up moisture until they take root (some 2–4 weeks later).
WATERING
In ground: Water daily for the first 4 weeks and 3–4 times a week in the absence of rainfall thereafter.
In Pots: Water daily, in the absence of rainfall, for the entirety of the warm growing season, and then cut back to watering every second until they are ready to cut back for their dormancy period. While dormant, the root zones will get by on rainfall with a good layering of mulch for protection.
MAINTENANCE
A month after planting slender asparagus begin to shoot. Do not harvest as we want to concentrate purely on foliage growth for the first 12 months.
Mulch to a depth of 3–5cm using pea straw, lucerne hay or sugar cane mulch.
After 4 months to encourage growth, feed with organic slow-release fertiliser.
28 weeks after planting, as the soil cools the plant begins to die back. At this stage, cut it back to ground level and cover with mulch.
It has been 48 weeks since you first planted your crowns. It’s time to feed with compost and organic slow-release fertiliser.
Harvest slender first-year shoot at ground level. Cover the cut over with soil to help repair the rhizome. Repeat each year for 15+ years of productivity.
HARVESTING
Time until first harvest: First year if growing from a crown, but the long term strategy is to resist these early offerings and allow them to bulk up the root zone. Asparagus rhizome can be productive for 15+ years.
How to harvest: Snip shoots at ground level, once spears are at a desirable height/girth, and then cover the cut ends with soil to help repair the rhizome.
TIP
If you’re not up for a long term relationship – and we feel you – it is still possible to enjoy some freshly harvested asparagus quickly, by growing it from a mature crown. Just go for it.
