How to Grow Asparagus
Instruction & Advice for Growing Asparagus in Your Vegetable Garden
| Nutrition | Watering Instructions | Harvesting |
| Climate | Fertilizing Instructions | Storage |
| Soil | Challenges | Tips |
| Planting | Prep for Winter |
*** Easy to Grow! ***
Asparagus is usually the first vegetable harvested in the spring. It is a hardy perennial with feathery foliage. It can grow to 3 feet tall in your garden. The edible part is the tender young stem (spear). Male and female flowers grow on separate plants, with the male plants producing greater crops and larger and better spears. Female plants, identified by their red berries, should be discarded after their second autumn of growth. Asparagus beds tend to be productive for 15 to 20 years.
Gardening Advice Tip: Asparagus grows well when combined with Parsley, Basil or Tomato plants. For more information, read about companion gardening.
This vegetable is not a good choice for a container garden, though.
Nutrition Information: (back to top)
According to the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board, "Asparagus is one the most nutritionally well-balanced vegetables in existence."
Provides: Folic Acid, Folacin, Rutin, Chromium, Potassium, Thiamin,
Vitamin B6, Fiber, Manganese, Calcium, Vitamin A, Protein, Riboflavin, Niacin, Copper
Climate & Growing Conditions: (back to top)
Asparagus gardening is popular because this vegetable grows well in a variety of climates. It thrives in mild to cold climates and can even withstand frosts. Asparagus prefers full sun, but will grow in partial shade. They grow best in areas where the garden soil freezes in the winter.
How to Prepare Garden Soil: (back to top)
The key to a hassle-free Asparagus bed is proper preparation of its garden bed. Asparagus requires well-drained soil with a pH of between 6.0 and 8.0 in it's garden bed. (Instructions: How to test and change your garden soil pH level.) It is happiest in sandy loamy soil. Prepare permanent beds to a depth of 24” with lots of organic matter (compost) and a complete fertilizer mixed in.
Gardening Advice Tip: For best asparagus growth, keep the garden bed weed-free.
How to Plant: (back to top)
Plant 2 year old crowns in the winter. Dig trench 10” wide and 10” deep. Set crowns 16” apart in trench and cover with 2” of soil. As the fern grows, cover it with soil until trench is filled, leaving new shoots uncovered. Rows should be three feet apart.
For “white” or blanched asparagus, mound soil over trenches to depth of 10-12” in late winter. The fern dies off for winter, with new shoots appearing when the gardening season starts again in the spring.
How to Water: (back to top)
Keep garden soil moist, especially when the spears are forming. If you let the soil dry out during the spring and summer growing seasons, you will have stringy and woody stalks.
Be sure to keep the soil moist, even after the harvest period. An occasional dose of liquid fertilizer after the growing period has passed will help boost next year’s crop.
How to Fertilize: (back to top)
Apply regular applications of high nitrogen fertilizer in the summer's gardening season to encourage top growth. Apply another dose again in late winter to encourage spring spear growth.
Gardening Challenges: (back to top)
Asparagus are mostly problem free. Select rust-resistant varieties to grow in your garden, to lesson incidence of rust. Some people encounter asparagus beetles.
Gardening Advice Tip: Practice good vegetable gardening by rotating your crops within your garden space with each new season. This will prevent many plant diseases.
How to Harvest: (back to top)
Do not harvest asparagus for the first two years. This ensures that the plants have time to grow large crowns.
Harvest three year old plants in late winter or early spring. (Do not harvest during the summer.) Harvest period may last up to 8 weeks. Cut when spears are 6 to 8” long, at or just below soil level. Be careful not to damage new shoots.
Gardening Advice Tip: Feathering of the spear means that it’s too late to harvest.
Harvest along the same row at two week intervals in season. For white asparagus, cut spear 6” below soil level when tip has just broken through the surface. Production increases every year, reaching full maturity at 4-5 years.
Fall Preparation (back to top)
When the leaves have yellowed, cut the stems to the ground. If you don’t want to grow any “surprise” plants, be sure to remove any berries that have fallen to the ground. Apply a top dressing of decayed manure or compost.
Storage: How to Freeze Asparagus(back to top)
Wash asparagus and remove woody portions and scales of spears. Cut asparagus into 6” lengths and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. Cool asparagus in iced water for 3 minutes. Drain. Place asparagus on trays in a single layer and freeze for 30 minutes. Pack asparagus into freezer bags, remove air from bags, seal and label. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Storage: How to Dehydrate Asparagus (back to top)
Wash and remove tough ends. Steam blanch for 3 minutes. Drain. Dehydrate at 100 degrees (F) for 35 hours or until dry and brittle (to avoid them molding in storage). To rehydrate, soak in hot water for 30 minutes and drain. Stalks will likely remain a little tough. Dried asparagus is best used in soups, casseroles, or dishes that require mashed asparagus.
Storage: Canning (back to top)
NOTE: This is only a guideline. Be sure to follow standard sanitation and canning procedures, as outlined in your canning cookbook or by your local county extension office. Also, when using a pressure canner, follow your specific manufacturer's instructions. Cooking times in the canner can vary, depending upon your climate and altitude. Again, check with your local county extension office for conversion rates for your area. Your local county extension office may also be able to test your pressure cooker's gauge for accuracy.
Select tender, tight tipped stalks. Cut off tough ends and scales. Wash thoroughly. Pack as tightly as possible (without crushing them) into hot jars, leaving 1" space at thet top. Add 1/2 tsp salt to each pint jar (1 tsp for quart jars). Fill with boiling water, leaving 1" of space at the top of the jar.
Use a thin rubber spatula to remove the air bubbles. Adjust the sterilized caps. Process pints for 30 minutes, and quarts for 40 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure in a pressure canner.
Following your pressure cooker's manufacturer supplied instructions for safety, process (quarts and pints) for 25 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. For batches of large artichoke hearts, allow an additional 10 minutes of processing in the pressure canner.
Follow your canning cookbook's instructions for removing, cooling and storing the jars.
Gardening Advice Tips (back to top)
Have a helpful gardening tip (or even a fun story) to share about your asparagus growing experience? Share it with us at: gardeningtips@howtogardenadvice.com
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