How to grow Asparagus?
- Latin Family: Asparagaceae
- Latin Genus: Asparagus
- Ease of Growing: Moderate
- Growing Type: Perennial
Asparagus is a great perennial crop. It is low maintenance, and quite easy to grow. It can be expensive to buy and tastes much better when home grown. As an added bonus it is available early in the growing season, when few other crops are producing.
Asparagus does have some drawbacks, the most significant being that it isn’t very productive for the space it occupies. The large plants take up a lot of room, so it isn’t a good crop for small gardens or intensive beds in general. There is also a long time from planting to first harvest and the harvest season is pretty short (only 6 weeks or so).
Asparagus is an independent and attractive plant and can be planted in any spare corner of the garden, or even grown as an ornamental. Birds eat the berries and sow the seeds, so given the right conditions it may escape from your garden and naturalize.
When you consider all of these factors, it’s not surprising that Asparagus is one of the most expensive vegetables to buy.
Asparagus History
This native of Eurasia has been prized as a gourmet food since the Roman times. The newly emerging spring shoots are regarded as one of the great delicacies of the vegetable garden.
Soil Preference
- PH (min/max): 6.0 - 7.5
- PH Ideal (min/max): 6.5 - 7.0
Asparagus isn’t a particularly fussy plant, but it will produce more food if given optimal soil conditions. The ideal soil is deep, fairly light, rich and well drained, with lots of organic matter to help it retain water. In poorly drained soils the roots may rot over the winter. If you want to grow Asparagus in soil that gets wet in winter, plant it in raised beds.
How to care for Asparagus?
Asparagus is an independent plant, but if given even a moderate amount of care, it will be much more productive. A well cared for Asparagus bed should last for thirty years or more, but it can deteriorate quickly if neglected or over-harvested.
Water
The plants are fairly drought tolerant, but produce better if watered regularly. This is particularly important for young plants. Water deeply but infrequently to encourage deep rooting.
Fertilizer
Asparagus is a fairly hungry plant and responds well to additional nutrients.
Seeds
Seed Viability: 2 - 5 years
Germination Percentage: 70.0
You don’t really need to save Asparagus seed as it is a perennial, but it is easy enough to obtain. The plants are insect pollinated, so to keep a variety pure there should be no other Asparagus varieties (or wild plants) within a mile. The plants are dioecious and only the female plants produce the red berries, each containing 6 seeds. If you grow only males, you won't get any seed.
Don't allow the plants to produce seed unless you need it, because it takes energy away from vegetative growth.
Light
Sun: min. 6 hours daily
Give the plants full sun and shelter from strong winds. Keep them well away from large trees and shrubs and their hungry roots.
Conditions:Cold, Cool, Warm
Season:Short Season, Long Season
Storage
Asparagus can be canned, but it requires a pressure canner, as it does not have enough acidity to prevent the growth of bacteria, and ordinary boiling water bath canners don't reach the temperatures high enough to kill the spores. It can also be pickled, which can be done with a regular boiling water bath canner.
Storage Req: Canning
Storage Temp: 40-75°F
Storage Length: 1-180 days
Asparagus freezes well and this is the best way to store them for any length of time. Blanche the stems and then freeze them on a cookie sheet, keeping the stems separate. Once they are frozen, you can put them into freezer bags.
Storage Req: Freezer
Storage Temp: 0-32°F
Storage Length: 1-360 days
The shoots will keep for up to a week and a half in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Storage Req: Refrigerator
Storage Temp: 35-40°F
Storage Length: 1-10 days
Problems
Pests and Diseases
A number of pests may afflict Asparagus, including aphids, Asparagus beetles and thrips. Diseases include crown rot, verticillium wilt and asparagus rust.
Slugs and snails love asparagus, as do gophers.
Asparagus Types
- Asparagus (Seed)
- Asparagus (Crown)
Asparagus is an herbaceous, perennial plant which grows to 36 to 60" tall, with stout stems and clusters of feathery foliage.
Asparagus can be started from seed. You will need to germinate it indoors, and it will need more time before you can begin to harvest it.
Asparagus is a herbaceous, perennial plant which grows to 36 to 60" tall, with stout stems and clusters of feathery foliage.
Asparagus crowns can be purchased online or from your local nursery. When looking for crowns look for fresh ones with firm roots. If the roots are shriveled or feel papery, don't use them.
Pests
- Deer
- Gophers
- Leafhoppers
- Rabbits
- Slugs and snails
- Thrips
- Asparagus Beetle
- Crickets and Grasshoppers
- Cutworms
- Armyworms
Diseases
- Anthracnose
- Mosaic Virus (Several species)
- Rust
- Fusarium Wilt
- Cercospora Leaf Spot
- Damping Off
- Bacterial Stem Rot, Bacterial Root Rot, Bacterial Soft Rot
- Root Rot
