For now, just support it with stakes and twine as best as you can. The plant should send up more spears soon enough! Skip to main content. You are here Gardening » Growing Guides. Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Asparagus. By Catherine Boeckmann.
When to Plant Asparagus Plant asparagus crowns in the early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. Many gardeners plant at about the same time as potatoes go in the ground. Starting with asparagus crowns, however, eliminates the year of tedious weeding that comes with starting from seed, and will speed up production overall. Start seeds indoors in spring and set out the seedlings when they are 12 to 14 weeks old, just after your last spring frost.
Soak seeds in water for up to 24 hours before sowing. Sow seeds in moistened peat or seed-starting soil in flats or peat cups. Once plants reach 12 inches in height, harden them off outdoors for a week. After the last spring frost, transplant the young plants to a temporary garden bed. Once they mature in the fall, identify the berry-less male asparagus plants and transplant them to your permanent planting site, removing the less-productive female plants.
Choose a site that gets full sun. Place the asparagus bed toward the edge of your garden, where it will not be disturbed by the activity of planting and re-planting other areas. Ensure the bed will drain well and not pool water. Asparagus does not like to have its roots get too wet.
If you do not have a site with good drainage available, consider growing asparagus in raised beds instead. Learn how to make a raised garden bed here. Asparagus thrives in neutral to slightly acidic soil pH of about 6. Eliminate all weeds from the planting site, digging it over and working in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost, aged manure, or soil mix. Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.
The soil should be loosened to 12 to 15 inches in depth to allow the asparagus crowns to root properly and not be disrupted by rocks or other obstacles. How to Plant Asparagus Plant crowns deeply to protect them from the cultivation needed for annual weed control. Dig a trench of about 12 to 18 inches wide and 6 to 8 inches deep. If digging more than one trench, space the trenches at least 3 feet apart. Soak the crowns briefly in lukewarm water before planting.
Make a 2-inch-high ridge of soil along the center of the trench and place the asparagus crowns on top of the mound, spreading their roots out evenly. Within the trench, space asparagus crowns 12 to 18 inches apart measured from root tip to root tip. Water in. As the season progresses and spears grow to be 2 to 3 inches tall, add 2 more inches of soil to the trench, being careful not to bury the spears completely. Once the spears again grow through the layer of soil, add an additional 2-inch layer of soil.
Repeat this process until the trench has been filled to ground level. Depending on how deep you dug your trench, you may need to add soil 1 to 2 more times throughout the season. Learn how to plant and grow an asparagus bed in our video:. Caring for Asparagus When the trench is filled, we would recommend adding a 4- to 6-inch layer of mulch.
The biggest issue with asparagus is managing weeds during the first two years. Weeds will become less of an issue as the plants fill in. Mulch around the plant with compost or grass clippings to help retain soil moisture and reduce weed growth. During the first 2 years after planting, asparagus plants need 1 to 2 inches of water per square foot per week. If you are not receiving adequate rainfall, you will likely need to water. Use drip irrigation if possible.
Asparagus thrive on a steady supply of plant food. Consider an organic fertilizer during the growing season. Follow instructions on the label of whatever product you use. Before Harvesting Do not harvest the spears in the first or second year the plant needs time to grow out its root system , but cut down dead foliage in late fall and side-dress with compost. During the second year, side-dress with compost in spring and early fall and cut down dead ferns in late fall.
Keep the bed thickly mulched. During the third year, the bed should be in full production, so you can start to harvest asparagus sparingly throughout the season.
Transplanting Asparagus If you must move asparagus, transplant the crowns in early spring when they are dormant or in late fall before the first fall frost after foliage is cut back. Dig and lift crowns with a garden fork, being very careful not to disturb the roots.
Divide the clump into two or more pieces. Water transplants. Unlike asparagus crowns, which have a large root mass, asparagus seedlings are just getting established. Take extra care in handling them, and avoid damaging their roots. Plant them a bit denser than you would crown to allow for some dieback. Transplant asparagus seedlings to the garden after the risk of the last frost has passed in your area. Crowns are planted 18 to 24 inches apart, but try spacing seedlings about 6 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart.
If all the plants thrive, the extra crowns can be thinned out or transplanted later. Crown planted asparagus can be harvested carefully in the 2nd year and fully in the third year. In the meantime, just carefully tend the asparagus spears, keeping the beds free of weeds. I am currently growing asparagus from seed.
I have seedlings in each pot that are about 5 inches tall. Do I need to remove or trim some of the seedlings so that I only have 1 per pot, or can I let a few grow together in the same pot?
I divide them when I transplant in the spring. If you have way more than you need, you can thin them to a single plant per pot, but dividing them at planting works well enough for me.
How do I harden them off to move them outdoors? My seedlings look alot like your seedlings in the individual cell tray. I was wondering I should repot them, maybe into 3in pots.
I have 70 plants so they will take up much more space, which is very limited, but at the same time I dont want to risk killing them. I still have until mid june before I can plant outside. I started Asparagus in from seeds. This is my fourth year of growing. What should I do?
Dig them up and give to friends Dig up and throw away Let live,. First year growing asparagus. I understand the females rool but my asparagus is in raised bed. Do I cut ferns off Or since they are new do I let them grow like ferns? Is there anyway to send you a picture? Mine is a slender stalk fern. Sorry new to gardening. Do we just let it grow for a year? Or cut it back at a certain length? We are in AZ not sure if it makes a difference.
I directly planted my seeds in the garden, they have come up gangbusters. Problem now is how and when to transplant, they are too close. At that point, you can carefully dig them with a potato fork type thing and gently separate the first year crowns and replant at propper spacing.
Hi Heather, Those small skinny spears are very tasty — I think they have a nuttier taste than the larger ones and I prefer them too!
Sometimes these plants … Read more ». I recently planted asparagus from seed. I have 30 plants that have sprouted in separate pots inside and I also planted the remainder of my seed package directly in my garden. They all seem to be coming up. Can I plant them all together in the same garden and remove the female plants next year. The garden would be rather crowded. Hi Lesley, Congrats on your asparagus seedlings — they look great!
Sounds like a fun gardening project. If you plant your transplants now, they may or may not produce seed this year. You may be able to recognize them as male or female this year, or you may have to wait until next year. I read about a research experiment that used DNA extraction to determine asparagus gender from young seedlings , but apparently in the seed form the plant gender is still quite hidden. In my book, asparagus Asparagus officinalis is king of the edible perennial garden.
Spearhead an All-Male Bed Some gardeners swear by store-bought all-male asparagus crowns for planting, while others love starting plants from seed, and saving their own seeds to grow yet more plants. If you want to save your own seed, having both male and female asparagus plants is a necessity. Facebook 69 Twitter Pinterest More Posts Notify of. Oldest Newest Most Voted. Inline Feedbacks. Reply to Carrie Peterson 1 year ago.
Reply to John Notte 1 year ago. When should I expect to see any growth? So far, nothing. I am looking at purchasing 3 yr old male crowns. Can they be harvested in the first season? When is the best time to move them? And would I have to make them go dormant before planting them??? The asparagus do we need to cut some of the plant out My asparagus plant grow a lot of new plants Or just leave it and let grow It plant is about six month old. Check out the new Million Gardens Movement website and get gardening!
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