Asparagus: Crowned King of Garden
By Mary Giambalvo, Master Gardener
As the grandchild of farmers, I have
an inherent fondness for garden plants that pay their own way, so to speak. Asparagus stands out because it rewards us with terrific
meals and good looks for years and years with minimal labor on my part.
My garden journal tells me that my asparagus plants are in their twelfth year
of prodigious production here on the
Location is particularly important because, like fruit trees, asparagus expects
to stay around for a good while. It likes to grow in
deep, sandy loam, but it will tolerate heavier soil if it drains well and the
water table is at least four feet below the surface. Although
asparagus prefers areas that develop low enough temperatures to put it to sleep
in winter, I am successfully growing it on the coast with very little chill.
One-year-old asparagus crowns can be ordered in the winter for spring delivery. I have done well with UC157 and Jersey King, but almost
every year there are new hybrid varieties released with improved qualities.
It pays to spend time preparing the bed. Make a trench
six to ten inches deep, 12 inches wide, and four to five feet apart if you want
more than one row. Mix in some rich compost. Settle the crowns about a foot apart in the trench,
splaying out the roots. Cover the crowns with more
compost and soil and give them a good watering. During
the next week as the crowns start to sprout upward, keep watering and filling
in the trench with compost and good soil. Continue
until the trench is level with surrounding soil. That
completes the hard work except for periodic watering. You
don’t, however, get to eat any for at least a year.
As spring turns into summer, the spears will grow into tall beautiful fronds of
fern. This is the time it stores its nutrients for the
following year’s growth. Meanwhile, it makes a lovely
backdrop for colorful shrubs for the entire summer and into autumn. In areas where the weather gets cold, the asparagus will
turn brown in fall. This is the cue to cut it to the
ground. On the coast, most of my ferns will not die so
I arbitrarily cut them back soon after Thanksgiving. A
substantial new layer of compost and mulch will stave off weeds, keep the bare
ground looking good the rest of the year and provide nutrients.
At the one year anniversary it is best to avoid harvesting. This
allows the asparagus to get a foothold in its new home. Well,
okay, take a little because you won’t be able to resist. Next
year will bring a longer harvest. By the third year
and thereafter, the asparagus will provide good eating for two to three months.
When you grow your own, you will learn to love those fat, tender spears heaving
up from the soil. There is a common myth that thin
asparagus is more desirable than fat asparagus. In
truth, when the spears get slender and spindly, the asparagus is tired and
ready to rest. Stop harvesting and give it a vacation
until next spring.
Whether one’s own roots are agrarian or urban, there is a natural desire to eat
well and to not work too hard for it. Asparagus makes
the cut on both counts.