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Gardening with Vegetables,
Herbs, Fruits and Flowers




      

Asparagus Plant

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Asparagus

Before I grew asparagus I did not know anything about it except eating it when my mom cooked it. For those people like myself I was surprised to find out that it grows into a 5 foot tall bushy fern with red berries on it, we eat the the spears that pop out of the ground during the first part of the season.

The picture to the left shows the spears popping up and beginning to turn into a fern. At the end of the season we cut them back to just a few inches above the ground. Like most garden plants they like well draining soil, our soil has a lot of clay and does not drain to good but the plants grow great

Planting

Asparagus is a little picky when it comes to planting, the hole needs to be about 1 foot in diameter and about 1 foot deep with the soil humped in the middle, then spread out the plant or crown and cover it gently, it should be about 4 to 6 inches of soil above the crown.

Planting asparagus from seeds that come from the red berries is useless, it would take years and years to reach a edible size.

planting asparagus

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How to harvest asparagus

Harvesting

Asparagus should not be cut or eaten for the first couple of years, I know it is tempting but the longer you wait, the stronger your plants will grow, and yes, of course we sampled along the way.

After a couple of years you can start to harvest a few spears which are cut off just below soil level, we use a old steak knife. Once mature you still can only harvest for a limited time, each season, some of the spears have to turn into the fern or it will die.

Asparagus can be eaten raw, very tasty, they taste like fresh peas or you can lightly steam or barbecue them.



Asparagus beginning to emerge from the soil, they grow fast, they will be ready to cut in just a few days, if they do not freeze.

Asparagus beginning to emerge from the soil

Asparagus

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