Asparagus: How To plant, Grow and Care For The Vegetable

Asparagus is a vegetable that is expensive to purchase in the grocer's or at the produce market but they can be quite easily grown in your own garden.

As long as the beds are prepared and the plants are cared for in the right way, you can have a great crop.

There are many types available for growing today but in the past only one type The Mary Washington variety was used for home growing.

When you select a gardening area for planting make sure it is in full sun and the soil drains well. Many people prepare raised beds to ensure the plant has the proper drainage.

The soil can be prepared by mixing in manure and after planting the crowns use mulch to keep away weeds and help to keep the soil moist.

When you are ready to plant the vegetable crowns, they should be placed in a bucket filled with fish emulsion or a liquid fertilizer of about a 20-20-20 which has been diluted.

Dig the holes big enough to be able to spread out the roots. You do not want them to be sticking up or folded in a hole that is not large enough.

Plant the vegetable deep enough so that the crown is at the level of the ground. When they are planted, they should have a light sprinkling of water and then cover them with mulch.

This should be about an inch and it can be placed over the crowns as well as areas where you will be walking to take care of the plant.

The vegetables will sprout in only about a week and you will have a whole bed of fronds. A full bed of the vegetable should be doing well by the time summer's end is near.

Caring for vegetable garden

By the time the first frost appears, the vegetable should be ready for you to cut off any of the fronds that have died. After you have done this, cover the plants with composted manure.

It can be put right over the area where you cut the fronds. This is basically the most of the work you will be doing when it comes to your beds.

When spring comes, light cutting of the spears will make the plant grow even better. This should only be done for about the first three weeks of the growing season.

Leave the other spears and they will mature and produce fronds for the vegetable.

When your vegetable has been growing for three seasons they can be harvested pretty heavily. The bigger spears should be cut and the smaller ones left to turn into fronds.

The plant will continue to grow for many years providing a delicious vegetable.

Today there are various types such as Jersey Giant and Jersey Knight. Purple Passion is another type that is used but it is a little more expensive than other varieties.

If you would rather your asparagus spears are purple and green this will be the type you want to grow.

Asparagus Vegetable Gardening Tips:

When planting the vegetable for every person who loves it in your family plant 25 crowns. The best planting is 12 inches apart and the rows can be as long as you would like. The rows should be about three feet apart.

Asparagus Food Enriched 17-16-28 formula treats up to 200 sq. ft.