Timing is Everything: Plant Asparagus in August
If there's one vegetable that rewards patience in planting, it's asparagus. Once established, you can harvest it for 20 years or more.
You either love it or you don't, and if you do, hurry up! Asparagus is available in stores for just 6 weeks! From mid-July to August. In some of the cooler regions, you can find them in September as well. They are planted as dormant crowns, allowing time to settle before spring growth begins. If you miss this window, you'll have to wait another year.
You'll Be Waiting a While, But She's Worth It!
You've rushed to meet your asparagus buying deadline, but guess what? You won't be harvesting for 4-5 years until you achieve a substantial crop. LOL. So, choose a permanent spot in the garden and get comfortable.
Plant Your Asparagus
This asparagus bed is permanent, so preparing it properly is crucial. Picture giving your friends a garden tour and being able to say, 'This is the asparagus bed'... that's vegetable maxing and quite fancy, right? Once it's established, you'll be enjoying delicious spears for a full 8-10 weeks!
Prepare The Bed:
Choose a full sun, permanent position.
Clear your area of clay and eliminate any weeds. Ensure the bed is at least 50cm deep, or approximately 2 spade lengths deep.
Amend your current soil by incorporating some bagged compost, garden lime, and a mild vegetable fertiliser like Tui Vegetable Food. Alternatively, apply a generous amount of Blood and Bone. Grab enough compost to raise the soil level in the bed by 15cm above the existing soil. This will ensure proper drainage and promote root development.
Plant The Crowns:
Plan the rows in your bed 60- 80 cm apart.
Make a trench in the soil that is 15 cm-wide trench and 10cm deep.
Your crowns might be slightly dehydrated due to the warm conditions in garden centres. To rehydrate them, soak in water for 30 minutes before planting.
Place the crowns 45 cm apart with roots spread out in star fashion.
Cover the crowns in 8cm of soil and water in well.
Asparagus Crown in Star Form. Image is Copyright
Harvesting Your Asparagus
Year One: In the first year, spears will emerge from the ground between August and December, depending on your location in NZ. It's normal to see only a few spears initially. Avoid harvesting them and allow the plant to grow into ferns.
Year Two: Harvest for 2 weeks, then let the plant turn into ferns.
Years Three, Four, and Five: Your harvesting periods will lengthen as the plant grows and matures.
Autumn/Winter: During autumn or winter, the ferns will turn completely yellow. Cut them back to ground level.
Purple asparagus in the garden. Image is Copyright
Asparagus Care
Summer: In summer, use a high-nitrogen fertiliser like Tui Novatec on your plants. It's a bit fancy, but it's very effective.
Watering: Remember to water your plants during the summer heat.
Mulch: For those in the South Island or cooler regions of NZ, keep your plants happy by applying pea straw before the first frost to maintain warmer soil temperatures.
Glossary:
Fertiliser: A substance added to soil or plants to provide essential nutrients that promote growth and enhance crop yield.
Crowns: An asparagus crown is the underground root system and bud base of an asparagus plan
Compost: A soil conditioner. A mixture of decayed plant matter, such as food scraps and yard waste, or animal waste, used to enrich soil and improve its structure, which is often purchased in bags or you can make your own. This is incorporated into your existing soil.
Pea Straw: Used for plants to retain moisture in the soil and is also excellent for strawberries, vegetables, and asparagus.
Soil: Often referred to as 'dirt' by some, it is a natural resource composed of minerals, organic matter, water, and air that supports plant life, which is found in the garden beds, or you can buy it in bags, which is called 'potting mix'. We never plant into straight 'topsoil ', which is for lawns.
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