Asparagus may just be one of those things that it is impossible to have too much of - those tender, juicy, tasty shoots that emerge as one of the earliest vegetables of spring are pretty hard to beat. I know some people claim to not like asparagus, but I am always suspicious that is only because they've never tasted it. When one of my nephews was about six years old, Mom had prepared a huge batch of creamed asparagus for supper. My nephew adamantly insisted he was NOT going to eat any "sparegress". His dad told him this was not "a-spare-a-gus" but instead was "az-pa-raagus". He ate his first helping of "az-pa-raagus" and asked for more. Not only is it tasty, asparagus is highly nutritious, with an abundance of the B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium and iron.
In Tuesday's blog I talked about soil preparation for transplanted asparagus crowns. The same preparation to create a loose, well-drained soil is critical for new crowns. A soil that is light and well-ammended will warm up more quickly in the spring, bringing those wonderful shoots to the dinner table that much sooner.
The variety of asparagus planted makes a difference in the type of harvest obtained. Asparagus plants are male or female. The male plants don't have the responsibility of producing seed, so they put their energy into producing fatter, more abundant spears. The absence of seeds also assures they don't become pests when the birds spread the seeds to places where they aren't wanted.
The Jersey Knight and Jersey Giant varieties are all male or nearly all male plants. Jersey Supreme is also a primarily male variety that produces spears much earlier each spring than other varieties. The heirloom varieties, such as Martha Washington, Mary Washington, and Purple Passion, are varieties that have both male and female plants, but tend to be long-lasting good producers. Purple Passion will produce thicker, meatier spears than the other male / female varieties.
If planting all male varieties, it's recommended to plant six plants per family member. For male / female varieties, the recommended number is 12. I like to have enough asparagus to freeze or can for off-season use, so I plan to plant about three times that many.
Asparagus can be started either from seed or from divided crowns. Starting an asparagus patch from seed is only for people who are more patient than I - it takes three to four years of growth before harvesting any significant quantity of asparagus from a seed- started plant. Crowns can be purchased as either one or two year crowns and will produce within one to two years. Crowns should be firm with plump, succulent roots and free of any evidence of disease, such as mold.
Asparagus crowns are best planted in trenches about a foot wide and six to eight inches deep. To give the crowns a little bit of a boost, they can be soaked in compost tea for 20 minutes before planting, but this isn't required. Place the crowns in the trenches 1½ to 2 feet apart and top them with about three inches of soil. Every couple weeks, add another inch or two of soil, until the soil completely covers the crowns and is slightly mounded above surface level to allow for settling. It is important to plant the crowns deep enough so that as they naturally rise from root growth, the crown does not become exposed. Planting them deeper also helps anchor the asparagus plant so wind and rain doesn't affect its stability in the ground.
Keep the asparagus moist and weed-free. Asparagus should not be harvested in the first year after planting. If using two year crowns, small amounts of asparagus may be harvested in the second year after planting. Only spears that are the size of a lead pencil or larger should be harvested. Two year crowns should only be harvested one or two times the year after their first full growing season, and then left to grow for the rest of the summer. Generally, year three and on, asparagus can be harvested for the full season.
The harvest season for asparagus is eight weeks from the time of first harvest to last. Harvesting for longer than that can weaken the plant and decrease production the following year. The spears should be harvested by cutting about one inch below the ground with a sharp, serrated edge knife, or by holding the spear close to the ground and snapping the spear free of the crown. If using a knife, caution is required to avoid damaging the crown.
Asparagus spears should be harvested when they are about six to eight inches tall. Longer spears may be tough and stringy. In cooler temperatures, asparagus will usually be ready to harvest every other day. As the temperatures become warmer, harvesting will likely be a daily event - asparagus spears can grow up to six inches in one day.
At the end of the eight week harvest period, leave the spears to grow into fronds. These fronds will help nourish the root and get it ready for next year's harvest. When the fronds have dried off in the fall, remove the dead foliage and destroy it to prevent spreading diseases in the bed. I recommend top-dressing the bed with one to two inches of compost each fall to give the plants a boost up for next year's production.
But, in the meantime, enjoy that delicious asparagus.
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