Don't wait to plant asparagus
Asparagus grown in a sunny, raised bed usually begins to produce by April 15. Enjoy!
Question: Is this a good time to plant asparagus? Is it true you cannot harvest it for two to three years?
Answer: Early March is usually the recommended planting time, but since we've had a cool spring, early April will still be fine.
One-year-old crowns or plants are preferred to seeds for starting asparagus. The crowns are actually a combination of rhizomes, fleshy roots and fibrous roots. The fleshy roots, which may spread laterally under the soil several feet from the rhizomes, store food reserves that help develop the tender shoots the next spring.
Asparagus is a perennial vegetable that, once established, may live for 15 to 30 years. Locate asparagus to one side of the garden in a sunny location, where it will not be disturbed. It is one of the easiest to grow, and one of the most sought after and valuable early vegetables. It is also well adapted to freezer storage if you get more than you can eat fresh. (This seldom happens in my household!)
Plant asparagus crowns in a trench 12 to 15 inches wide and 6 to 8 inches deep. Incorporate rotted manure, compost or peat moss, plus fertilizer, into the soil before setting the crowns, because little organic matter can be added later.
Set plants 15 to 18 inches apart inside trenches or rows which are 30 inches apart. Place the crown on a small amount of loose soil in the trench, allowing it to be slightly higher than the roots. Spread the roots out and cover the crown with 2 to 3 inches of soil, firmed down well. As plants begin to grow, continue to put soil around and over the crowns until the trench is filled.
Asparagus shoots or spears that come up this year should not be harvested. Just let them grow up tall and become ferns. Limit harvests in 2016 to three to four weeks, and then let the ferns grow. This procedure is necessary so that the root system will develop from its limited size and will store food reserves to produce growth the following year.
Plants harvested too heavily too early after setting may become weakened and spindly. Never harvest spears less than pencil-diameter size. During the third year (2017), harvests can be continued for eight to ten weeks. Continue doing this each year for the next 15-30 years, until the plants no longer yield adequate harvests and must be replanted.
Harvest spears daily when they are 5 to 7 inches tall. Break them off at the soil level instead of cutting below the soil surface. Cutting can easily injure the crown buds which produce the next spears. Harvest in early morning and use or refrigerate immediately to maintain crispness.
Each year in the early spring, fertilize asparagus with 1 pound of 5-10-10 per 100 square feet, or according to soil test recommendations. Sometime during the winter or very early spring, be sure to remove all the old, dead stems from the previous season at ground level. This will help avoid any disease problems. Asparagus grown in a sunny, raised bed usually begins to produce by April 15. Enjoy!
For more information on growing vegetables, plus updates on upcoming Extension classes, and to win free vegetable seeds for your spring garden, go to www.facebook.com/BooneHortNews or www.twitter.com/BooneHortNews .
• Cherries, Peaches & Plums, Oh My! All About the Genus Prunus: 1-2 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, Boone County Arboretum, 9190 Camp Ernst Road, Union, Shelter No. 1. Register at http://bit.lyBCAregistration.
• Best Trees for NKY Landscapes: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, Boone County Extension Office. Free, but call 859-586-6101 to register, or enroll online at boone.ca.uky.edu.
• Plants for Year-Round Color: 9:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 16, Boone County Extension Office. Free, but call 859-586-6101 to register, or enroll online at boone.ca.uky.edu.
Mike Klahr is Boone County extension agent for horticulture.