How to Grow Asparagus

10.02.2024 - 17:59 / gardengatemagazine.com

How to Grow Asparagus Curious about how to grow asparagus? We'll break it down for you here! Growing asparagus

Asparagus is one of the first crops you can harvest in spring, and because it’s a long-lived perennial, you can count on those sweet, crisp spears every year for decades. By midsummer its tall feathery foliage adds beautiful texture to the garden before it sets seed and goes dormant after a hard frost. You’ll need time, patience and a few special techniques to get a good asparagus patch going. This guide can help.

Type Perennial
When to plant In early spring when soil temperatures reach 45 degrees F
How many to plant For fresh eating, 5 to 10 plants for an individual, 25 plants for a family of four
Light Full sun, can tolerate part shade
Soil Rich, well drained
When to harvest After the second or third year, when spears are 6 to 8 in. tall
Hardiness Cold hardy USDA zones 3 to 10

Although plants can tolerate part shade, asparagus grows more vigorously with 6 to 8 hours of full sun each day. Good soil drainage is another must, as roots rot easily in soggy soil. They are especially sensitive to soil compaction and root disturbance, so plant them in a raised bed or a spot where its tall foliage won’t shade out nearby sun-loving companions.

Plants are cold hardy in USDA zones 3 to 10, so gardeners in almost all parts of North America can grow asparagus. However, some varieties do better in different climates. Learn more in “The Right Variety for Your Zone” at below.

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In zones 3 to 5 choo