Asparagus is a tasty vegetable which also has a lot of vitamin value. However, it is a seasonal crop, meaning it is available only for a few months of the year. It takes quite some time to grow and therefore requires a lot of patience. If you are not willing to be around for some time to tend asparagus, then it is not the right vegetable for you to grow in your home garden.
Your home garden needs to be relatively large to grow asparagus, and therefore it is not suitable for growing on a window sill garden. It does not do well in pots. It needs lot of sunlight to grow. Do not grow them too close together or they will not grow to a decent size. An asparagus plant can remain productive for quite some time and so it is a worthwhile investment.
You need to prepare your garden well before planting asparagus. Autumn is the best time to prepare the garden for the planting of asparagus. Remove all the weeds and dig thoroughly to give the plants space to grow. Put some fertilizer on the soil some weeks before planting. You may use farmyard manure or chemical manure depending on your preference.
Planting asparagus takes time as they need to be deeply placed in the ground. Make sure that your trenches are deep enough. They should be roughly 35cm wide by 25 cm deep to fit the asparagus crowns. Plant the crowns, making sure you spread the roots of the crowns so as to have a firm hold on the ground. As they grow, make sure your cover them with soil as the stems grow. The trenches should be filled by the end of autumn.
For a good crop, water the asparagus constantly and thoroughly to keep them from drying. This should be done more so in the dry months. Weed the plant often to keep them healthy. It takes around two years for asparagus to be ready for picking. Cut the spears 6cm from the soil and leave it in June for it to be able to grow in the next season.
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