Asparagus is a magical vegetable of spring that is very expensive. This is an elegant yet simple vegetable that always adds a touch of class to any menu. Asparagus can be steamed with sauce, grilled with a balsamic marinade, baked in a little butter among other methods of cooking. This vegetable can also be taken at any meal meaning it can be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner. Asparagus is a perennial vegetable which will mean that you should be able to look forward to its early appearance each spring once you have planted it. There are several steps you should take in growing Asparagus and this will include:
Preparation
Preparing a bed and this is because it is imperative to leave the beautiful ferny foliage stand all summer and fall when it goes dormant. Asparagus will shade the plants that are next to it so it should be planted by itself.
Choosing your site will mainly depend on how many plants you want to put in and here you should note that each mature plant may send up to 20 spears. Starting with about 20 plants which are a foot from each other will be the best way to start.
Maintenance
You should remove all weeds once your plants start to get established and you can also enrich the plot with rotted leaves or manure. This process should go on until you plant in the next spring. Care of the Asparagus plant will mean that it will produce for decades and thereby giving you quantity as well as quality.
Asparagus is not grown from seeds but rather from crowns which are roots of the plant and which should be preferably one year old. You should get the ones that have 10 to 15 roots that do not show no green shoots and also look firm as well as fresh.
When ready to plant dig a trench of about 6 inches and set the crowns in it and they should be a foot away from each other. This should then be covered with about two inches of soil and throughout the first season the soil should be gradually worked into the trench. Keep adding soil throughout the first season until the trench becomes level.
The plant should be watered weekly if it does not rain. Make sure that you do not cut any of the shoots in the first year in order for you to allow the foliage to grow, yellow and die which will create food for the roots.
The foliage should then be cut at the end of winter and burned. In the second season it should be cut sparingly and here you can cut only those that are as big as your finger. You should continue watering and mulching with manure and compost.
Harvesting
The third year should find the stalks when they are about 6 inches high and just snap where they begin to be tender. Do not however use a knife as you may cut the immature spears. The harvesting window is normally from six to eight weeks where you should allow number of shoots from each plant to make it to full growth in order for them to be able to manufacture food for next year's harvest.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")