PLANTING ASPARAGUS

I’m getting ready to plant asparagus, so I have been doing research on the internet. I’ve questioned my mother about the asparagus bed at the house where I grew up, as well as collecting and comparing notes with local farmers that come into my offices for Crop Production Services in Amenia, NY.

This is what an asparagus crown looks like as its first set into the ground.I will be planting organic crowns purchased from Seeds of Change, Certified Organic Catalog. I’ve discovered that preparing a deep bed with good mulch that will be well-drained is paramount for establishing a healthy, long term asparagus bed, so I’m going to put in the labor up front to make sure the bed will be well established. My mother said when she dug down into the asparagus bed by great grandparents had planted it had been lined with bricks to help keep weeds out of the bed. I imagine that it would also warm the roots up earlier in the spring, so I’m scouting around now looking for old bricks or flat rocks to line the bed with.

It takes about 3 years to really establish the bed and be able to really harvest the fruits of your labor. I also found the New England Farmer really interesting. A little bit of time now and I’ll soon have my own fresh spring asparagus.