GrowingAsparagus

Growing asparagus is very artistically and very technically. But for those are really love to growing their own vegetables, growing asparagus is very fun and enjoyable same like growing other vegetables. Asparagus is planting from the same root system each year.

As we know asparagus is a perennial plant with erect, edible stems and tiny branches that bear even tinier flowers that become red berries that contain the black Asparagus seed. Formerly in the Liliaceae family, botanists have realized that Asparagus is in a class by itself and have repositioned its 120 species in the Asparagaceae genus. Asparagus is a high-end gourmet food item, but if you know how to grow asparagus, it becomes an inexpensive way to add a delicate flavor to your meals.

Knowing how to growing asparagus dates back 2500 years ago when it was first cultivated in Greece. In fact, asparagus is from the Greek word for stalk or shoot. Long before it was used as a food item, asparagus was lauded for its medicinal properties. There are many reasons to grow asparagus. Once an asparagus bed is established, asparagus is the first vegetable that is table ready in the springtime and will provide your family with a firm and fresh vegetable treat for up to 20 years, each crown in your bed producing up to ½ pound of spears per year. Although supermarkets stock both canned and frozen asparagus, neither compares to the unique flavor you get from freshly harvested and picked asparagus.

For thousands of years both the ancient Greeks and Romans, who attributed medical qualities such as preventing bee stings and alleviating toothaches to asparagus. Even the name asparagus comes from the Greek language and means to “sprout” or “shoot”.

Today we still cultivate growing asparagus for its wonderful taste in side dishes and the many vitamins that healthy dish comes with. The mostly i like the "real" taste of asparagus is having an asparagus soup...Its so yummy...You can ask your kids....

For everyone who like growing asparagus by their own hands, having the asparagus soup is a must. You can plant the seed into a peat pot indoors in early spring, and transplant the seedlings in June. If using crowns, the things to look for are plump, grayish-brown colored and healthy looking ones in March or April. Check the roots before planting and remove any rotten ones. Buy the crowns only from a reputable nursery since the seedlings are sickness prone in the first growing period and you might experience difficulty when bringing the crowns home.

As asparagus plants grow, they produce a mat of long, tubular roots that spreads horizontally rather than vertically. This one-year-old root system is called the asparagus crown. Although asparagus can be started from seed, it’s most often begun from transplanting crowns purchased from a reputable crown grower. Those who wish to learn how to grow Asparagus must have an abundance of patience, since it takes an asparagus bed three years to be established from crowns. The second year of growth, asparagus ferns emerge with a few spindly spears. At the third year, although your bed will produce thicker and more robust spears, they shouldn’t be harvested for more than one month to allow roots and crowns to become further established.

Do you know that the asparagus plants will grow very tall, and will block out the sun around them, so if you want to plant other vegetable that requires full sun, dont plant it right next to them. If you want to grow a field type bed of asparagus make 12 inch deep trenches about 15 inches wide and 4 feet between the trenches for the next row of asparagus. Then use some of the topsoil, mix it with some organic matter and put back about 3 inches of that mixture into the bottom of the trench. Then set the plants into the trench, about 15 inches apart, and fill in the soil so that the original roots are fully covered, plus cover an additional ½ inch of the crowns. Make sure you firmly pat the earth into shape around the plants, then water everything adequately. If you have trouble with drainage in your area you can make the trench even deeper (about 19 inches deep) and fill it back up to 12 inches with some sand to help with drainage.

Preparing an Asparagus bed is difficult work, but done right, maintaining it is quite simple. In many cases the only care required will be weeding. Asparagus is most often grown from young crowns, the thin storage roots attached to an underground stem called a rhizome. With care, however, it is possible to grow asparagus by sowing seeds directly into your garden or by raising transplants from seed.

The easiest way to start a new bed of asparagus is from crowns. Asparagus plantings will generally take three to four seasons to become fully established. Each year the roots will develop further and send up more spears than the year before. If you start from crowns it is probable you will be harvesting a small amount of spears in the second year. Starting with seeds or seedlings will require you have at least three seasons worth of patience before harvesting.

Asparagus roots are available at many garden centers and may not need to be ordered directly. However, carefully inspect any crowns before purchasing to be sure they are firm and not soft. Any torn or otherwise broken roots should be trimmed back to healthy tissue. You may refrigerate the crowns until you are ready to plant them.

The best time to plant your asparagus is early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. This is true regardless if you are planting from seed, seedlings or crowns. The new plants need to get growing before the hot, dry weather of summer sets in. If the days are warm and the nights are cool you will be rewarded with shoots within a couple weeks of planting.

Selecting the site for your asparagus bed is of the greatest importance. The fern-like plant will grow in excess of five feet tall so be careful to plant asparagus far enough away from other crops that it will not rob them of the sun they require.

Choose a sandy, well-drained spot in full sun for your asparagus bed. Asparagus does not do well in wet soil so if you have clay soil, choose a hilltop or hillside where water can easily drain off the top of your soil and away from your plantings. Don't be afraid to choose very sandy soil as your planting spot.

Growing asparagus does not require full sun although it is not harmed by it, either. It does best is sandy loam soil with a pH of about 6.5, but can manage alkaline conditions. In the West there are many who grow asparagus in soil with pH levels of 8 or more. Provide a fairly rich soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.

Take the time to work the soil for your bed a foot deep, adding plenty of organic matter along the way. You will want to apply about 4 pounds of 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet of bed. You may also consider adding bonemeal which provides an excellent source of phosphorus - needed for root growth. Asparagus roots grow wide so dig trenches at least 4 feet apart from one another. Set the crowns 18 inches apart in the row and cover with just 2 inches of soil. As the new shoots come up, gradually fill in the trench. Water generously when tops are developing.

Keep your asparagus beds very well weeded as the crowns are getting established. Periodically add more of the soil and compost mix around emerging shoots until the trench is filled. When the trench is filled completely add a four to six inch thick layer of mulch to keep weeds down throughout the season.

Asparagus should receive about an inch of water a week. Thats why its need the full sun around 7-8 hours daily. In the early fall remove the mulch and apply a balanced fertilizer at about 2 pounds per 100 square feet then replace the mulch. Cut down the dead ferns late in the fall and burn them so as to prevent harboring pests or diseases.

Keeping the asparagus bed free of weeds is perhaps the most important task you will face in maintaining your bed. Some gardeners like to apply salt between the plants as the asparagus can withstand the salt, however, this is not recommended as it can dry the asparagus and leach into other crops nearby.

Asparagus plants are quite hardy when well established and do not suffer from many diseases or insects. Although Asparagus Beetles and Japanese Beetles may damage some of your spears it is unlikely you will need pesticides to keep them in check.

Rust is a common disease among asparagus but there are rust resistant varieties of asparagus to choose from when first deciding what to plant. If you started your bed from crowns, you should be able to harvest for a week or two in the spring of the second year. The third year will give you 3 or 4 weeks of harvesting and about 6 weeks every year thereafter. If you live in the Gulf States or where the summer evenings remain above 70 degrees Farenheit you may want to wait an extra year before beginning a harvest. Select only spears that are thicker than a pencil. Anything smaller than that should be allowed to go to fern. Cut or snap off the spears at or just below ground level while they are shorter than about 8 inches tall. When new spears begin getting smaller it is time to end your harvest.

Begin harvesting spears that are finger-sized and about 8" long. You can either snap off the spears are cut them with a knife. Harvest for about 4 weeks the first year. In subsequent years you can harvest until the weather warms and the spears look spindly. Then allow the foliage to grow and feed the plants.
Suggested Varieties: ‘Mary Washington’ is the most commonly found variety. It was bred for rust resistance.
‘Jersey Giant’ is rust and fusarium wilt resistant and yields early.
‘Brock Imperial’ offers high yields.
‘Princeville’ does well in warmer climates.
‘Purple Passion’ is a sweet purple variety.
‘Purple Passion’ is a sweet purple variety.

Well...after we were sweating clearing all the rubbish of growing asparagus, now its the time to "have" it in real. Everything will valuable when we did it rightly with a small problem.

Growing asparagus will more enjoyable when we grow it with other vegetables. You can learn more practically with others by having this valuable information in this site -->> THE BEST GROWING VEGETABLE GUIDE