How to Plant and Grow Asparagus
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Learn how to grow asparagus in the home garden. Everything you need to know from planting to harvesting (plus a couple of easy recipes)!
Lady Lee’s Note…
Asparagus is a perennial. Once you plant it, it will grow in the same location for 15-20 years. The young spears that come out of the ground are the only edible part, you must avoid the little red berries that appear on the foliage later in the season, as those are poisonous to humans (we will talk more about harvesting later).
In the spring of 2014, I planted a 30-foot bed of asparagus and with little to no maintenance it has been producing beautiful asparagus ever since. For a gardener, there can never be anything better than a vegetable you plant once, barely spend any time caring for during the season, and yet it produces for years!
Should I Plant Asparagus Seeds or Crowns?
Seeds – You can start with seeds if you want, plant them in a container, and transfer them to the garden once they are a few inches tall. It’s no different than starting other transplants like tomatoes or cabbage. Seeds are much cheaper than crowns, however, you are going to need to wait an extra year until you can harvest from your asparagus plants.
Crowns – I bought my Jersey Supreme crowns from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. They are delivered in a box, wrapped in white paper. When you get your crowns they are already a year old, saving you the year you would have to wait if you started from seed. It’s better to plant them right away, but if for some reason you aren’t able to do that, you should wrap them in a newspaper and store them in the refrigerator. I recommend starting with crowns.
Where to Plant Asparagus…
- Permanent location – since asparagus is a perennial that will be producing for years, make sure you choose a location that won’t be in the way of other things. Don’t plant it where you plan to build a shed or a playground for the kids…
- Sun – make sure your asparagus bed is in full sun (8 hours), and in a well-drained location. Asparagus will not survive in wet beds.
- Soil – It’s best to send a soil test to the lab (which can be done through your cooperative extension) in the fall before planting to make sure your soil is not acidic. The best soil pH is 7.0, if your soil’s pH is lower than that make sure to add lime to raise the pH.
Also, before planting add lots of compost, aged manure, and fertilizer, and work it well to a depth of 8”.
How to Plant Asparagus Crowns…
Step one – once your soil is ready, dig a furrow 5”-8” deep. This depth is critical. If you plant the crowns too shallow, they will produce a large number of small spears, if you plant them too deep, the yield will be very low. This is not a mistake you can fix later, so make sure to grab your child’s ruler before you go out to the garden to plant so you can measure the depth of the furrow.
Step two – separate the crowns. They will be a bit tangled with each other so do it carefully so you don’t damage the roots. Spread the roots apart and place the crowns in the furrow with the bud upright. Space the buds of the crowns 8”-14” apart. If you plant more than one row, make sure to space the rows 3′-6′ apart.
At planting, cover the crowns with only 2”-3” of soil and water well. As your asparagus starts to grow and shoots appear, gradually back-fill the furrow around the shoots (don’t cover them). Do this 3 or 4 times during the first year until the furrow is completely filled.
Does Asparagus Spread?
A common question that people ask is if asparagus spreads. When I did my research for this post and before I planted my asparagus I found places online that instruct to space plants 4′ to 5′ apart because they will spread… I’m not sure why.
I decided to follow Johnny’s spacing guidelines and in my five years of growing asparagus, I can report that the bed does fill (asparagus spears will shoot up along the row), but asparagus does not spread much and a spacing of 8” or so between crowns at planting is just fine.
Caring for Your Asparagus…
Watering – like most other veggies, asparagus needs about an inch of water every week.
Weeding – keep your asparagus bed free of weeds so they don’t compete with the young plants. The best way to do that and also help keep the soil moist (so you’ll need to water a bit less), is to cover the bed with straw mulch or leaf mulch. A layer of about 6” is great.
Feeding – asparagus is considered a heavy feeder. I’ve heard of people who grow asparagus in hay and straw and never compost or fertilize because the mulch is gradually breaking down and feeding the plants.
Monitor your plants and if they look like they need a boost you can fertilize the bed. I love to use worm casting. Don’t disturb the soil, just spread the compost above the soil, maybe mix it in the top 2”, and cover the bed with straw again. Fish emulsion is another good organic fertilizer choice.
Pests – In my years of growing asparagus, I didn’t have any issues with pests. There is a beetle that is called the asparagus beetle and it can be an issue. The beetle feeds on the spears and overwinters in the bed.
If you can’t get rid of the beetle by picking it by hand or using neem oil or diatomaceous earth, you can try using pyrethrin or spinosad which I think are both considered organic pesticides (I do not have any experience with those so make sure to check a little further). You can learn more about the asparagus beetle here.
Trimming – every fall, trim your asparagus to ground level. Make sure to remove crop debris because this is where the asparagus beetle overwinters.
When to Harvest Asparagus…
- First year – in the spring, you can harvest from your bed for 7-10 days.
- Second year – in the spring, you can harvest from your bed for 2-3 weeks.
- Third year and on – in the spring, you can harvest from your bed for 6 weeks.
How to Harvest Asparagus…
Use a sharp knife and cut the spears just under soil level. You should harvest all spears even thin or damaged ones to keep your plant healthy. Those damaged spears, if left in the ground and allowed to fern can cause a delay in spear production and serve as a host site for pests.
Remember to avoid the little red berries that will appear on the plant later in the season and make sure you educate your children about those. They are poisonous to humans and shouldn’t be picked.
Every year, harvest as much as you can according to the instructions above, and then for the rest of the season, let the plant grow and fren; don’t harvest at all. In the fall, cut the plant back to ground level, it will go to sleep for the winter and will start growing again in the spring.
How to Store Fresh Asparagus…
- In the fridge – do not wash the asparagus. Place it in a plastic bag and place it in the fridge. It should last 2-3 weeks.
- In the freezer – asparagus freezes very well if you take the time to blanch it. Follow this freezing cauliflower tutorial. It’s the exact same process. Frozen asparagus should last in the freezer for a year or even longer!
How to Use Asparagus…
A couple of things to know…
- Cook – asparagus is not great fresh. I’m sure there are some people who eat it fresh, however, in most cases, it tastes better cooked in some way. You can add it to casseroles or vegetable soups.
- Snap – before using asparagus, you want to get rid of the woody lower part. To do that, place your fingers on the lower part of the spear and bend it. It will snap right where it should as you can see in the image above. Get rid of the lower, woody part and use only the top part.
- Pee – eating asparagus will make your pee smell a bit different and funny! Don’t freak out… It’s completely normal. It’s known as asparagus pee and it happens because the sulfurous amino acids in the asparagus break down into smelly chemical compounds that are airborne.
Asparagus can be added to so many dishes but it can also be sauted or roasted as a side dish which are my favorite ways of using it. Here is how I do it…
Sauted – after getting rid of the woody lower part, cut the asparagus into smaller pieces. Chop other veggies if you’d like to. I added mushrooms here.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil or butter in a pan and add the asparagus and mushrooms. Season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, or any other seasonings and saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
Roast – set the spears in one layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle some olive oil and toss to coat. Set the asparagus in one layer and sprinkle with salt, paper, and garlic powder.
Bake in a 415F oven for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes before serving. You can take these a bit further by adding parmesan cheese on top just as I do with roasted garlic scapes. It is delicious!
I love planting perennials in my garden! Plants like asparagus and rhubarb or herbs like oregano and thyme. For a little bit of effort, the harvest is so great. In my garden book, asparagus is a must. I hope that this tutorial was helpful!
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge on asparagus. As a visual learner, your pictures are helpful. I’m fairly new to central east coast NC and gardening. My question is: could asparagus grow in a large 22 inch container?
Thank you again for boosting my confidence in my asparagus growing experience
Yes, should be fine in a container as long as you can plant it deep enough.
Instead of trashing the first inch or so of your asperagras take a GOD SHARP potato peeler and peel the outer part till you hit the whiteish inner part then trim off maybe a 1/4 inch of the bottom maybe 1/2 of older stalks’.
Why waste good stuff that you wait so long to harvest !!!!
what other fertilizer can be used for asparagus? don’t have access to worm castings thanks
I also use fish emulsion and Espoma organic fertilizer for vegetable gardens. If you are covering your bed with a good layer of straw mulch, the straw will decompose and become compost. It’s often enough for the plants!
I did not know that the berries were poisonous, they sure are pretty! Slugs can also be a problem and they behave like a cut worm. As the spears move in the wind they push the soil back and the slugs hide-out down there during the day. I sprinkle DE over the soil to discourage them. Love your recipes! Going to try the mushroom/asparagus one tonight. It’s still a bit too early to harvest from the garden but the grocery had some. Cheers!
Awesome article! And the pictures are really helpful too!
Thank you for taking the time to tell me this is helpful! I appreciate it.
Excellent post, thank you! I haven’t grown asparagus yet, but I can’t wait to when we move!