How To Grow Asparagus At Home In India. Here’s how to cultivate asparagus that will keep you going all year.
You can learn how to grow asparagus at home if you prefer asparagus at mealtimes. These tasty stalks are one of the first green vegetables to come into season towards the end of the winter, and planting them in the spring is ideal.
Learning how to produce asparagus from seed is more difficult than learning how to grow tomatoes from seed. Furthermore, they can take several years to fully mature before being harvested. However, there is a simple technique to learn how to grow asparagus and harvest crowns in under a year. Asparagus plants, in fact, produce spears every spring for 12 to 25 years, ensuring an unending supply of organic fruit for your family. This could save you money in the long run, especially with the rising cost of groceries.
There are basically two ways to cultivate asparagus. Planting from seeds is possible, but it normally takes three years for them to reach harvestable size. Most people plant asparagus from one-year crowns for speedier results, as this offers you a head start on the roots stage. Furthermore, you can harvest your plants within a year using this strategy. Here’s how to grow asparagus the easy way if you want to produce asparagus for great dishes.
Table of Contents
What Is The Best Way To Grow Asparagus From Crowns?
- Prepare the soil bed – Start by removing any weeds, grass, or roots from beneath the soil. To enable ample area for your rows, the bed should be roughly 4 feet wide. Till the soil with a rake and rake in 10 to 15 inches of manure, compost, blood, or bone meal.
- Dig trenches – Next, dig planting trenches that are 6 to 12 inches deep and 12 inches broad. If you’re planting numerous rows at once, leave 2 to 3 feet between trenches.
- Fill trenches and build a ridge – To help feed future plants, fill the trenches with about three inches of garden compost. With the excavated soil you dug up previously, create a ridge in the centre. This dirt ridge will provide support for the roots while also allowing for proper drainage.
- Arrange your asparagus crown – Space your asparagus crowns about 18 inches apart along the ridge. Place each crown at the top of the ridge, roots draping over the ridge’s edges. When the crowns are all in place, gently cover them with three inches of soil before patting them down.
- Water thoroughly – Water the crowns thoroughly to settle the dirt. Furthermore, asparagus need at least 8 hours of sunlight per day, so keep the soil moist at all times.
- Fertilize – If you sow in the early spring, fertilise in March or right before they start producing shoots. When asparagus crowns reach a height of 6 inches, they are fully grown. After two complete growth seasons, asparagus is usually ready to pick.
TOP TIP: Don’t harvest the spears too soon after they’ve been planted. Allow the leaves to grow, as it will assist feed the plant and promote growth.
How To Plant Asparagus Seeds
- Start with single seeds in small pots or seed trays and sow them indoors. After that, place the pots in direct sunlight and maintain a temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a water spray bottle or a tiny watering bucket, mist the soil every day. This procedure should be completed at the start of the spring season.
- Keep sprouts at low temperatures – Once you notice sprouts sprouting through, you don’t need to keep them at a high temperature. Maintain a low temperature of around 70 degrees Fahrenheit to stimulate development.
- Set seedlings outside – When seedlings reach a height of about a foot, they are ready to be planted in a nursery bed of soil. For the seedling to continue growing, dig a hole 3-4 inches deep. Cover with soil and water thoroughly.
- Separate the male and female plants – Once the plants begin to develop flowers, you’ll need to weed out the female plants. Female plants have smaller flowers, whereas male plants have huge, lengthy blossoms. All female plants should be removed.
- After a year, transplant male flowers – Allow the male plants to finish their growth cycle and overwinter in the nursery bed. They are ready to be transferred to the permanent bed once they have fully developed as one-year crowns.
How Many Asparagus May Be Harvested From A Single Plant?
You should be able to cut 8-10 spears from each crown once the asparagus is fully ripe. To ensure a good harvest, plant as many crowns as possible at once.
