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Long Term Planning
In these days of international trade, asparagus is unusual in that it is here for a brief period only. It is a luxury vegetable with a taste so sublime it defies description.
Growing Asparagus: For planting asparagus in the spring prepare the soil in the autumn by digging the plot over and adding a compost or well rotted manure (about thirty kilos per ten square metres) as well as a complete organic fertiliser (thirty to forty grammes per square metre). Make sure you remove all weeds because asparagus does not like competition, but never hoe around asparagus or they will not thrive. Asparagus prefers light sandy soil, so create its perfect environment by lightening the soil with non acid river sand which is available from garden centres.
· Once you have harvested the asparagus, cover the asparagus bed with manure as well as making sure you cut back the stems to ground level once they have turned yellow or brown in colour.
Choosing your asparagus: Plants that have either male or female flower are known as 'dioecious perennials', of which asparagus is one. Male plants produce the more vigorous shoots, but you can only tell whether asparagus is female is by their red berries in the summer. So to get either male or female plants you will have to trust your supplier. Asparagus roots must be fresh before planting, so do not buy plants with dry roots and if you cannot
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plant the roots immediately, cover them with a damp cloth or with damp sand.
Harvesting: Harvest asparagus in April or May, when the tips of the young green shoots are ten to fifteen centimetres long, cutting it off at an angle with a sharp knife
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| just below the level of the soil. It is best harvested in its second or third year, when the plants roots are well established. If you start harvesting the shoots too soon the plant will be weakened and it is possible that the following years crop will be affected.
Asparagus and Plaster: Asparagus loves sulphur and calcium, two of the basic chemical elements used to make plaster.
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So if you get the chance to obtain plaster from house restoration or some other source lay pieces of plaster on the top of your asparagus bed in the Autumn (two kilograms per square metre). The winter frost will break it down and incorporate it into the soil.
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