Do you love asparagus, but don’t like having to pay exorbitant amounts, even when it’s in season? Why not grow your own? Any green thumb can make an attempt to grow asparagus in their backyard, and be rewarded for their efforts. However, asparagus is not a quick and easy plant. Growing asparagus takes patience because the simple act of planting the plant in March will not give you asparagus in August.
It Takes Effort
When planting asparagus, you can’t just stick the seeds in soil and hope for the best. Asparagus can be slightly finicky, so you need to prepare their new beds with some effort. The soil where they will be needs to be tilled, and it should be at least a foot wide by half a foot deep, no matter how long the trench is going to be. Be careful of where you’re going to place it, because asparagus grows into a huge hedge that should be kept clear of other vegetables. You’ll have to be careful with fertilizer, because it’s easy to over fertilize them and burn the roots.
It Takes Time
You’re going to be waiting a long time for asparagus. If you’re planting from seed, you’re looking at a few months before you even see a small plant emerge. Even if you’re planting from an actual plant with roots, you’ll still need to go carefully through the summer, putting more and more dirt on the roots until the trench is filled back up. That goes all summer long, since you can really only add up to two inches of dirt at a time, so as not to bury the roots too deep for the plant.
Asparagus won’t be harvestable for an entire three years.
It Takes Dedication
Again, you’re not going to see a return on your investment for three years. Not only will you have to wait for your harvest, you’ll have to plan where your new hedge is going to be, since asparagus grows thick and tall. It’s not for someone who is renting a home and planning to leave it anytime soon, unless you don’t mind leaving the plants behind. Asparagus does take time to grow, but once your plants are established, they’ll give you amazing spears for the next 30-40 years. So if you give real dedication to your asparagus, and put in the effort and time, not only will you get great asparagus spears when the plant finally grows up, you’ll have an amazing hedge to boast about for years to come.
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