Planting vegetable asparagus (asparagus) in the garden
Among the variety of ornamental asparagus, there are edible plants, but for consumption it is better to grow vegetable asparagus, which is most often called asparagus. In contrast to edible ornamental plants, the latter has a more pleasant taste.
In order to grow asparagus on the site, you will have to make a little effort, because it belongs to perennials. But due to the extremely rapid growth, soon a rather large bush is formed from one sprout, taking up a lot of space, with long roots that intertwine with each other. Because of them, loosening and digging of plantings becomes impossible. All this must be taken into account by gardeners so that the culture does not interfere with the rest of the gardeners and give a good harvest.
The vegetable asparagus bush is able to grow and delight with delicious juicy shoots in one place for 20 years.
Where to Plant Vegetable Asparagus?
To plant asparagus, you need to choose a light, little-visited place, preferably not very close to the main plantings, so that the bush does not drown them out. Asparagus loves nutritious and loose soil, because long roots are difficult to grow in dense soil.
Humus should be added to poor soil for nutrition, and sand should be added to cold and moist soil to improve drainage properties.
The complete absence of weeds in the garden is also important, therefore, after digging, they should be carefully selected.
Asparagus can be planted both before winter and in April.
How to plant asparagus correctly?
Planting asparagus begins by digging a trench 26 cm deep and 31 cm wide in a prepared area. Then you need to:
- Pour a layer of garden compost up to 8 cm thick into the trench.
- Top up the compost with the dug soil so that the top of the ridge is at the level of the soil - it will support the roots and provide drainage.
- Spread the asparagus plants 45 cm apart. When planting in two rows, it is necessary to retreat at least 0.5 m between them.
- Spread out the roots and sprinkle each plant with earth.
- Spill a row abundantly.
When growing vegetable asparagus it is important not to harvest in the first year, but to give him the opportunity to grow a good crown, which will contribute to the nutrition of the plant and ensure better growth the next year. In the second year, you can collect half of the shoots when they grow up to a height of 15 cm (in April), leaving the other half to grow. From the third year, you can cut off all the shoots.
Each shoot must be cut separately at a depth of 2 cm underground.
At the beginning of June, it is better to stop harvesting so that the asparagus has the opportunity to grow the crown.