• Planting Asparagus - Tips for Growing Asparagus

     

  If you have a garden, you’ve probably already thought about planting asparagus. This article covers tips for growing asparagus at home.

  While you can grow asparagus from seed, the easiest way is to purchase asparagus crowns. A crown is the root system of a one-year-old asparagus plant that is grown from seed. Each crown can produce 1/2 lb. of spears per year when fully established. Buy one-year-old, disease-free crowns from a reputable crown grower and be sure to select all-male hybrid asparagus varieties such as Jersey Giant, Jersey Prince, and Jersey Knight. These varieties produce spears only on male plants. Female plants produce seeds and yield less spears. Asparagus crowns/roots can be ordered online or through mail order catalogs for Spring planting.

  After you purchase your asparagus crowns, your first step shouldl be to identify a spot where you will be planting your asparagus. You’ll need to find an out of the way, full sun spot where you feel comfortable leaving your plants for many years to come. Asparagus is a perenniel which means it will come back year after year. When happy, plants can live 15-20 years.

  Asparagus will grow in most any soil as long as it has good drainage. Plants prefer a soil pH of 6.5-7.5., and will not do well if the pH is less than 6.0. Have the soil tested to determine phosphorus and potassium needs; or add 20 lbs of a 10-20-10 or similar analysis fertilizer per 1,000 square feet, tilled into the soil before planting.

  Dig a five to six inch deep trench. Loosen the surrounding soil and remove any weeds. Apply about 1 lb. of 0-46-0 (triple superphosphate) or 2 lbs. of 0-20-0 (superphosphate) fertilizer per 50 feet of row in the bottom of the trench before planting. This will make phosphorus immediately available to the crowns.

  Place crowns root side down in the trench 18 inches apart. Cover with soil but do not pack the soil down.

  Restrain from picking any spears the first year. The spears that do come up will eventually fern out and provide food for the plant.

  Asparagus emerges in the spring. You can pick your asparagus spears after the first year of planting for a about three weeks. After the three week period, let the remaining spears fern out. Each year following, you can increase the harvest time by a couple of weeks.

  When the harvest is finished, snap all the spears off at ground level. Apply 1/2 lb. of ammonium nitrate fertilizer per 50 feet of row. Another flush of spears will emerge. Let these fern out to provide food for the plant for the following year. When the ferns turn brown, you can cut them back if necessary.

   

• When to Start Pea Seeds

  

  It’s officially Spring in the Northeast and that means garden time.

  The weather is currently hovering in the 40′s and 50′s; too cold for hot weather crops like tomatoes. However, you can get a jump start on your garden with one of my favorite cool weather crops – peas!

  If you didn’t plant your pea seeds last fall, you can plant them in your area in the spring as soon as the ground can be worked. Simply make a divot in the soil, place your pea seed in the hole, cover with a dusting of soil and lightly water. Make sure that the pea shoots have something to climb on like a fence, tee-pee or poles.

  For a larger harvest, sprinkle pea inoculant in the hole as well or rinse your seeds with a mixture of water and pea inoculant.

  As soon as the weather warms up, you’ll start to see pea shoots popping out of the ground. Don’t forget to start another batch of seeds in the late summer or early fall for a fall harvest.

  To get a jump start on next years peas, you can plant your pea seeds in the late fall in areas where there is a cool winter. The seeds will overwinter and come up at the right time the following spring.

• Garden Club Plant Sales

  

  April is nearly here and with the months of April and May come many local plant sales.

  Many towns have garden clubs and such clubs often hold a plant sale each year.

  Garden club plant sales are a way to get healthy, locally grown plants at a reasonable price.

  Check your local newspaper, horticultural society website, or do an online search for listings.

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