All about Asparagus

Lee Senior has some surprising facts about this delicious plant that you can grow in your veg patch

A sparagus is unquestionably a springtime delicacy. The succulent young, tasty spears harvested between April -June are simply packed with flavour. There are health benefits too. To have something so delicious and nutritious at this time of year, when main season crops are in short supply is a real boon. There is very little else that can be reliably harvested outdoors in April and May, during the so-called ‘hungry gap’. The really good news is that well-cared-for plants can crop for up to 20 years.

A surprising number of amateur vegetable gardeners are put off from growing asparagus due to the apparently testing conditions they require. This is a great pity as asparagus is actually relatively straightforward.

Although I grow it to eat, asparagus can be expensive to buy in the shops. Therefore longer term it is a very cost-effective crop to grow.

Asparagus can be grown from crowns or from seed or both. Each method has pros and cons. Plants can be male or female but males produce far better yields and a greater number of spears. Accordingly, many crowns are male F1 hybrids these days.

A LONG-TERM INVESTMENT

Asparagus is a permanent, perennial, long term crop. This is a good thing but on rented land such as an allotment, it does also need some consideration. Do consider your long term plans before embarking on the wonderful asparagus journey.

If your land is on a short term lease, rented on a temporary basis, or you indeed plan to move within the next few years, do think carefully. You are not going to see much in the way of crop yield for the first two-three years if you are starting from scratch.