Imagine doing the work once and feeding yourself for the next 20 years. In this episode, I'm going to
show you how to grow asparagus the lazy way.
I’m Tony O’Neill and this is UK Here We Grow, on this channel we deal with all things
gardening, poultry keeping and beekeeping. If your looking to build that perfect garden to relax in,
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Asparagus is one of those vegetables that is really
expensive in the stores. And just buying a few spears can really hit your wallet. But
did you know that just for an hours work you could feed yourself for the next 20 years?
Be ensured to stay to the end of this video, because I am going to show you how to grow asparagus
the lazy way.
I am going to show you how. I'm going to give you all the hints and tricks in order for you to get
fantastic asparagus crops each year. It will save you money and time.
But before we go into all of that, the first things we need to do is purchase your asparagus
crowns. Now it's said that for a family of four that really
enjoy asparagus it is said around 50 plants. Now I'm not going to grow 50 plants here today
I am going to grow 30 and I can always expand if I need to.
Next, we need to think about where we would like our asparagus bed to be. Consider this
very carefully, because asparagus is a perennial plant and they are going to crop for the next
20 years. So you do not want to make a mistake with this. Ideally, You want a nice bright,
sunny but sheltered area. I'm tucking mine in right behind the greenhouses here because
it's sheltered on three sides.
Your soil should be considered too, It needs to be free draining you want to protect your
asparagus crowns from rotting off. Now if you have clay soil you may want to consider
digging in some sharp sand or horticultural sand which will help in drainage. And also
you may want to look at the fertility and add some manure.
So how do you plant asparagus? Well, it is not like planting most things, The first thing
we need to do to plant asparagus is we need to dig a nice trench. It needs to be around
12 -18 inches deep and at least two spades widths apart. By digging this nice big trench
it allows us to set the asparagus roots properly.
Now I have help today, and this is Liz Zorab from Byther Farm. And Liz has come over to
help me to plant the asparagus. To give me a hand for helping her in previous episodes.
If you haven't already get across to Liz's channel and take a look because she has a
fantastic channel. I will leave a link in the description below. Anyway, Once we have
our trench and it's nice and flat. The next thing we need to do is create a ridge, right
down the centre of that trench. Now, You can use soil or as I am doing here I am using
cow manure to create this trench.
Now, I ensured that when I planted my asparagus crowns they were at least three inches below
the soil's surface. But if you find that yours are just under the surface, or even sticking
through then you can ridge up your asparagus crowns like you would do potatoes.
The next thing we need to do is give this area a really good watering because that will
settle that soil around the asparagus roots.
Unlike Jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes, the asparagus plants don't spread so there
is no need to put containing sides in along the bed. They will quite happily sit here
providing you with crops year after year. It's very little maintenance for what you
get. And this is why I say its the lazy way to grow asparagus.
Looking after your asparagus is relatively straightforward, Just give them a watering
of around 2 inches every 2 weeks If there hasn't been adequate rainfall. And then after
the first 2 years, you can then drop that back to once a fortnight. They really are
that easy to look after.
Weeding asparagus plants is very straightforward. But because asparagus roots are shallow you
want to hand weed the area. Simply just pull the weeds out when they are small. Don't be
tempted to use a hoe even though that's a gardener's best friend, because you will very
likely damage those plants. Instead, just pull out the weeds as they are nice and small.
Now, It's relatively easy to pull them out when they are small like this but then you
only have to do this until June. Because after June the asparagus will put up its frongs
and will shade out most weeds from that point.
When to harvest? Well, in the first year you shouldn't harvest your asparagus at all. You
need to give these plants time to really establish themselves. In the second year you may take
up to 50% of the spears from each plant, but don't overdo this. And then in the third year,
you can have a full harvest right the way up until June. And at June you wanna stop
harvesting and allow the remaining spears to turn into frongs so that they can then
feed that plant for the following year.
Feeding your asparagus is relatively straightforward as well. You wanna wait until you finished
harvesting in June. Then get between 1 and 1.5 lbs per 100 square feet and place this
around the plants and water it in well. This will give the plants everything it needs for
the following year.
Well, there you have it. Now you know how to grow asparagus the lazy way. And this is
going to feed you for the next 20 years with perfect nutrient-dense asparagus spears.
If you found value in this video please share it with your friends and groups you belong
too. The question of the day. Have you grown or thought of growing asparagus before? If
you have, let me know in the comments section below.
If you have enjoyed this video or learned something then please consider giving it a
thumbs up and clicking the subscribe button over here. And once you have done that you
can continue the journey by clicking the next video here.
I'm Tony O'Neill This is UK Here We Grow, and remember folks Your Reap What You Sow.
I will see you in the next video
Bye, Bye.