Ready for tender, delicious spears of asparagus in your own backyard? Then start clicking away on your keyboard to order crowns of Jersey Supreme male hybrid asparagus. It’s so easy to plant your own asparagus patch and nothing beats the taste of freshly picked spears of Jersey Supreme, which is known for its sweet flavor and high yields of medium-sized spears.
Jersey Supreme is cold tolerant and the spears, like others in the Jersey series, emerge a week earlier than some other varieties.
As for its history, asparagus is one of approximately 300 species of the lily family. It’s a native plant of coastal Europe and parts of Asia. It was cultivated by the Greeks and Romans more than 2,000 years ago and reached Europe in the 14th century. It’s an expensive crop in the grocery store and one of the reasons it commands such a high price is the short harvest season. It occupies its site permanently, but only ripens for a few weeks each year.
If you’re ready to create your own asparagus bed, you can do it anytime in spring, summer or fall. Since asparagus roots go deep, they like soil that is deep and rich in nutrients, along with good drainage. If your soil is heavy clay, it will need to be modified with compost, manure or peat moss before planting.
Keep in mind that the work involved in growing asparagus won't pay off for two years, and another year before good production is obtained. But once the asparagus begins to bear fruit, you can take comfort in the fact that the perennial will easily last for at least 20 years and up to 50 years, with minimal maintenance.
Put the patch in an area of your yard or garden that receives full sun. Don’t limit yourself to the vegetable bed - asparagus looks good and does well in a sunny strip in front of a fence or wall.
Planting asparagus crowns is easier now than it was in the past, when gardeners were told to excavate a deep trench, set roots in the bottom and gradually fill in around the spears as they grew. These days it is fine to create a planting hole for the roots just deep enough for the buds -- the beginnings of young spears -- to set below ground level. Deep planting used to be recommended because it protected the plants from plow blades and tillers, but this is not a concern if you mulch your plants instead.
Make sure to plant with the buds, which look like miniature white asparagus spears, pointing up.
The next year after planting, you’ll see spears emerge in May, looking similar to what you can find in the store. Don't touch them. Those roots need another year of energy to provide ample harvests down the road. Pick them now and you will greatly weaken the plant. They will form the fernlike stalks that last through the fall.
Though a light harvest can be made the second year after planting, it’s best to wait three years for a full harvest so the root system can thoroughly establish itself.
Another key to increasing the harvest is allowing two to three spears per group to grow unchecked. They'll develop into the fernlike stalks, reaching 4 to 5 feet in height. They will continue to send energy to the roots, ensuring a bountiful harvest the next year.
It is time to stop picking when the spears become pencil-thin. Keep the plot weeded, and in fall, mulch heavily with shredded leaves. You can pile it on 6 to 8 inches deep. Cut the fernlike stalks to ground level by December, then wait for new, thumb-thick spears to emerge in the spring.
If you have patience, asparagus is a rewarding crop for the home gardener. In addition to the succulent fresh spears, asparagus is an attractive plant, producing feathery fernlike sprays for a burst of bright green in your garden or yard.
