I’ve done it! I l planted my first vegetable crop in our garden! There is still lots to do but these adorable asparagus crowns arrived last week in the post and needed planting. Lots has been happening in the garden and I will tell you about that in another post, but I’ll tell you this much – we have a fence so our Beagle will not be digging up any of my asparagus.
I’m planting three different colours of asparagus which I ordered in January alongside this years seeds. The varieties were ‘Backlim’ which can be grown as white if earthed up or green, ‘Connovers Colossal’ a green heritage variety from the 1800′s and ‘Purple Passion’ which apparently has larger more tender purple spears than the green varieties.
First mentioned by the Greeks and later cultivated by the Romans who apparently grew large blanched stems, Asparagus was a delicious treat back then as much as it is today. Most modern varieties are male, asparagus is Dioecious meaning male and female parts are present on different plants, thus putting all their energy into spear production and not the production of flowers.
My asparagus bed measures 130 cm x 300 cm which I prepared by giving it a good fork through removing as much of the roots left in the soil after our big garden tidy. I then marked out 3 rows 45 cm apart for my 3 different varieties. Next I dug the first trench roughly 30 cm deep and 20 cm wide, this also happens to be the height and width of an average spades spit. After that I built up a 10 cm ridge at the bottom of the trench for the asparagus crowns to sit on. I then gently placed them 30 cm apart gently spreading their roots out. Lastly I back filled the trench with soil and added a layer of about 5 cm to act as a mulch to protect from any late frost. I repeated this process for my other two rows of asparagus, watering them all once planting was completed.
Now I need to be very, very patient and wait for one to two years before I can enjoy a plate of Tri colored asparagus – I’m sure that will be delight!
