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(Best months for planting Asparagus in Australia - sub-tropical regions)

• Easy to grow.
• Harvest in 2-3 years
• Sow in garden, or plant as crowns. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 30°C.
• Space plants: 20-40cm

Seeds will take 2-3 years before maturing into crowns.Plant crowns (roots) 20-40cm apart and a few cm deep in well manured soil. The asparagus shoots grow in spring. Harvest the shoots which are bigger than 1-2cm in diameter. Leave the rest to grow into the leafy ferns (1.5m tall) which will feed the crowns to give a crop next year. In autumn the ferns will be covered in bright red poisonous berries. Leave the ferns to die down in autumn, then trim off the dead stalks and pile on plenty of rotted manure/compost to give the roots plenty of food to produce new stems in spring.

Harvest by cutting off the stalk, close to the ground. From the second or third year you can get an additional crop by letting the first lot of ferns grow, then bending down the stalks to break them. A second crop of shoots will grow.

NOTE: The asparagus berries are poisonous.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Asparagus

Steaming is traditional, then coating with melted butter or hollandaise sauce.
Alternatively break in short lengths,
cook quickly in hot oil a wok and sprinkle with soy sauce or balsamic vinegar.

Your comments and tips

23 Aug 09 Dave (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Just trying aspar. I use multi-later dig free gardens (Ester Dean Style). proposed Aspar. bed approx 2.4 x 1.8 x.6 deep Q?. How close can I plant crowns for maximum use of this bed? thanks Dave.

05 Sep 09 ~Tully~ (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

If we can grow asparagus in the middle of the NT desert (not an option in your drop-down menu!) anyone can, give it a go. Yum!

21 Oct 09 Lyn (Australia - temperate climate)

Planted asparagus crowns about 3 months ago, thought they were not going to grow at all. Over the past 2 weeks, we now have 3 spears the longest over 8inches high. It grows 1cm or so per day. Loving it, as have never grown this before. This is in the South Australia climate

08 Nov 09 Peter (Australia - tropical climate)

Has Michelle 09/09 received any tips?

15 Nov 09 patricia (Australia - tropical climate)

michelle - i hear from seeds it takes two years. Theres Maryann's hobby nursery in woodroffe that sells them from crown and says they go good. i hadnt heard of asparagus in darwin but will see how it goes.

16 Jan 10 meg (Australia - tropical climate)

neighbour in babinda grows asparagus. bunnings cairns had crowns recently. i am having a go .

27 Jan 10 Evelyn (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Our asparagus did not go so well after four years - we found out too late that we had mainly female plants which don't get very fat, nor had we really manured the soil enough I think so probably a bit nutrient deficient as well. I gave in and bought some asparagus plants from Diggers this year - a variety called Fat Bastard (sorry but that is its name). Has anyone tried this variety and how did you find it?

30 Jan 10 warren (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Evelyn I haven't tried the fat bastard variety but I have Mary Washington in at present. Grew these plants from seed and it has taken 5 years for my first really good crop although I could have picked after 3 years I didn't and the wait has been worthwhile.. The secret is to use plenty of manure- I have found sheep and cow manure is great and I dig in a few bags in early winter so it rots down well before spring. Also plenty of water in summer so the crowns don't get dry.

31 Jan 10 Evelyn (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Thanks warren. I still have the old Mary Washingtons so may replant them into some really good compost and keep the manure up. Interesting that it took four years - may have to wait and see how they go with some TLC.

28 Feb 10 Teresa (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

We planted our asparagus crown in an old tyre will this make a difference to how it grows?