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Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
							P	P	P	P

(Best months for planting Asparagus in New Zealand - temperate regions)

P = Sow direct in garden where they are to grow.

August: frost tender

• Easy to grow.
• Harvest in 2-3 years. Plant 'crowns' to harvest earlier.
• 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

15 Jul 10 peter (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Seeing as asparagus takes so long to be ready to harvest, can any one give a guide as to how much room to devote to them? We need enough for two. Any ideas?

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22 May 10 Lizzy Battese (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

I would like to know where to get asparagus seeds or crowns.

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27 May 10 (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Lizzy, most garden shops will have crowns available around mid/late-winter as they are planted then. I know Kmart gets them in plastic bags about that time, together with strawberry plants.

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22 Apr 10 Chris (Australia - tropical climate)

bec, horse manure is notorious for containing lots of seeds which will sprout and grow if used in a garden. It's a great way to introduce weeds - I write from bitter experience! It needs to be thoroughly composted so the heat destroys the seeds before applying.

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10 Jul 10 (Australia - temperate climate)

You couldnt have said it any better....I too thought horse poop was a good thing until I seen how many weeds I was pulling out of my vegie patch.

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03 May 10 Selina (Australia - tropical climate)

Yes agree also. I had a similar terrible experience with horse manure myself and still paying for it. Is cow manure better? I've heard that you don't get the weeds because they have more than one stomach.

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06 Apr 10 bec (Australia - temperate climate)

Does anyone grow asparagus around Toowoomba QLD area, I'd like to know where I can buy crowns, I know they grow asparagus down around Warwick? Will horse manure work.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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