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Plant Dimensions
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Height - Up to 30cm/ 36" - Spread allow +30cm/1ft
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Yield per plant |
Up to 25 spears once established |
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Time between planting and harvesting
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1 year old crowns - 2-3 years
2 year old crowns - 1-2 years
3 year old crowns - 1 year
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Planting time
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Late March - April - temperature +18C/64F
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Where to Sow
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In well prepared ground. Site must have good drainage and be
in a relatively sunny position. Dig the ground thoroughly in
the autumn, incorporating a good layer of manure or compost
then leave until the spring when ready to plant and fork
over to break up the clods.
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How to Plant
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Dig a hole about 20cm/8" deep and 30cm/12" sq. If planting
several plants, it will be easier to dig a trench.
Make the centre a little higher than the sides thus creating
a mound of earth then spread the roots on the crown out
evenly over the mound and immediately cover with about
5cm.2" of soil, leaving the rest of the hole/trench empty.
The shoots will start to appear very soon, at which point
you should start filling the hole gradually as the shoots
grow taller, until the soil is level with the surrounding
ground.
If growing in containers, only use very large containers -
at least 45cm/18" in diameter and 45cm/18" deep - and only
plant 1 crown in each container as above.
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Growing on - 1st year
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It is very important that you don't harvest any
spears in the first year. The spears must be left
to develop into bushy fern-like stems. Pick off any
berries and allow the ferns to die back and turn yellow,
then cut down to ground level in October. If you have
planted 1 year old crowns, then you should repeat this
process for another year (2 years in all).
This may seem a long time, however bear in mind a properly
prepared and well looked after asparagus plant will provide
asparagus for between 10 and 20 years.
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Growing on 2nd and subsequent years
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Before the spears start appearing, lightly rake in a
little general fertilizer such as Growmore in early spring.
Keep the area free from weeds - this is best done by hand to
avoid damaging any spears which have be underground. You can
also apply a layer of compost to the surface.
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Harvesting
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Patience! The first year you harvest, only pick a few spears
from each plant allowing the rest to mature into feathered
ferns to build up the plant's strength.
From the 2nd year of harvesting, you can pick as many as you
like - and in fact, they grow so quickly, you may have to
cut spears every day.
Cut the spears once they have reached about 12cm/5" high.
Use a sharp kitchen knife and cut the stems about 7.5cm/3"
below the soil level. Stop harvesting by mid June
to allow the ferns to develop as above in
order to re-build the plant's reserves for next year.
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