Ok, now, I admit it: I didn’t think this through properly, growing asparagus. Only after I’d ordered it and it had arrived did I seriously think this idea through. Having researched what the heck I needed to do with it, I finally realised there was much work involved.
I looked in several books, and online, to see if there was a quick and easy shortcut to all the watering, digging, soil preparation and planting malarkey that was apparently needed; it appears that there isn’t!
Firstly, the soil preparation seems to be one of the most important factors. You need to dig trenches that are at least 15cm deep, then excavate the sides so there’s a raised ridge down the middle: this is to keep the main root and sprouting thing on top, or something!
Then you have make sure it’s well manured and fertilised.
Whilst doing all this, the crowns should be in a bucket of water so they don’t dry out.
Spread the roots out and ensure the sprouting thing is on top.
Finally, push the soil back around each crown so the shoot is still visible. As it grows, pile the soil up around it ‘til it’s eventually level again.
The best thing to do before you go about this is to watch the BBC’s Gardener’s World video!
And the phaff has not finished yet: after all this hard work, you can’t even pick the asparagus for another year at least. In fact, it’s recommended that you leave it this year, and next, and only begin to pick for a very short season in Year 3! Oh well, I just hope all the hard work was worth it! Guess I won’t find out until 2012 – I’ll let you know then!
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