Growing Asparagus

Aspargus officianalis : Asparagaceae / the asparagus family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
              P P P P  

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

  • P = Plant crowns
  • Easy to grow. Plant as crowns. Best planted at soil temperatures between 61°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 8 - 16 inches apart
  • Harvest in 2-3 years. Plant 'crowns' to harvest earlier .
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Parsley, Basil, Nasturtiums, Lettuce
  • Avoid growing close to: Garlic, Onions, and root vegetables

Your comments and tips

19 Oct 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Lucky you!!! To an area about 1 & 1/2-2' around all the plants and between the plants give it a good watering. Next day pull all the weeds out. If you can, buy some horse or cow manure or compost and place about 3" thick over the top of it all. If the weeds are a real problem over the summer I would suggest during next winter when the asparagus ferns all die down, transplant the crowns into a nice prepared garden bed - then about August Sept each year put a 4-6" layer of aged manure or compost on them.
05 Oct 17, Jacquie (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, My partner and I have purchased a property in the Adelaide Hills and are keen to find out more about growing asparagus - not sure where to buy seeds etc can somebody point us in the right direction ? Thanks Jacquie
09 Oct 17, Mike (Australia - tropical climate)
Try Bunnings or some nurseries or look on the internet. Buy some crowns (9-12 mths old). Can start from seeds - will take a year longer though and it requires a lot of attention. I had up to 30 seedlings last year and only 6 survived.
08 Oct 17, Darren (Australia - temperate climate)
Planting asparagus from seed will take a lot longer before you get a crop, three years. Go to your local nursery and ask for asparagus crowns, which can then be planted out. This can still take up to 2 years to be productive.
17 Aug 17, Ian D (Australia - temperate climate)
I have transplanted asparagus crowns that were well established approx 3 weeks ago. They are now sending up spears and we had our first feed from the new crop last night. Should I be letting the spears grow out instead?
18 Aug 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Should be able to eat them.
05 Aug 17, Jo Logan (New Zealand - temperate climate)
On asparagus - I've just purchased one year old crowns (7 in total). What kind of crop could I expect next year? How many spears does each crown produce?
08 Aug 17, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have read so many different things about what to expect. I planted 12 mth old crowns and last year I picked for about 4-5 weeks from 3 plants - I feel I could have picked them for 3 mths. I had massive ferns early this year. I picked about 70-80 spears last year in the 4-5 weeks. You probably have colder weather.
28 Jul 17, Tony (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi mike as I explained on my last post about transplanting crowns into a new bed, at this stage the once I transplanted are still dormant which I expected it will take I think for next year to get a some spears.The other crowns that we have in the same bed are sprouting through and looking good .By the way I thought asparagus shoot through in spring .Anyway I put lots of horse manure on all of them however I think cow is better .What do you Think? Tony
31 Jul 17, (Australia - tropical climate)
The transplanted ones will depend on how they were treated last year - whether they were left to build up energy reserves for this year. If you had plenty of spears grow into ferns then they should produce this year. Probably also depends how old the old crowns are. Last year while I was growing mine from 12 mth crowns to 24 mths I use to put about half a cup of fert in 9 L of water and feed them each month - only had 3 crowns. I also put manure/compost on in august. I have crowns that are coming up to 3 years old - that is from when seeds were planted - they have been shooting spears for a few weeks now - I have cut them back and manured and watered them. My seedlings which will be 12 mths old in Sept - I have not cut them back yet or put manure on them yet - will probably do that in about two weeks time. I have not watered them for the last month - they are not growing at the moment. As for manure - chicken is the richest in N followed by cow and then horse manure. I read the other day horse is about 1.75% N. Whatever manure you can get and add some fert if you like. We have had only one week of cool weather so far this winter - that is night temps down to 6-8 degrees.
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