How to Grow Asparagus in the Sun

Since asparagus is a perennial, it requires a dedicated garden space to the north of the vegetable garden, where its tall fronds won't shade other plants. You can plant it in full sun or where it will get at least six hours of sun. You'll need to grow the plants for two years before you can harvest a meal from them in the third year. After they are established, each crown will provide a half pound of spears each spring for about 20 years.

Compost
Manure
Asparagus crowns
Spading fork
Vegetable fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Amend the soil in your chosen site with enough compost and manure to make up half the soil mixture. Mix the amended soil to a depth of 8 inches with a spading fork. Asparagus won't grow well without good drainage and plentiful nutrients.
- 2
  Buy 1-year-old asparagus crowns at a nursery in spring. Choose an all-male variety such as Jersey Giant, Jersey Knight or Jersey Prince, which give better yields. Plant when the soil temperature is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 3
  Dig a trench 6 inches deep with a flat bottom. Toss a handful of organic vegetable fertilizer into the trench every 18 inches, which is where the crowns will be set. Set the crowns and cover them with 2 inches of soil. As the crowns grow, add soil to keep them covered.
- 4
  Soak the plants weekly. Don't harvest any spears the first year. Let them grow and become ferny. Cut off the ferns in late fall to prevent rust disease from overwintering on the foliage. In spring, fertilize the bed with an organic vegetable fertilizer.
- 5
  Allow the plants to form ferns again the second year. You can harvest several spears from each crown, but let the rest go. In the third year, harvest as much as you wish over a period of four to six weeks. Fertilize each year in June.

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