To Asparagus, Or Not To Asparagus?

Asparagus. Greek for "sprout" or "shoot". A good source of folate, vitamin K, iron, and fiber. Known for its unique, savory taste. The question, however, is this: does it have a spot in the MH HOPE Garden?

Let's examine it:

Asparagus is one of the first plants that we get to meet in springtime! It’s a perennial, which means that once it gets settled in, the tender spears will return year after year. Asparagus is usually grown from 1-year-old plants or “crowns” but it can also be grown from seed. We would want to plant in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked.

But that's the trick with asparagus, because the question comes with the decision of the two paths we can take, the seed route or the crown route. The seed route takes patience, about two to three years, to get the asparagus patch off the ground (pun not intended). But there are definitely benefits of the extra wait. Seed-grown plants avoid the stress of transplanting involved, like nursery-grown roots. And with regards to the 💲💲💲, a whole packet of seeds is the same price as one asparagus crown. Typically, seed-grown asparagus plants outproduce ones started from roots. Additionally, starting from seed would let us get rid of female asparagus plants and keep an all-male bed.

But wait a second! Why would you want an all-male bed? Shouldn't all plants have equal rights to live in the garden? Well, asparagus plants are monoecious, or each individual plant is male or female, and male plants yield more shoots that we could harvest. That's because male plants don't have to spend energy making more asparagus seeds. So if we are aiming for a high yield, then we are going to probably want an all-male batch.

Although Asparagus may not be as easy as some of the other plants in the garden, the challenges seem worth overcoming. For one thing, once we get the asparagus plant going, it can be productive for over 20 years! I guess then the scallions won't be the only "zombie plant"!

Thanks for reading and enjoy your week!!!