Grow green asparagus yourself: instructions

Anyone who wants to grow green asparagus must know that this cannot be compared to white asparagus. When harvesting, it is also important not to prick the green asparagus, but to cut off shoots. Green asparagus can be used in many ways in the kitchen and tastes great fried, steamed or even raw in a salad. The ideal cultivation and care of the tasty vegetables are explained in more detail below. Because the green asparagus can be sown by yourself or purchased as a seedling from an asparagus farm.

sowing

Green asparagus can be sown from spring in March or April. Depending on the climatic area, however, sowing should take place at this point in a protected greenhouse or in boxes with potting soil. This should be done according to the instructions:

• Seeds spaced 8 to 10 cm apart
• dig deep grooves in the ground
• Row spacing about 20 cm
• plant in the bed next spring
• Keep soil well moist
• Store boxes protected
• Summer under canopy and bright
• without direct sunlight
• cool in a basement in winter

Green asparagus that have been sown are not planted out directly in the first year, but only in the following spring.

Soil condition & location

If the garden bed for the green asparagus has been chosen according to the optimal location, then the vegetables can be grown here for up to 15 years. In contrast to its “white brother”, the green asparagus does not need to be piled up. It can be grown in any regular garden soil. The optimal soil and location are as follows:

• choose a sunny garden bed
• Soil loose, permeable, sandy
• humus, fresh and well aired
• worked up with compost in the previous year
• this is how the nutrients decompose beforehand

harvest time

The harvest time of green asparagus only begins in the fourth year after sowing, or the third year after planting and cultivating the young plants. At the end of April the first green asparagus is ripe, if you cover the bed with fleece in the spring, the harvest time can start two weeks earlier. When harvesting, the following should be observed:

• Green asparagus should be 20 to 30 cm long
• use a sharp, disinfected knife
• Cut off an inch or two below the ground
• leave long, thin stalks
• let them “shoot into the weed”
• strengthen the plants for the next harvest
• Green asparagus can be harvested for ten years or more

watering & fertilizing

If the green asparagus was sown in the greenhouse or in boxes, then care should be taken here that the soil always remains slightly moist. Extra fertilization is not required in the first year of sowing. After the young plants have been planted in the garden bed next year, they should be watered and fertilized as follows:

• Always keep the soil slightly moist
• Water well, especially during dry periods
• a layer of mulch keeps moisture in the soil
• releases nutrients into the soil at the same time
• composted autumn leaves or mature compost
• in the year of planting, fertilizer is only applied at planting
• do not continue fertilizing until the second year
• once in March and once in late June
• with organic vegetable fertilizer
• Renew mulch layer every year

Diseases & Pests

There are no known diseases in green asparagus. However, the asparagus beetle can get to him. This will be active from mid-May. The pest can be recognized by its red color and black spots. However, it is longer than a ladybug and there can therefore be no confusion. It is important to prevent a major infestation as the beetle can be very damaging to a crop. To do this, proceed as follows:

• Place a bowl under the asparagus spears
• tap the infested rod briefly
• Asparagus beetle plays dead
• falls into the bowl
• use neem oil against the larvae
• also helps against larvae of asparagus chickens

On the other hand, there are no known diseases in green asparagus.

plant

In spring, the green asparagus can be planted in the garden bed. For this purpose, the own plants sown in the previous spring are used. March and April are the ideal planting times. Otherwise the self-sown young plants will begin to sprout and should not be transplanted. If you don’t want to sow seeds yourself and want to save yourself a year’s waiting time, you can also get the green asparagus as a young plant on an asparagus farm. About eight to ten seedlings should be expected per asparagus eater. If there is still a risk of late frost, the young plants should not be placed in the bed just yet, but can be stored in a dark and cool room for about a week. When planting, proceed as follows:

• spread spider-like root system
• elongated oval buds should all point in one direction
• Dig a trench lengthwise in the bed
• 25 cm deep and 30 cm wide
• Fill the ditch with compost
• Put on root braids every 40 cm
• cover about two inches with soil
• additionally rake in organic vegetable fertilizer
• a handful of fertilizer for every two running meters

If several trenches are created in a bed, there should always be a distance of about 50 cm between two trenches. Since the green asparagus forms rhizomes, it will spread itself in the garden bed.

plant neighbors

Green asparagus can be planted well in mixed cultures. Especially plants that enrich the soil through their growth are well suited here. The following plants belong in the ideal mixed culture with green asparagus:

• bush beans
• onions
• carrots
• marigolds
• Salat
• Kohlrabi

hibernate

Green asparagus is a rhizomatous and perennial plant. In the winter she should be given a little shelter. Above all, however, protection is important in spring, when the first green heads appear, but night frosts can still occur. Winter protection, as well as protection in early spring, should therefore look like this:

• Remove yellow asparagus leaves in fall
  • can be cut and composted
  • Then cover the bed thinly
  • ideally with a mulch layer of autumn leaves
• cover with plant fleece in spring
  • this way you can harvest two weeks earlier
• Put the bucket or flower pot over the poles
  • protect them from night frost in spring