Asparagus is a great plant to grow in your garden. Not only is it fairly easy to grow, it’s a perennial, which means, once you get it established, you’ll be eating asparagus for years to come since well-established plants can produce for up to 15 years.

Growing asparagus from seed is a little tricky which is why most of us plant what is known as an asparagus crown. Crowns are the root portion of the plant and are in a dormant state when purchased. Asparagus can be planted in the late fall, winter, or early spring so now is a good time to get started.

When selecting varieties to plant, OSU suggests Jersey Knight, Mary Washington, and U.C.157 as varieties that should work well in our area.

When deciding where to plant, keep in mind that asparagus doesn’t transplant well. Once they get established, it’s difficult to dig them up without breaking apart the crown.

To plant asparagus, you should dig a hole about 6 inches deep and place the asparagus crown at the bottom of the hole covering the crown with about 3 inches of soil. Then you can fill in the hole about a year later. Remember, establishing your asparagus plant is more of a process than something you plant and then wait for a harvest.

This process continues during the first few years. One thing that is hard for gardeners is that you shouldn’t plan on harvesting any of your asparagus during the first year. This is a growth year, and you want your plant to concentrate its energy on getting settled into its new surroundings rather than producing stalks for you to eat.

One thing that people who are new to growing asparagus will learn is that the stalks that we don’t eat grow to produce what are called ferns and these ferns will grow to about 3 to 4 feet tall during the first year. Healthy ferns are a sign of a good crop the following year.

In the second year after planting, you can harvest asparagus spears for about 2 to 3 weeks. You can plan on harvesting for about 4 to 6 weeks during the third year and after that you can harvest spears for about 8 to 12 weeks. When this period of time has passed, stop harvesting and let the ferns grow so they can store up energy for next year’s crop.

When you harvest your asparagus, store them in the refrigerator. If you leave the harvested asparagus out at room temperature, they can get tough and lose nutrients.

If you have never grown asparagus, you will be amazed at how fast they grow; two inches a day in some cases. It’s almost like you can watch them grow. Good luck!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Gerald Holmes, Strawberry Center, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Bugwood.org