CROP INFORMATION:

Crop Name: Asparagus

Scientific Name: Asparagus officinalis

Family Name:  Asparagaceae

Cultivar Groups: (most common) Jersey Knight and Jersey King – Widely adapted, do well in warm climates.

Jersey Giant – Good for colder regions.

Warm season or cool season: Warm Season

 

PLANTING INFORMATION:

Space between plants/between rows: –Dig trenches 6 inches wide and 6 inches deeps

• Plants 12-18 inches apart
• Continue to fill in the trench as the asparagus grows leaving 3-4 winches of stem exposed

Fertility Requirements:

• tolerates acid soil
• tolerates droughty soil
• requires well-drained soil
• Prefers loose, deep soils high in organic matter. Prefers pH near 7.0, but tolerates a wide range. Add lime and fertilizer before establishment.

Watering Needs:

• Water during dry spells during the first year. Do not overwater as plants don’t tolerate water-logged soils.

Number of days from seed to transplant and/or seed to harvest:

• 8 weeks for it to mature from transplant to harvest

 

Planting Instructions:

• Propagate by seed, division or separation
• Purchase disease-free, 1-year-old crowns for planting.
• Divide plants in early spring, if desired. Asparagus can also be grown from seed, but requires an extra year to establish.
• Plant crowns 4 to 6 weeks before average last frost, 18 to 24 inches apart in trenches 8 inches deep. (5 inches deep for Jersey series cultivars.)
• Spread roots in bottom of trench and cover with 1 to 2 inches of soil. Gradually cover with more soil as the plants grow.
• Do not cut back ferns in fall until they die naturally.
• Germination temperature: 70 F to 77 F
• Days to emergence: 10 to 12
• Seed can be saved 3 years.

 

PEST/DISEASE INFORMATION:

Potential Pests:

• Asparagus beetles
• Cutworms
• Slugs
• Deer-resistant plant

Insect Pests Controls:

• Removing adults as they emerge from the soil and climb up stalks of the still small plants can prevent larger outbreaks later.
• Hand pick the adults and larvae from plants and drop them in a pail of soapy water. Wipe spears of eggs when you harvest.
• The best control is offered by a tiny wasp (Tetrastichus asparagi) that is not commercially available. The wasp lays its eggs on the larval stage of the asparagus beetle, destroying it from the inside out.
• For bad infestations, introduce beneficial nematodes to your patch. These microscopic soil organisms will destroy asparagus beetle pupae right in the ground.

Plant Pathogens:

 

• Fusarium sporotrichioides

• Fusarium poae

 

HARVEST & STORAGE INFORMATION:

Harvest:

• Once shoots strong enough for harvest, cut in spring when shoots are about 8 inches tall, snap off at soil line
• Do not harvest if spear has begun to open or develop foliage
• There can be multiple harvests a season
  • Young: harvest time can last a few weeks
  • Mature: harvest time can last up to 8 weeks
• Rue of thumb: harvest shoots until the diameter is the size of a pencil

Best Method to Cool Crop:

• Refrigerate in plastic bag for a week or more

Optimal Storage Temperature and Relative Humidity:

• Asparagus has a short shelf life. A temperature of 0–2°C with a relative humidity of 95–100% is well known as the ideal storage environment for asparagus spears.

Possible Storage Life:

• Properly stored, raw asparagus will usually keep well for about 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Common Post-Harvest Losses/Problems:

• Not storing at correct temperatures which result in poor storage life. Usually occurs when it is too warm for asparagus.

Average Yields:

• A well-tended planting yields a lot of asparagus, approximately 25 pounds per one 100-foot row. If you take your asparagus-growing larger scale, 1 acre can produce between 2 and 8 tons of salable asparagus per year.

Farm to YouNH Crop Data:

Year	Crop	Variety	Date Planted	Date Harvested	Days to Harvest	Total Yield (lbs)	Yield (lbs/sq. ft)
2017	Asparagus	N/A	N/A	5/8/2017	N/A	1.5	N/A