I have a spot in mind for growing something new, figured a perennial plant that I can eat would be a good idea. I settled on Asparagus and got two kinds, some green Jersey Giant Knight and Purple Passion. I dig trenches for the roots and widen out the rows a little. I then drop in the crown of the plants, I get them in clusters. With it facing up I add dirt and then mulch.
I dug the trenches roughly dug in February, I have a few 10 foot rows and a few 15 feet rows giving me close to 50 feet of Asparagus. I add about 25 crowns to this area and back fill with my hardwood chips. I would have to wait a few months for my crowns to arrive but at least the trenches are dug and ready for them to show up. I fill them in so no one gets tripped up on them.
My bunches arrived, they are Jersey Giant Knight and Purple Passion. I talk about how the positioning of the crown is crucial. And how deep they are planted is important as well. I go through the area and place the crowns in the grounds. Then checking my work and spacing any out I missed when I placed about 25 of them in the trenches.
Using hardwood mulch I have acquired from tree trimmers, I fill in the space using a mix of the dirt I upturned and the mulch I collected. We have red clay high in iron but the wood chips should help out alot as well. Ill add more mulch when the stalks come up, I want to give them as much cover as possible.
After planting it can take a few weeks before new growth shows up on the surface. Sometimes it may take up to a month. And I cant harvest them right away, need to let them grow a few years so the crowns below the soil get big and strong.
Digging those trenches was hard work, took me a better part of a day. Though I think the yields Ill get with the Asparagus being happy, with all the root room will be worth the effort I put into the ground and these crowns.
