Asparagus

This early spring treat is one of the few perennial vegetable crops, so once you get a patch established, it will give you many years of delicious harvests for very little work.

Grow it in well-drained soil with a neutral pH. (Add lime to the soil if it is acidic.) Asparagus is usually planted in trenches from two-year-old plants called crowns. You can also start it from seed, but it will take an extra year or two to reach harvestable size.

Light:

Sun

Zones:

4-9

Plant Type:

Vegetable

Plant Height:

7-10 inches tall (edible spears); 4-6 feet tall at maturity

Plant Width:

1-3 feet wide

Top Varieties

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'Jersey Giant' asparagus is the most widely grown variety. It is more disease-resistant and more productive than older varieties. Its green spears with purplish tips are all male so it wastes no energy on flowering and seed production.
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'UC 157' asparagus is a great choice for warm-winter regions. Developed in California, it's better suited to hot, dry conditions.
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'Purple Passion' asparagus bears purple spears that are sweeter than green ones, but the yield is less and spears turn green when cooked.
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