Grow Like a Pro no. 3: How to grow succulent asparagus & cultivate your patience

ABOUT this time last year, I took the plunge and included Asparagus officinalis `Sweet Purple’ on the list of edibles I planned to grow from seed. Excited by the prospect of harvesting my own nutty flavoured, deep burgundy spears for the next couple of decades, I have to admit I was daunted by the patience required to see these perennial vegetables through their infant years.

You see planting an asparagus patch is the gardening equivalent of becoming a parent. It’s a real commitment that requires foresight and a watchful eye. As a perennial, this graceful ferny plant needs permanent lodgings for a potential lifespan of several decades, so prepare your soil and choose your spot wisely. If container gardening is your only option, pick a nice deep trough positioned in full sun, adding a rich, well-draining but moisture retentive soil. Mixing through a product such as 5 in 1 will increase organic matter in the soil, helping it to feed your plants as well as hold moisture but still be free draining. Visit us at Four Seasons Nursery for all you manure needs.

As a gardener, the real test of your love of asparagus comes with the appearance of your first succulent shoots in spring. You mustn’t pick any for at least two years! Giving your asparagus crown time to build up its root system - three years is usual - in preparation for its years of productivity ahead, will test your patience, but the thrill of snapping off a spear which requires nothing but a light steaming before hitting your plate, will make you glad of your nurturing efforts.

Be prepared for a touch of seasonal maintenance in the early years, especially if female asparagus plants are revealed, producing bright clusters of tiny red seed berries in the first  year. Some gardeners will remove the girls (which produce pretty but much thinner spears than their fat male counterparts) and fill in the gaps with two year old male crowns. Others use the seed to create more plants.

For a decent supply of fresh spears throughout the growing season plant a dozen crowns per person. This will mean dedicating a good bit of room (see Step 2 below) to accommodate your asparagus patch and the beautiful drift of ferny foliage which will develop.

Follow these steps to Grow Asparagus From Seed. If you can’t muster the patience, plant two year old male crowns and harvest half of its spears the following spring. By the fourth spring you can get picking! But remember, never ever deplete all of the spears in the bed as this will eventually weaken the root system.

1.  Sow seeds in Spring when the soil temperature is around 25C (this can take up to 21 days, so don’t give up!). Fill a seed tray with a suitable seed-raising mix and place your seeds in manageable rows, covering them lightly with 5mm of soil.

2.  Transplant seedlings to 45cm apart in furrows about 20cm deep by 30cm wide, into deep, rich, well drained soil. Any rows should be 1.2m apart. Asparagus likes neutral or alkaline soil (6.5pH), so adding a touch of lime 3 weeks prior to planting can help balance any acidity in the bed.

3.  Fill in the trench as the seedlings grow taller, taking care to create enough support for the mass of ferny foliage which will develop up to 1.5m high.

4.  Remove female berry-producing plants in Autumn after the 1st year to prevent self-sowing and extra plants choking your bed.

5.  Mulch the bed with composted manure in Winter to feed the crowns ready for their spear production the following Spring.

6.  Harvesting should be avoided for the first 2 years, to allow the crowns to build up their strength. In the third year, harvest approximately half of the spears.

FAST FACTS

Named by the Ancient Greeks for it’s spear-shaped shoots, Asparagus officinalis is native to Central and Western Asia, Europe and North Africa. A known diuretic, long prized for its delicate nutty flavour, it was cultivated by the Ancient Egyptians and the Romans who believed it to be the King of Vegetables. To this day, it is associated with wealth and elegance - especially the white variety (which is the same plant grown underground without sunlight). It is a cool climate herbacious perennial which is not suitable for the tropics, but is ideal for coastal and sandy regions.

Happy Planting

Lynsey

For more information visit us at Four Seasons Nursery, 200 Forest Way Belrose

Grow Like a Pro no. 2: Lavender.

It’s been so long since we did one of these that a skeptic might think the ‘series’ had been forgotten. Shame on you skeptic; we don’t forget things, we were just giving you enough time to get your orchids into good shape. Now that they’re all green and budding and bursting from their pots it’s time to leave them be (they thrive on neglect, remember). Let’s turn our attention this week to one of my all time favourites; Lavender.

Lavender (‘Lavandula’ botanically) is one of Mint’s many cousins, and has 39 different species within its genus. By far the most common are Lavandula dentata (French/Italian Lavender) and Lavandula augustifolia (English Lavender); you rarely see any of the others growing around Sydney.

Popular with aromatherapists and naturopaths, Lavender’s medicinal potential is (extremely) old news; the ancient Greeks knew of its calming properties, and it was used extensively in hospitals during World War 1. Its flower spikes are incredibly versatile; they’re used in dried flower arrangements and potpourris, teas, baked goods, as cake decorations, even (apparently) as a substitute for confetti at weddings. Apiarists will tell you that the honey made by bees fed on Lavender nectar is some of the best in the world, and it sells for king’s ransom in Europe.

But forget all this – unless you’ve got a several-acre backyard you won’t be growing lavender for its skills. You’ll be after its outrageous good looks.

Lavender flowers like crazy almost all year round; soft purple spires rising from a mass of delicate grey foliage. It smells as good as it looks too, and it’s a sure-fire way to bring in the birds and bees (literally; this is a family blog).

So how do you grow it? There are really only two main things to consider; drainage and pruning.

Lavenders like a drink but their roots love to rot; if you’ve got even a trace of clay in your Lavender bed they’re done for. If planting them in the ground it’s best to dig down about 600-700 millimetres, then spread a layer of sand about 100 millimetres deep. Backfill the rest of the hole with really free-draining soil mix, loaded with organic matter. Four Seasons Nursery has all the sand and soil you’ll need, in bulk and in bags. We can also help you out if your garden bed is nothing but clay, with a variety of soil conditioners and a heap of smiley advice-giving staff to talk you through it.

Aside from moisture the only other way a Lavender will spoil is if it is left alone for too long. They are the polar opposites to orchids; they need attention, frequently, in the form of a stylish haircut. Trimming your Lavender by up to about a third of its size every few months will stop it from developing the gnarly wooden ‘trunks’ they get, and keep it a nice dense bush with scores of flowers. Once they go woody there’s no going back; they’ll never be as dense and there will never be as many flowers. It’s pretty much a write-off at this point, which is sad and expensive. So keep your shears sharp, clean and close, maybe under your pillow, so you never forget. Your Lavender will thank you and you’ll have a perfect excuse to get a new pillow every couple of weeks. How good are fresh pillows! Very good.

And that’s pretty much it. Keep them in your sunniest  spot, keep them well fed, and keep an eye out for the usual suspects; aphids, mealy bug and co (though Lavenders have pretty good pest-resistant levels). Plant them in groups of at least 5 for best effect; the more the merrier with Lavender. We at Four Seasons Nursery have scores of them for sale, in different sizes and cultivars. Come choose a few today!

Cheers,

Mike.