Putting Asparagus to Bed for the Winter
by Becky Elmuccio on February 7, 2012
I can’t wait for organic asparagus this spring! It is one of the harder organic items for us to find in our area. So, last spring, we ordered organic Jersey Giant asparagus crowns, set up our first raised bed to be the permanent asparagus bed and planted. Over the course of the summer, we watched our asparagus ferns grow. We had heard that they could reach heights of six feet tall, but I think ours go to about 3 or 4 feet high.
When you first plant asparagus, you do not get any edible growth in the first year. So, last year was a watch and wait year. The rule of thumb is that this year, we will get 2 weeks of edible growth, next year there will be 4 weeks and the following year, we will have 6 weeks. I can’t wait! Tomato loves grilled asparagus, so I will be so excited to have her go out to the garden to pick dinner or a snack this year.
As the fall approached, I sought out information about how to keep the asparagus safe over the winter. I visited our local
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office and picked up some articles about asparagus and discussed methods with the gentlemen who were volunteering that day. I also came across this video from
Peaceful Valley. Their tips area insightful and Patricia, the company’s co-owner, presents things clearly and patiently. It is well worth it to sign up for their
weekly emails, which feature videos on a number of topics and information about their organic gardening products.
I trimmed the ferns back to two inches high and placed new compost and organic soil on top. I have not gotten the straw to put on top of the new soil, so I will need to see how this goes this year. The recommendation with the straw is that you could pull back one section and get 2 weeks of growth and then pull back the other section to get another 2 weeks. We’re going to just give it a go and do the whole bed in one 2 week window. I would love to take some time this coming season and find out if I can get organic straw somewhere in the area. I may need to check with some of the organic farmers in the area to see what they do for this.
If you have not planted asparagus before and need a good reference point from which to begin, please check out this PDF file from Peaceful Valley. If you prefer a video format, the Peaceful Valley video below has some great tips to help you along with this delicious perennial vegetable.
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