Smooth the ridge with a 5' wide field cultivation tool set at a height to avoid damaging the underlying crowns or emerging spears. (1976). Asparagus may be marketed successfully through roadside markets, pick-your-own, restaurants, CSA programs, or farmer's markets. All rights reserved. Find your favorite — try our interactive tomato chooser! Proper field preparation the year prior to planting asparagus is critical to the success of the crop. Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is considered a tasty and highly nutritious vegetable plant that lives up to 20 years. Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Plant a soybean cover crop and then incorporate it into the soil when it is mature and green. In the fall, the rust-colored areas produce black, overwintering spores that can infect the plant the following year. Enjoy dabbling in the diversity of deliciousness you’ll find in our Foodie Fresh collection. Place crowns in the furrows with the apical buds oriented upward, 12 to 15 inches apart in the row. encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues Spears grow 3–5 inches per day when temperatures are 80–85° F. Harvest all spears that are more than 9 inches above the soil level by cutting just below the soil surface with an asparagus knife. Also, the knife can spread any disease from one plant to the next. Mulch for the winter, or grow a cool-season cover crop that can be turned under before planting in spring. (1985). When soil moisture is favorable and before spears begin to emerge (usually mid-March) use ridging discs to form a 4 to 6-inch ridge of soil over the asparagus row. In addition to feeding your plants, this organic fertilizer feeds the beneficial microbes in the soil that help those plants take up more nutrition. Spears for commercial markets are usually trimmed at the cut or butt end; sized by diameter into small, medium, large, and jumbo categories; and bundled into 1 or 1.5 pound bunches for retail sale. Asparagus attributes such as spear length, diameter, tip quality, and spear color must also be taken into consideration. New varieties. The duration of your harvest will depend on the vigor of your plants. Discard those that have grown too large. Asparagus is an excellent crop to offer to roadside stand and farmer's market customers because it is one of the early season highlights in New Jersey. Cantaluppi, C. J., and Precheur, R. (1993). This is a good time to control weeds because the asparagus are dormant. Wait until your second or third season to harvest. I asked the guy if they could be harvested this year, and he said yes. Black and red asparagus beetles can be a challenge, damaging the foliage and weakening the roots. Apply super phosphate in the furrows based on soil test results. Fusarium infects the root system, kills the feeder roots, and causes collapse of the storage roots and rot of the crown. Take a soil sample and obtain a complete analysis including pH, major, secondary, and minor nutrients. As plants grow taller, rake a little of the soil on the edge of the row into the depression where plants are growing. Asparagus plants are either male or female. The key to growing asparagus is to have healthy, vigorous plants that produce a lot of spears. Asparagus helps to sell and compliments other early crops such as strawberries and bedding plants. Photo credits: Top row l - r: Tom Orton (asparagus), Tom Orton (asparagus field), Fred McGrady (asparagus harvest); Rick VanVranken (Figure 1). The grocery store or from one-year-old roots, plants can produce much longer colder. Light frosts 3yr old asparagus plants may be marketed successfully through roadside markets, pick-your-own restaurants! 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