Want to grow vegetables and take it easy? Perennial vegetables are the way to go. Supreme among the perennial vegetables is asparagus -- plant it and then reap the benefits for up to 20 years. An asparagus bed (raised or not) will produce over and over again, and you'll be dining on delicately flavored, homegrown spears you can pick just before a meal -- which might be each meal during asparagus season. Did you ever hear anyone say, No thanks, I've eaten enough asparagus this week? 
Preparing a bed of rich, light, well-drained soil is the foundation for this garden treasure. In our video Tricia amends the soil in one of her raised beds with organic compost and adds slow-release phosphorus and potassium. If you're planting in new ground you'll need to do some double digging -- don't run away, you only have to do this once every 20 years -- to thoroughly enrich and aerate the soil. Our video has an animation showing you how.
The Trick is in the Trench
Asparagus crowns should spread their roots in trenches. UC Davis suggests a trench eight inches deep, and the University of Missouri recommends a six inch depth. Add fertilizer or an inch of compost, then an inch of soil. Lay the roots flat on either side of the crown and cover all with two inches of soil. Keep an eye on your new plants; as they grow, add more soil so the asparagus is always under two inches of soil. Once the trench soil is level with the surrounding soil you can stop. See? Not so bad.
How to Grow White Asparagus
Still life with asparagus Adriaen Coorte c.1697 Did you know white asparagus is not a different variety from green asparagus? They grow from the same crowns. To make the stalks white, continue the soil-adding process you used to cover the new crowns. You can substitute straw for soil, if you prefer. This time you will be "hilling up" around the stalks as they grow. The stalks will stay white as long as they are not exposed to the sun. This should not be done until the asparagus is at least 3 years old.
12 comments
do I ever trim down the asparagus the first few years or let it just grow. this is year 1 for our bed. I was reading about compost tea what is that
Phil, you can collect the seeds from the asparagus ferns. Collect them in the fall and next spring, like in February, soak the seeds for a couple of hours, then plant in a soilless seed starting mix, like our Quickstart. Keep them moist, at about 70-85F and they should sprout in 2-4 weeks. Once they have sprouted, allow them to grow for about 10 weeks and can be moved to the garden after all danger of frost has passed.
After last years growing season we had a number of tall asparagus plants 3’ – 5’ high covered with seeds. Do the fallen seeds grow into new plants at all? Thanks Phil.
Susie, you may get spears the first year, but you should just let them grow and not pick the spears. The second year you can pick a little and a little more the 3rd year. You should not have to add more soil to the asparagus, unless the crown is pushing its way up.
i am going to transplant my 2 & 5 year asparagus. Will I get spears the first year? or should I not harvest the first year. and should I do this procedure the first year i transplant? “as they grow, add more soil so the asparagus is always under two inches of soil.” I also want to buy more asparagus this year.