Perennial VegetablesAsparagaceae
Asparagus.
Cool seasonPerennialDeer-resistant
At a glance
The spec sheet.
- Direct sow / out
- Plant crowns early–mid April
- Germ
- Crowns, not seed
- Days to harvest
- Full harvest year 4+
- Spacing
- 12–18", rows 4 ft
- Depth
- 8" trench, cover 2", backfill gradually
- Square-foot
- 1 per square (permanent — own bed best)
- Qty target
- 25–30 crowns ≈ 10 per big appetite; covers fresh + freezing.
Plant
Trench 8" deep × 12" wide. Set crowns on soil mounds, roots draped. Your best-drained, most-amended bed — it hates wet clay feet. 'Jersey Knight'/'Jersey Supreme' bred at Rutgers for NJ.
Care
Weed religiously year 1. Let ferns grow until yellow, cut to 2" late fall, top-dress with composted chicken manure, mulch heavy.
Harvest
Snap at soil level, pencil-thick, 7–9" tall, tips tight. Yr2: 2 weeks. Yr3: 4–6 wks. Yr4+: ~8 weeks (mid-Apr–early Jun).
Blanch 2–3 min & freeze; pickled asparagus spears are exceptional.