Whether you want to grow green asparagus or white asparagus in the garden - the seeds are sown in the same way. However, keep in mind that the first harvest will be delayed by a year if you sow the asparagus yourself.
How can you successfully grow asparagus from seeds?
Sowing asparagus can be done by first letting the seeds soak in warm water for two days, then sowing them either directly outdoors or under glass and transplanting the plants into the asparagus bed after a year. The harvest time begins from the second year for green asparagus and from the third year for white asparagus.
Prepare asparagus seeds
The seeds of all asparagus varieties are relatively large. Before sowing, let it soak in warm water for two days to shorten the germination process.
Sowing outdoors
A growing bed is prepared for sowing outdoors. Mix good, weed-free garden soil with plenty of ripe compost.
Lay out rows 30 centimeters apart from April onwards. Make grooves five centimeters deep and sow the watered seeds eight centimeters apart. It can take two to three months for it to germinate.
Prefer under glass
From the end of March, fill small flower pots with a diameter of eight centimeters with garden soil. Two of the watered seeds are sown in each pot approximately two centimeters deep, covered and kept moist.
At a temperature of 21 degrees, it takes up to three weeks for the seeds to germinate. After emergence, the weaker plant is removed. The seedlings go outdoors as soon as frost is no longer expected.
Planting outdoors
It takes another year until the asparagus is planted in its final location. The seedlings are first placed in an extra bed at a distance of 30 centimeters.
When planting out, it is important to ensure that the roots are not damaged. You need to have enough space to spread out.
The following year the plants are planted in the designated asparagus bed. The harvest time for green asparagus only begins in the second year. White asparagus needs a year longer before you can pierce your first asparagus.
Sowing asparagus soon:
- Watering seeds
- Prepare the growing bed
- Alternatively grow in pots
- Sowing in the bed or pot
- Transplanting into the open ground
- Plant in the asparagus bed after a year
Tips & Tricks
Asparagus is a dioecious plant. Since almost only male specimens are used in commercial cultivation, germinable seeds cannot be obtained from asparagus flowers in large asparagus fields. It is therefore better to buy asparagus seeds from specialist retailers.
