Organic Gardening - Harvesting Asparagus

By John Yazo

Harvest asparagus is a fairly easy procedure. It is done by snapping them off just above the ground when the spears are 7 to 9 inch long and the tips are still tight. There is no need to cut asparagus below the soil with a knife. Cutting them below the soil can injure other buds on the crown that will send up new spears. The small stub that is left after snapping will dry up and disintegrates. A new spear does not come up at the same spot, it comes up from another bud that enlarges on another part of the crown.

As the tips on the spears start to loosen, also known as "ferning out", the fiber begins to develop at the base of the spears, this will causing them to become tough. The diameter of the spear has no bearing on the toughness. When harvesting the asparagus patch should be picked clean, don't allowing any spears to fern out. When allowed to fern out it gives asparagus beetles an excellent site to lay their eggs.

Asparagus can be harvested starting it's second growing season and can be harvested several times throughout a three-week period, depending on the growing season. Starting to harvest the year after planting will stimulate more bud production on the crown. This will provide for greater yields in future years to come, as compared with waiting two years before harvesting.

Asparagus spears will start to emerge when the soil temperature reaches 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Once they start, the growth of asparagus is dependent on air temperature. Early in the season 7 to 9 inch spears can be harvested about every 2 to 4 days. When the air temperatures increase so does the harvesting frequencies, they can be at once or twice per day with the harvesting of 5 to 7 inch spears before the tips start to fern out and lose there quality. The second year after planting is when the length of harvest can increase to about 4 to 6 weeks. The third year after planting and thereafter, harvesting can continue for 6 to 8 weeks. Since the length of the harvest season will vary from year-to-year and depending on the air temperature, stop the harvest when the diameter of 3/4 of the spears becomes small or less then 3/8 inch. Experience learned by growing the crop over time will make it easier for you to know when to discontinue the harvest.

When harvest is finished, snap all the spears off at ground level and add a good heavy layer of composted manure over the bed. Once the layer of compost is applied mulch with a weed free straw to suppress weeds. At this time new spears will then emerge, fern out, and provide a large shade canopy to cover the space between the rows. Once a dense canopy of fern is formed,the weed growth will be shaded out.