For all friends of this tasty noble vegetable, there is a particularly important date this month, more precisely on June 24th, the annual St. John's Day. So the time has come to prick the very last asparagus of this year in order to give the plants their well-deserved rest afterwards. In the case of particularly early varieties, harvesting is already over by the middle of the month, because the asparagus plants - if their yield is to be high again next year - need this time to regenerate. Anyone who has just pricked their own asparagus in the first year should end their personal gourmet season as early as June 10th. That sounds tough, but it is necessary so that the still young plants can develop and strengthen their natural growth unhindered. They may sting longer if it is an old asparagus field that has existed for around ten years and is to be plowed up anyway.

Asparagus is harvested until the end of June

Assimilation and photosynthesis must be!

Due to the fact that the constantly growing sprouts had just been cut off from the plant for a week, the asparagus was not only interrupted in its growth, but also enormously weakened. Nature usually regulates this loss of strength itself, so that the following happens to the "plant" in the weeks that follow: Since the sprouts are finally allowed to come into the light for several days, the emergence of leaves begins, which soon afterwards turn into the so-called false leaves regress and eventually assume the shape of narrow needles. Since our asparagus plant, which comes from southern Europe and the Near East, has adapted to the very dry locations anyway, large amounts of moisture and the nutrients it has absorbed are passed on to the roots via photosynthesis and stored there. With the particularly strong plants that have been standing for a few years, it can go up to six meters deep under the ground.

When cared for properly, asparagus produces a large yield

We have summarized for you here why your asparagus plants need to be fertilized regularly. However, it is better to avoid synthetic fertilizers and the real organic connoisseurs only use stable manure (preferably from horses) or compost for their asparagus plants anyway. In conventional cultivation, on the other hand, pesticides with copper solutions are sometimes used, which are brought to the asparagus vines via underground pipe systems to combat fungal infestation. The fact that there is another way is shown by the certified Demeter asparagus, for which field horsetails processed into herbal tea are used for fertilization.

What else does your asparagus want

If you want to enjoy naturally healthy asparagus from your own organic cultivation for at least ten years, simply follow our tips:

  • Loosen up the bed soil from time to time and keep it moist (avoid waterlogging if possible).
  • Remove larger weed growth regularly and loosen the soil from time to time.
  • Check for possible insect or fungal infestation at least once a month.
  • The dead asparagus should only be cut off and burned (!) in November. By then, all the nutrients that have been absorbed have been stored in the roots for the coming growing season.

Category:

Vegetable garden