Growing asparagus in the UK can be thrilling. The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are endowed with beautiful forests and islands with bushes and flowers, tracts of flat plateaus, human-made lakes, and shorelines not found anywhere in this part of the world. This geography is making it promising for gardeners and farmers to get started growing asparagus in the UK.
Growing the crop in these countries is relatively easy. There are resources you must collect, and step-by-step guide, and tips that you must follow. One can refer Asparagus to as a perennial herb of the flowering species characterised by young shoots that turned into spring vegetables. They require well-drained soil and moderate pH levels.
Growing asparagus in Britain or Ireland requires that you take note of the place’s climate and geography. As the area where you can find landmarks like the Dark Hedges in County Antrim, Mourne Mountains in County Down, and Stonehenge, many parts of the countries are developing into urbanised regions, making it challenging for homeowners to find arable lands ideal for asparagus. This is where polytunnels come into the scene.
But before anything else, it is essential to know how you can effectively grow asparagus in the UK and Ireland. Read further.
How To Plant Asparagus In the UK and Northern Ireland
Before growing asparagus in the UK, there are considerations, and these include the plant’s life cycle, location, timing, and more.
Comprehending the life cycle of asparagus and implementing this in the garden means you have to take note of specific pointers.
- These include realising how their roots may produce singular stalks above the ground, having to allow these stalks to turn into ferns after the harvesting period, how ferns may grow inactive during the winter, and how the stalks may expand larger in the spring season.
- Moreover, you must also choose a location that receives at least six hours of sun daily.
- You may begin the planting of the asparagus from one to two-year-old asparagus crowns, seed, and transplants.
- And for the timing, your asparagus must have stalks in the first year as soon as the roots are in the soil but avoid cutting the stalks. In the upcoming spring, the new spears will appear and during the summer, allow these smaller stalks to grow, giving energy into the roots.
To plant this crop, you may start by selecting a reasonably sizable area open to the sunlight. Then, dig a trench of around a foot wide, with eight to 10 inches depth. Provide about two beets between trenches if you are looking at planting multiple rows.
Then, amend the plant’s soil that you have once removed from the trench with a fourth to a half rich soil compost and other organic matter types.
Can I Grow Asparagus From Scraps?
One of the raised questions regarding growing asparagus in Ireland is whether you can grow this from scraps. What does this mean?
Asparagus is one of those crops that you can grow from scraps. You can have these planted at any point within spring or summer and expecting less care. The asparagus that you plant during the spring season specifically may yield pleasant spears for the next 50 years.
Then, this is the time you can implement the choice on whether you will plant them from the seeds or roots, otherwise known as the crowns.
Other foods you can grow from scraps are green onions, garlic sprouts, romaine leaves, leeks, basils, cilantro, celeries, bok choys, carrot greens, lemongrass stalks, and more.
How Long Can You Keep Cutting Asparagus?
Timing is of great importance when you decide to cut asparagus as part of the cultivation, planting, and harvesting. The last thing you want to happen is to harvest asparagus at the wrong time or mistakenly cutting too many asparagus spears as you weaken the asparagus bed in the upcoming years.
From the middle of your first year to the second year, there should be no cutting as you transition to transplanting the crowns, and once planted, the gardener must be able to leave the plants to develop in the greenhouse.
Cutting usually begins in the second year but practice great care because they must still grow—the first full year of cutting stars in the third year. By four years onwards, you should have been able to cut for its entire eight-week season.
The polytunnel owner must cut the asparagus spears before their tips begin to open up to form the asparagus ferns. As the tips open up, Lignin is produced, which provides tough stalks, especially in the plant’s lower portions.
This pertains to the way to prepare the stalks, so they carry the ferns’ weights. Polytunnel owners may want to cut these spears before reaching these phases. Always check and cut the spears, ideally daily, with the maximum height at nine inches.
When Should I Replace My Asparagus Plants?
When it comes to growing asparagus in the UK or Ireland, the timing when you must replace the asparagus plants is essential to know.
Surprisingly enough, replacing the asparagus plants, unless there are significant issues, does not happen immediately or anytime soon. Planting specialists reveal that asparagus beds may last up to two decades and may not need replacement sooner or later.
In many instances in the garden, the initial planting may be close to accommodate the sizes of these plants, so weaker plants are allowed to crowd out. Please do not replace the plants sooner, but let the other plants occupy the spaces they need.
What Is The Best Way To Plant Asparagus?
The research will make growing the asparagus in your lots a successful venture. When done right, asparagus can be a beneficial ingredient for the kitchen, allowing you to produce recipes that include Pan-Fried Asparagus, Oven-Roaster Asparagus, Cheesy Garlic Roasted Asparagus, Lemon Roasted Asparagus, and more.
To plant asparagus well, follow these simple steps:
- Step 1: Procure the asparagus crowns
- Step 2: Prepare the plant’s soil
- Step 3: Start planting
- Step 4: Keep on filling and watering.
Harvest The Asparagus With Krostrade
Polytunnels for your asparagus is the best area to have when dealing with providing these plants with the perfect environment. These polytunnels have roof and wall structures that regulate the climate for your crops. One of the most reliable providers of these greenhouses is Krostrade.com.
Growing asparagus in the UK or Northern Ireland? With the company, you can find yourself together with a market that is centred around Europe and North America. The demands and the details that these customers want to encourage the company always to provide the highest quality products for the clients. For more information, visit www.krostrade.com.