Perennial Garden Crops: Asparagus

Continuing Education Hours: Claim 2.5 hours if you do the readings, watch the video, complete the notesheet and complete the quiz.

This Plants Plus focuses on the cultivation of asparagus, a perennial vegetable crop. Get to know this garden favorite and practice creating a planting plan for a hypothetical asparagus patch.

You’ll learn to:

Identify the main parts of the plant and its center of origin.
Describe the process to plant a new asparagus bed, including assessing your planting site, preparing the site, and planting.
Describe care and maintenance practices.

READ

Introduce yourself to this early spring vegetable crop by reading some introductory materials!

Instructions: Read the following sections from the Asparagus chapter of Advances in Plant Breeding Strategies: Vegetable Crops, a research-based review of plant breeding methods:
12.1 Introduction
12.1.1 Center of Origin
12.1.3 Botany

Full citation: Moreno-Pinel, R., Castro-López, P., Die-Ramón, J.V., Gil-Ligero, J. (2021). Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) Breeding. In: Al-Khayri, J.M., Jain, S.M., Johnson, D.V. (eds) Advances in Plant Breeding Strategies: Vegetable Crops. Springer, Cham. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.1007/978-3-030-66961-4_12

WATCH, READ, & WRITE

Now that you’ve explored the background of this crop, learn about how to grow it.

Instructions:
1. Download the Asparagus Guided Notes (blank). These notes are printable or can be filled out as a fillable form and saved on your computer. Don’t have a printer but like to write things down? It’s ok to take notes on a sheet of paper.
2. Read the instructions on the Asparagus Guided Notes.
3. Read the Minnesota Extension publication and watch the video. As you read and watch these two resources, fill out the Asparagus Guided Notes using the information they provide. (We’ve also link a filled out set of notes below if you need to reference them.) The Asparagus Guided Notes are for your learning and reference. They don’t need to be turned in.

Reading: Growing asparagus in home gardens, Minnesota Extension

Video: Watch the video below from ~6:00-40:00. This video is designed for commercial asparagus growers but has a lot of general information about planting and growing. It is produced by Minnesota Extension, so the growing region is very similar to Wisconsin.