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I have started recent articles by saying that gardeners should have received information about our Bonanza Saturday, March 14 and our plant order form that is included in the mailing. I apologize to our readers who are not yet on our mailing list and don't know what I'm talking about. For several years the Chisago County Master Gardeners have sold bare root plants and since we are a non-profit organization, used the proceeds to offer free garden classes. All of the plants have been tested winter hardy for our area except for the onions, which are a summer crop. Most of the plants have been recommended by our own Master Gardeners because they are grown in our gardens.

We offer grapes, raspberries, blueberries, asparagus, strawberries, onion sets, and native plants. Since we have some requests for lingonberries, we are offering them for the first time. If you want information about our plant orders, the Bonanza, or our upcoming classes, please call our office at (651) 213-5430.

This time of the year my articles are mostly based on the plants we sell. That's why this article is about raising asparagus.

It became evident to me that I have a lot to learn about asparagus when I attended the Fruit Growers Conference in St. Cloud. Many who attended these classes were commercial growers who get high yields of asparagus with the best quality possible in the most efficient way.

Asparagus is one of the bare root plants the Chisago County Master Gardeners sell to the public. As it is with most plants, the best time to prepare for an asparagus bed is from one to three years before you plant. However, most gardeners, including me, plan days ahead rather than years. One job you can do is test your soil for the pH level as soon as the soil warms up. You can obtain a soil testing kit from the Master Gardeners or Soil and Water Conservation District offices in North Branch.

When you plan for an asparagus bed you should do as you would for planning for an orchard. It means that it could be there for 10 to 30 years, possibly more. So, any mistakes you make you live with for years.

In Minnesota, asparagus can be grown on sandy soils to heavy clay loam. However the highest yields are obtained on deep, sandy loam. The roots can penetrate to at least six feet deep loamy soils. Shallow soils no matter what the texture should be avoided. A high water table or the presence of an underneath hard pan is not good because asparagus roots cannot tolerate wet feet.

Garden catalogs may offer many different varieties of asparagus roots. Gardeners must be sure that the variety is winter hardy for our area. This is the reason we only offer Mary Washington bare roots. It is rust resistant and the spears are harvestable over an extra long cutting period. The roots we offer are two-year-old crowns. Since you should not harvest for another two years, it is a good reason roots are more popular than seeds.

At the St. Cloud conference, we learned how commercial growers plant bare root asparagus. They dig furrows about ten inches deep. Next they put straight phosphorus fertilizer in the bottom of the furrow covered by a layer of dirt. This is so the fertilizer doesn't burn the roots. Then they lay the roots flat on dirt and cover with about four inches of dirt. Later as the ferns come through the dirt they continue to fill the furrow until the ferns are above the ground.

If you need more information on asparagus you can call our Extension Office at (651) 213-8904 or Jerry at (651) 257-4496.

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