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ASPARAGUS, AN IDEAL
SURVIVAL VEGETABLE
by FARMERIK in
Connecticut More garden photos,
information, and
seeds at Farmerik's
Seed for Security
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SHIPPING SEEDS NOW!
Be ready to plant seed for your security! Asparagus is an ideal crop to grow because it is
harvested after the early wild greens, [cow
slips, fiddleheads and
dandelion greens here in Southern New England], but before the early
spinach and lettuce are ready in the garden. Instead of eating stored
vegetables during this time, you can be eating fresh. It is also grown
in a permanent bed, and only needs attention at certain times of the
year, so it is ideal to establish at a remote retreat.
You need a sunny spot, frequently moist soil in the
Springtime, but no flooding or standing water. Partway down a slope from
a spring or stream would be ideal for a "wild" bed. It doesn't need any
more water than a salad garden, so water it like that where you live. To
plant, dig a hole or trench, and fill the bottom with a few inches of
rich sandy loam or compost. Spread out the roots, and cover with a
couple more inches of good light soil. As the shoots come up, add more
layers until you end up with a mound over the plants and shoots coming
through. The deeper you plant it, the longer it will be before the bed
comes into production, but the longer the bed will last. Most people
choose 8 to 16 inches below the surrounding ground level.
If you have a clay sub soil that will not drain,
don't go below that at all. To get the bed well established, don't pick
it the first year, and for just a couple weeks the second. After that it
will bear for a month and a half, in May and June where I live. The
production will peak at about three weeks, when you may need to cut
stalks every other day to keep up. Right after the harvest is over,
mulch heavily around the stalks, don't cover them.
Since you won't be eating it again until next spring,
you can use livestock bedding right from the stalls with fresh manure in
it, or any rich material that will compost during the coming year.
Asparagus likes or at least tolerates salt, and it keeps down grasses,
so we spread any old salt from preserving meat over it. Our bed is over
20 years old, and still going. Peak production was at around seven
years.-FARMERIK -
Garden seed from Farmerick
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