When to plant Asparagus
Calendar windows
Dates shift with your latitude — they are calculated from your local last-spring-frost date, not from a fixed calendar.
At a glance
Overwinters outdoors in a temperate garden.
Practical notes
A twenty-year investment: plant crowns in a trench and do not cut a single spear for two full seasons. Weed it religiously — asparagus cannot compete.
Knowing when to pick
From year three, cut spears at 18–20 cm just below soil level, for six weeks only. Stop in mid-June and let the ferns feed next year’s crown.
Storing the crop
Stand the spears in a centimetre of water in the fridge, like cut flowers — three or four days at best. Freshness is everything.
Crop rotation
No strict rotation group — still avoid replanting into the same soil year after year.
Grows well with
Keep apart from
Watch for
Full guide: asparagus diseases and pests (3) → with spread routes, compost verdicts and the prevention this list justifies.