Asparagus Roots, Jersey Giant, 10 per bag
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Quick Overview
ASPARAGUS ROOTS, Jersey Giant – Asparagus officinalis
FULL SUN Native to most of Europe, North Africa and many parts of Asia, Asparagus has been cultivated for thousands of years. The Romans, especially, prized the vegetable. It was brought to America with the earliest colonists where it escaped from gardens and proliferated in the wild across the continent. Jersey Giant was developed as a disease resistant-extremely cold hardy variety in 1985. Spears are ½+ in. in diameter, very tender and full of flavor.
To make an asparagus bed, dig trenches 15-18 inches deep and 18 inches wide, allowing 4 feet between trenches. Line the bottom of the trench with approximately 6 inches of soil and compost or aged manure. Space asparagus crowns 18 inches apart. Cover with 3-4 in. of soil. As the shoots emerge continue to cover them until the trench is completely filled and level with the soil surface. Keep the bed weeded and well watered and allow the plants to grow into ferns the first year. In the fall, cover the bed with dried cow manure and cut off the ferny growth. In the second year, harvest only a few shoots, no more than three, and in the fall dress the bed as before. During the third year, regular harvesting can begin.
| Type | Spacing | Planting Depth | Days to Germination | Maturity |
| Perennial | 18 in. | 215-18 in. | 21+ | 365 |
Asparagus Roots, Jersey Giant
Asparagus has been known since ancient times. Roman chefs valued the vegetable so highly that they dehydrated the stalks and kept them on hand throughout the year. Benjamin Watson in his book, Heirloom Vegetables, states, “One of emperor Augustus’s favorite sayings was…’Do it quicker than you can cook asparagus’” meaning that the Romans knew how to treat this vegetable. Asparagus was also valued for medicinal applications. It was believed that an asparagus and oil liniment would prevent bee stings. For centuries, agriculturalists believed that there was only one variety of asparagus and that differences could be attributed to individual growing environments. Eventually this proved to be untrue, but it does point out the importance of local growing conditions on asparagus crops.
