Before growing it in gardens, you must wonder, “How many asparagus plants per person is enough to serve their needs?”. Asparagus spears are one of the top vegetables we grow in gardens.
The perennial plant can be eaten solely or served with salads. We will answer it along with the top benefits and caring guidelines for asparagus plant in home nurseries.
Contents
How Many Asparagus to Plants Per Person?
Planting 10 to 20 asparagus per person is sufficient. Of course, the proximity of the plantation will depend on the consumption requirement and asparagus varieties. The reason would be that each asparagus plant will have half a pound of harvest, which is sufficient for a person.
In order to grow asparagus, mainly to maintain health as we consume the spears of it. It has many vitamins and nutrients, making it a sought-after dietary item on most people’s lists. It’s crucial to know how many plants of asparagus will be enough to meet the requirement of a person. Furthermore, it helps you know how many plants to grow for your family in the asparagus bed.
– Distance
It would help to secure asparagus plants grow one foot apart. It will help you harvest more than one pound of spears efficiently, and they can grow having freedom. For 20 asparagus, a five feet by five feet raised bed will be perfect, to be sufficient for one person.
As you allow the plant to grow adequately with proper space, it will yield a better harvest. 10 to 20 plants will yield around two and a half to 10 pounds of asparagus spears and this should be enough to meet the yearly need of a person.
– Season
During spring, you can expect 20 to 24 harvests for asparagus plants. It is the picking season for asparagus. During other times of the year, you can expect 12 to 14 harvests per season and this would be great for one person and as a result, you can enjoy year-round harvesting.
When growing asparagus for family use, you need to consider the frequency of its spears. Usually, one pound of asparagus will have 10 to 15 spears. Their length will be around nine to 10 inches. On the other hand, also remember that its thickness will be roughly half an inch to three quarters of an inch.
There will be more spears if you choose to tender and slender spears. You can expect 25 to 35 slender spears in one pound of asparagus. Hence, it will be more than enough to serve a family of three to five for two servings.
– Serving Requirement
An average person can eat half a cup of serving. Thus, each serving of asparagus will be half cup, and it will be roughly one quarter of a pound. To elaborate the latter, it consists of three to four fully grown and matured asparagus, which means there will be five to six slender asparagus spears.
When you chop, trim and prepare the asparagus plants, one pound of it will be two to three cups, as a result, it will be more than enough for a family. When you have five to 15 asparagus for each person, you will have 100 to 150 spears.
It can grow enough spears to have 20 to 30 servings for one person. Even if a person consumes asparagus two times a week, they will have enough spears for four to eight weeks.
Nonetheless, you need to grow more asparagus if you plan to eat it daily. You will need 30 to 50 asparagus per person at that moment. Usually, asparagus is available year-round. It will continue feeding you fresh salads and veggies throughout the year.
What Are the Factors Affecting the Asparagus Plants Number for Each Person?
The factors that affect the asparagus plant number to be served for each person would be the daily or occasional serving, and whether you will supply tender or old spears. As a result, you will be distinguishing how much you must be serving.
When you prepare to plant asparagus in your garden, you can’t just randomly choose its numbers. Instead, you should consider the consumption pattern of your family members, the quality of the plant, and the serving technique.
– Daily or Occasional Serving
The eating frequency will indeed influence the asparagus yields and its numbers in your garden. If you eat the spears as vegetables or salads daily, you will need 30 to 50 asparagus plants for each person in every season, and of course this would be a dependable factor for their growth. Moreover, it is almost two to five times more than the average number of asparagus planting requirements for each person.
Nonetheless, eating asparagus daily isn’t recommended. Although it has no health hazards, overeating asparagus can cause diarrhea and gas formation. So, you must be aware of such complications of consuming the spears too frequently.
– Eating Tender or Old Spears
When harvesting asparagus, you should determine how you want to eat it. Whether you prefer eating matured spears, or if you love the tender ones, because it will affect the number of asparagus you need to grow per person. If you serve them fresh, the factor will differ, and the quantity would change as well.
The better the asparagus quality, the fewer spears you will need. Yes, tender spears will have less waste than mature spears. It happens because you will need to cut and trim more parts of the asparagus as it will be not eatable.
Thus, we suggest you eat slender and tender asparagus. It will help you plant less asparagus yet yield asparagus at a better rate. Also, you may enjoy the juiciness and tenderness with every bite. It will improve the tasty feel.
What Are Some Tips on Harvesting Asparagus Plants Properly in Your Garden?
Some tips on harvesting Asparagus plants properly in your garden would be if you have selected male or female species of this plant. Whether you have planted seed or asparagus crown, making sure you select the suitable soil and given conditions, and lastly, the right planting technique.
– Selecting Male or Female Plant
Asparagus comes from male and female plants. Which means that this is when you must decide which plant type you wish to grow in the garden. Usually, male asparagus will yield uniformed and shorter spears.
On the contrary, female asparagus produces longer and thicker spears. However, spears in male asparagus will be much more than the female ones.
If your main aim is to grow more asparagus for serving your family members, then you should go ahead and pick the male ones. Its greater number of spears will serve your family better. Plus, male asparagus will live longer and won’t yield any weedy seedlings, unlike female ones.
– Seed vs. Asparagus Crown
You can grow spears both from seed and crown. The asparagus crown is nothing but its root, and when you go ahead and choose an asparagus crown, that is when it will be the right decision when you want fast and secure growth and harvest. Moreover, remember that it needs less maintenance and can be planted directly in the asparagus bed.
On the contrary, it is a right choice that you would need to grow the asparagus seeds indoors first. Then, you can transfer them to raised beds once it is strong enough to survive the frost and cold. Since you need to grow the seed and then transfer it to the outdoor garden, it takes longer.
What’s more, you should always select male asparagus plants, in this case, because it provides you with more harvest. Along with that, male plants are more resistant to harsh weather and frost.
– Selecting the Most Suitable Soil and Condition
Although asparagus grows throughout the year, its harvest will depend mainly on the soil type and overall condition. You must find suitable soil to harvest asparagus and enjoy its nutritional and contemporary delicacy.
- Asparagus grows better in sandy soil, and this means that while planting asparagus in your garden, you must be sure that the bed has sandy soil. As a result, you need to choose lighter soil, because it will warm up faster in spring which is the prime season for asparagus.
- The soil must have proper drainage, because asparagus ferns can’t tolerate moisture and will suffer from root damage. You may mix pumice with the soil to increase its draining effect.
- The plants don’t survive in acidic soil, which shows you that you need to ensure pH 5.00 to pH 6.50 for the soil. It will help the plant thrive for maximum harvest.
Plus, you must ensure that it receives maximum sunlight. You need to prepare the asparagus beds in such lace that it receives at least 8 hours of proper sunlight. It boosts the harvest thoroughly.
– Correct Planting Technique
When you grow asparagus from the crown, you must be careful. It needs special attention and care. You need to plant the crowns deeply. Otherwise, they get eradicated with yearly cultivation. The best way is to create a trench and plant the crown, so that it establishes itself well.
Moreover, the width and depth of the trench should be 12 to 18 inches and between six and eight inches, respectively. Before you plant the crowns, soak them in water for a couple of hours. You should use lukewarm water for better results. Next, locate the center of the asparagus trench.
There create a ridge or mound of two-inch heights. You need to plant the asparagus crown right at the top of this ridge. Lastly, it is important that you check the roots of the plant are spread evenly, which means that you should leave a 12 to 18 inches gap between each asparagus crown while planting them.
What are Some Tips On Increasing Asparagus Harvest By Keeping It Healthy?
To increase asparagus harvest and keep it healthy, you must provide the right watering properties, and it is necessary to have weed control. When you spot a disease or insect infestation, you must cure it, and lastly, apply the right harvesting technique.
When you ensure good health for the asparagus, it becomes productive. Thus, it will yield better harvesting, and it will give you the right amount of crops.
– Ensure Proper Watering
Ensure the soil is moist, always, which means watering the soil at least one inch weekly will help the asparagus patches grow faster and better. As a result, make sure that you would ensure the soil receives at least one inch of water weekly.
– Weed Control Is Necessary
You may perform annual cultivation to control the weeds in the asparagus rows. Experts suggest using hoeing and tilling techniques to control the weed. You can cultivate the land before the spears come.
After you have harvested the spears, cultivate them again but not so deep. If the weeds persist even after that, use mulching or propane weeding to smother the unwanted weeds. When weeds grow out, they will be like barriers for these vegetables’ growth.
– Never Ignore Diseases And Insects
You should also look after the asparagus for insects and diseases. Crown rot, purple spot, and asparagus rust are common diseases. These diseases and insects will reduce the growth of the asparagus spears. Thus, depending on the disease, you should take proper initiative, and keep insects away.
– Apply the Right Harvesting Technique
Finally, wait to pick the spears after the first harvesting season in spring. You should try picking the spears from the second season. You should harvest the asparagus spears when they grow at least six inches long. When the spears production falls below 15 per patch, you shouldn’t harvest it anymore.
You will get a better harvest when you follow these tips. The key is to care the asparagus plant continuously for diseases and weeds. Also, instead of hurrying into picking the spears, work slowly.
FAQ
1. How Many Asparagus Plants Will Be Suitable for Two People?
Growing 15 to 30 asparagus plants will be ideal for two persons. These plants can grow enough spears to serve two persons throughout the season. If you choose the jersey asparagus varieties, you can grow 10 to 12 plants because they grow longer and thicker.
Conclusion
Asparagus, with many nutrients and vitamins, is perfect for salads and vegetables to maintain a proper diet. In the garden, you would like to grow it for every person in your family. Regarding this, you may grow 10 to 15 asparagus for every person at home.
- Choosing tender asparagus spears will reduce wastage. You should always choose slender and tender asparagus for eating. It also offers a better taste.
- Always choose male asparagus plants to have more harvest. It will yield more spears than the female ones. You can do away with even five to 10 male plants. It also makes managing and caring for the spears better.
- Once you grow asparagus in a garden, you can continue enjoying the harvest for 15 to 20 years. It’s a fun and profitable plantation in your garden.
- You may grow asparagus with basil, parsley, coriander, marigolds, and more. The perennial plant is genuinely fun to grow and it will meet your dietary requirements too.
Now, you know how many asparagus plants per serving or per person to grow in your garden. It’s time to see the growing guidelines for asparagus plants. Once you learn the art of growing asparagus patch, you will love the harvesting process.
References
https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2021-03-26-how-successfully-grow-asparagus-your-garden#:~:text=But%2C%20if%20space%20is%20not,that%20are%20in%20full%20sun.
https://www.ruralsprout.com/plant-asparagus/
https://www.webgardner.com/vegetables/how-many-asparagus-plants-per-person/
https://www.almanac.com/plant/asparagus#:~:text=To%20harvest%20asparagus%2C%20simply%20cut,your%20asparagus%20in%20early%20summer.
https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-harvest-asparagus-2540058
https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/asparagus/grow-your-own
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/asparagus/harvesting-asparagus.htm
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