Asparagus help

[IrisPrincess]

Hi! I have never grown asparagus before. My landlord showed me a plant that was in the garden and said it was asparagus! Last year she had said that it was going to be ready soon (it had been almost five years since she planted it...about) So this year it is about four feet tall, and I have no idea what it's supposed to look like, or how to harvest it! Any help would be much appreciate!

[lillgardnr]

I've never seen one either...do you have a photo of it? id love to see it

[pixelphoto]

its a pretty green lacey fern like plant.
The spears you cut at or below the ground level and cook them up with butter and lemon sauce.
https://www.biopix.com/Species.asp?Searchtext=Asparagus%20officinallis%20(Cultiv)&Category=Kulturplanter

https://www.victoryseeds.com/catalog/vegetable/asparagus/asparagus_spring.jpg

[lillgardnr]

wow, that not what I expected it to look like at all...pretty cool

[pixelphoto]

The asparagus can live around 20-30 years old so its well worth the small investment especially considering the cost of fresh asparagus spears in the grocery store. Make sure you weed around it and provide it some good compost once in a while to feed it and you will be rewarded for many years to come.

[IrisPrincess]

I only have a couple of the asparagus plants, I didn't realize that I was supposed to harvest them before the became ferns. I hadn't seen them this spring, I think the were covered in pine needles and I didn't see them when they were small.

[opabinia51]

If you only have a couple, wait off for a couple of year. Generally speaking it takes about two years before the asparagus plants are plenticul enough to harvest.

Also, I pick the berries off and plant them in the same spot.