Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis
Botanical family: Asparagaceae
A perennial plant (Asparagus officinalis), known and grown by the Romans, Pliny the Elder already describes plantations at Ravenna in the 1st century. You install 'crowns' of 1 to 3 years in a deep trench (25-30 cm), 40-50 cm apart. Patience: no harvest the first year, light the second, full the third. Harvest for 6 to 8 weeks in spring (April-May), stopping at the end of May to let the plant rebuild its reserves in the rhizomes.
Full sun
Sandy, free-draining, deep, pH neutral to slightly alkaline
Moderate (while establishing), little once rooted
Very hardy
Overwinters in your zone
Role in permaculture
An exceptional perennial: the same bed produces for 10 to 15 years once established. To be placed in a permanent zone of the garden, out of the digging area. Thick mulch in winter, straw or mature compost in spring.
Good companions
Attract pollinators and beneficial insects
Aromatic: scent said to confuse pests
Traditional companion planting (benefit not demonstrated)
Poor companions
Insects attracted or useful
Seasons & availability
A short spring season, from April to June: from the third year on, you cut the spears for six to eight weeks, then let the stems grow on until autumn.
Available: April, May, June.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- RHS, « How to Grow Asparagus » (rhs.org.uk/vegetables/asparagus/grow-your-own)
- La Ferme de Sainte Marthe, « Réussir la culture des asperges » (fermedesaintemarthe.com/en/blogs/comment-reussir-la-culture-de/reussir-la-culture-des-asperges)
- Garden Organic, « Asparagus » (gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/how-to-grow/growing-guides/vegetables-herbs-guides/how-to-grow-asparagus)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Only eat the cooked spears. The sulphurous smell of the urine mentioned above is benign and has no consequence, even if it may surprise. Like other plants, asparagus provides purines: low-purine diets traditionally count it among the foods to moderate in case of gout or hyperuricaemia. As the root has a diuretic reputation in the herbalist tradition (Cazin), any use beyond simple food consumption, or in case of a kidney disorder, is a matter for medical advice.
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Ancient Rome · Italy, 1st century AD
Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, describes the growing of asparagus at Ravenna, where they grew some so large that three were enough to make up a Roman pound. He devotes a whole chapter to this plant, 'the most delicate of garden herbs', and gives detailed advice on trench cultivation, advice still valid today in its broad lines.
Pline l'Ancien, Histoire naturelle (Naturalis Historia), livre XIX, chapitre 42, vers 77 de notre ère.
Keep in mind
The asparagus-tomato pairing is repeated in all the companion-gardening manuals (Mollison, Hemenway). The classic hypothesis holds that the tomato repels the asparagus beetle (Crioceris asparagi). No study has demonstrated the effect robustly, it's a beneficial traditional pairing without scientific certainty. To be regarded as good practice without making it a guarantee. Sources: Bill Mollison, Permaculture: A Designers' Manual, 1988; Toby Hemenway, Gaia's Garden, 2009.
A note on rigour: many companion pairings are gardening folklore; this note sums up what the sources say, where there are any.