A perennial vegetable, one should refrain from harvesting asparagus beyond Father’s Day (in the UK) or third weekend of June, which allows the plant to grow and replenish reserves for the next year. If you leave it asparagus grows into large ferns 2.53m tall.

Come the autumn, the growth with yellow and die, cut ferns back to ground level and dispose of the fronds and mulch the bed with manure which provides nutrients for next spring’s growth. Harvest again in April as soon as spears appear.

Easy to look after, the only pest you have to deal with is asparagus beetle which can be easily squashed between finger and thumb and their little eggs and grubs (which make an unpleasant green mess but can also be easily controlled. There’s little harm done by a few, and hand treatment is much easier and cheaper than spraying with chemicals.

Harvesting Asparagus    • Harvesting Asparagus