Garden And Gardener

Everything for the Gardener and their Garden

Autumn planting asparagus

by Diane - July 12th, 2012.
Filed under: Thompson and Morgan.

Asparagus needs a well prepared bed. It’s a long term crop that doesn’t like being moved or disturbed. Ensure the bed is weed free and especially free of any nasty perrenials like couch grass that will disturb the roots when you weed. An edged bed will help keep weeds out and be a good area to create a raised bed.
It needs mulching in the autumn. Seaweed can be used, but other mulches will be acceptable. It is shallow rooted so do not hoe unless you can be very careful.


Asparagus officinalis ‘Autumn Planting Collection’ (Autumn planting) – 20 crowns – 5 of each variety
 £24.99
Autumn planting.Offering excellent value for money, this autumn planting collection provides a good range of varieties, ensuring a long cropping season and reliable supply of delicious asparagus spears. Height: 150cm (59″). Spread: 45cm (18″).Collection comprises: Asparagus ‘Ariane’ – Delicious purple-tipped spears early in the season. Asparagus ‘Mondeo’ – Impressive yields and quality, especially early in the season. Asparagus ‘Pacific 2000’ – Consistently uniform, green spears that are tender and stringless. Asparagus ‘Purple Pacific’ – Stringless spears that are more tender and sweet than many green varieties.

Asparagus officinalis ‘Autumn Planting Collection’ (Autumn Planting) – 40 crowns – 10 of each variety
 £44.99
Autumn planting.Offering excellent value for money, this autumn planting collection provides a good range of varieties, ensuring a long cropping season and reliable supply of delicious asparagus spears. Height: 150cm (59″). Spread: 45cm (18″).Collection comprises: Asparagus ‘Ariane’ – Delicious purple-tipped spears early in the season. Asparagus ‘Mondeo’ – Impressive yields and quality, especially early in the season. Asparagus ‘Pacific 2000’ – Consistently uniform, green spears that are tender and stringless. Asparagus ‘Purple Pacific’ – Stringless spears that are more tender and sweet than many green varieties.

Asparagus officinalis ‘Pacific Purple’ (Autumn Planting) – 25 crowns
 £31.99
Spring/ Autumn planting.A colourful variety that is suitable for spring and autumn planting. Asparagus ‘Pacific Purple’ produces stringless spears that are more tender and sweet than many green varieties. The colour can be lost when cooked so they are best steamed or eaten raw with dips, or sliced in salads. This high yielding asparagus will also produce white spears if earthed up. Height: 150cm (59″). Spread: 45cm (18″).

Asparagus officinalis ‘Pacific Purple’ (Autumn Planting) – 10 crowns
 £15.99
Spring/ Autumn planting.A colourful variety that is suitable for spring and autumn planting. Asparagus ‘Pacific Purple’ produces stringless spears that are more tender and sweet than many green varieties. The colour can be lost when cooked so they are best steamed or eaten raw with dips, or sliced in salads. This high yielding asparagus will also produce white spears if earthed up. Height: 150cm (59″). Spread: 45cm (18″).

Asparagus officinalis ‘Pacific Challenger’ (Autumn Planting) – 10 crowns
 £17.99
Autumn Planting.The first Phytophthora tolerant asparagus available commercially – and with good fusarium tolerance too, this must be one of the most disease resistant varieties. Asparagus ‘Pacific Challenger’ produces high yields of slender green spears with firm, tight tips and a good flavour. Height: 150cm (59″). Spread: 45cm (18″).

Asparagus officinalis ‘Pacific 2000’ (Autumn Planting) – 25 crowns
 £31.99
From New Zealand breeding, this vigorous variety was voted the best in commercial grower taste tests in 2006. The consistently uniform, green spears are so tender and stringless, they can be eaten raw or sliced in salads. This long lasting variety is highly regarded for its heavy yields and superior flavour. Unlike many traditional varieties, Asparagus ‘Pacific 2000’ is suitable for either spring or autumn planting. Although asparagus beds take several years to establish, each asparagus crown can produce up to 25 spears per year and will continue cropping for 25 years. Height: 150cm (59”). Spread: 45 cm (18”).

Asparagus officinalis ‘Pacific 2000’ (Autumn Planting) – 10 crowns
 £15.99
From New Zealand breeding, this vigorous variety was voted the best in commercial grower taste tests in 2006. The consistently uniform, green spears are so tender and stringless, they can be eaten raw or sliced in salads. This long lasting variety is highly regarded for its heavy yields and superior flavour. Unlike many traditional varieties, Asparagus ‘Pacific 2000’ is suitable for either spring or autumn planting. Although asparagus beds take several years to establish, each asparagus crown can produce up to 25 spears per year and will continue cropping for 25 years. Height: 150cm (59”). Spread: 45 cm (18”).

Asparagus officinalis ‘Ariane’ – Part of the Alan Titchmarsh Collection – 5 crowns
 £9.99
This asparagus has performed brilliantly for me over the past couple of years. Once planted in deep, rich soil, the plants needed little in the way of fuss. The thick shoots are very tender, and produced in quantity. Harvest the later spears too, for very tender, fine spears with even more delicate flavour.

Asparagus officinalis ‘Ariane’ – Part of the Alan Titchmarsh Collection – 10 crowns
 £15.99
This asparagus has performed brilliantly for me over the past couple of years. Once planted in deep, rich soil, the plants needed little in the way of fuss. The thick shoots are very tender, and produced in quantity. Harvest the later spears too, for very tender, fine spears with even more delicate flavour.

Asparagus officinalis ‘Ariane’ (Autumn Planting) – 25 crowns
 £31.99
Autumn planting.From German breeding, Asparagus ‘Ariane’ produces a heavy flush of delicious, large, purple-tipped spears early in the season. Smaller, ‘fine’ spears are also produced later in the season. This attractive variety has significant yield and quality improvements over many other varieties. Height: 150cm (59in). Spread: 45cm (18″).

Asparagus officinalis ‘Ariane’ (Autumn Planting) – 10 crowns
 £15.99
Autumn planting.From German breeding, Asparagus ‘Ariane’ produces a heavy flush of delicious, large, purple-tipped spears early in the season. Smaller, ‘fine’ spears are also produced later in the season. This attractive variety has significant yield and quality improvements over many other varieties. Height: 150cm (59in). Spread: 45cm (18″).

Asparagus officinalis ‘Planter Collection’ (Autumn Planting) – 1 collection
 £19.99
Grow your own asparagus spears in even the smallest of spaces! This handy asparagus planter collection does not require a permanent bed or large growing area, making it perfect for a patio or balcony. Asparagus grown in planters will take 2 years to crop and will crop for up to 3 seasons after this. Please note: Once growing in a planter it is not advisable to disturb asparagus plants and move them. To grow asparagus plants in containers, a planter of at least 60ltrs is required. Each collection consists of 2 x 60 litre planters, plus 3 crowns each of Asparagus ‘Mondeo’ and Asparagus ‘Pacific 2000’.