Why grow asparagus from seed?
Here is my short list of reasons to grow asparagus from seed: • A well-established asparagus bed can last 20-30 years and yields one of spring’s first and finest vegetables. • According to trials at University of Minnesota, plants started from seed produce better long-term (although they take an extra year to get established) because they are freshly dug instead of dug, dried, and shipped bare-root. • It’s much, much cheaper (organic crowns can cost you more than a dollar a piece!). • You can buy a tasty variety and not worry about whether your crowns will be male or female (more on that later). Even if you pitch all the females, you’re only out pennies (mine were $0.03 per seed once I included shipping) instead of dollars. • Although recommendations vary, it seems that an asparagus bed for a family of four should have a minimum of 40 plants or, as Rodale recommends for serious asparagus eaters like us, 150 plants. Again, the seed is much more economical for that scale of asparagus bed
