How many asparagus crowns should you plant?

(L) Asparagus growing in the garden. (R-top) Asparagus with duck egg for breakfast (R-bottom) Asparagus, pea, mint and goats cheese salad (not from our garden!)

How many asparagus crowns do you need to plant to get a decent harvest? The answer is probably more than one! This is a crown that we planted about three years ago.  The spears that are emerging from the ground are now no longer thin and spindly, but deliciously plump and juicy.  They do, however, grow at different rates, meaning that at any one time, we are only able to harvest one or two spears, which is not quite enough for a decent meal! 


This article in the Telegraph Gardening suggests planting at least ten crowns to get a decent helping of spears each time.  Had we known this when we first started our asparagus experiment three years ago, we would have put in quite a few more of these.  Not only are these plants low maintenance, but the reward is well worth the wait.  Asparagus is a perennial plant that will come back year after year, and can be harvested during the months of April through to June.

The variety seen here is "Connover's Collosal".