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Think permanent. Choose the site carefully and your asparagus will grow there for years to come. Allow both vertical and horizontal space for the ferny leaves that asparagus grows after it's finished producing spears. The ferns can reach up to 5 feet tall, so plant where the foliage won't shade other plants that need sun.
Full or partial sun. Asparagus prefers full sun but—rare for the vegetable kingdom—it can take some shade.
No weeds. Asparagus doesn't compete well with weeds, so remove them all before you plant, mulch the bed well (with compost, rotted leaves or straw) and pull any weed that peeks through the mulch.
Check the soil. Asparagus enters into a long-term relationship with your soil, so make sure conditions are ideal before that first crown is planted. A soil test is the place to start. Asparagus is a heavy feeder, so the soil should be rich in organic matter to help make all the nutrients available to the roots. Compost is the best source of organic matter for your asparagus bed.
Good drainage. The soil must be well-drained so that it stays evenly moist, but never soggy. Poor drainage will cause the roots to rot. Sandy loam is best, with a pH of 6.5-7.5.
Planting
Carve a trench. As soon as the soil can be worked in spring, dig a trench about 12 inches deep and 12 to 18 inches wide. Leave 3 to 4 feet between each trench, if you have room for more than one.
Backfill with compost and soil. Put 4 inches of compost or well-rotted manure into the trench. Shovel in 2 inches of soil, and mix it with the compost. Then add bonemeal: 1 pound for every 20 square feet. The potassium in bonemeal strengthens the developing roots. Shovel in 1 more inch of soil and mix again. The trench should now be about 6 inches deep.
Mound the ground. Set the crowns about 18 inches apart in the trench. Mound the soil beneath each crown (as you would with a rose bush) and fan the roots evenly over the mounded soil. When all the crowns are in the trench, cover them with 2 to 3 inches of compost or rotted manure. Gently firm the soil, and water the trench. Leave the remaining soil where it is; as the stems grow you'll use it to fill around them.
Add more soil. When you see the top start to grow in 2 to 3 weeks, shovel about an inch of the reserved soil around the shoots. Keep adding soil as the shoots grow, about every week or so, until the trench is refilled.
Water and wait. Be sure your asparagus doesn't dry out through its first spring and summer. Water it when Mother Nature doesn't. Don't harvest any of the spears the first year. Think of asparagus like marriage: a long-term commitment that, with care, only gets better with time.
