However, caring for the small seedlings until they become established can be time consuming. Also, because the seeds are spaced a few inches apart, the crowns will have to be dug and transplanted to their permanent, wider-spaced location in the garden after one year. Thus, one year of potential spear production is lost due to transplanting. Select the new all-male hybrid asparagus varieties such as Jersey Giant, Jersey Prince, and Jersey Knight. These varieties produce spears only on male plants.
Seeds produced on female plants fall to the ground and become a seedling weed problem in the garden.
Female plants also have to expend more energy to produce the seeds that decreases the yields of asparagus spears on female plants. There is no advantage to planting the crowns in cold, wet soils. Plant the asparagus at either the west or north side of the garden so that it will not shade the other vegetables and will not be injured when the rest of the garden is tilled. Dig a furrow no deeper than 5 to 6 inches. Research has shown that the deeper asparagus crowns are planted, the more the total yield is reduced.