50 Jersey Giant Asparagus Crowns – 2 Year Bare Root Plants – Large Tender Spears

Overview

Transform your garden into a prolific food source with these premium Jersey Giant asparagus crowns. Known for their exceptional yield and quality, this variety is a top choice for both novice and experienced gardeners seeking a reliable and delicious perennial vegetable. These 2-year old bare root asparagus plants are robust and ready for planting, ensuring a strong start to your asparagus patch. The ‘Jersey Giant’ is celebrated for producing extra-large, uniform spears that boast excellent flavor and a wonderfully crisp texture, perfect for fresh eating, roasting, grilling, or adding to salads. This mostly all-male variety directs its energy into spear production rather than seed formation, leading to higher yields and more vigorous growth. Planting these Jersey Giant asparagus crowns in the fall allows them to establish a deep root system over winter, preparing them for bountiful harvests in the years to come. Enjoy the satisfaction of harvesting your own gourmet asparagus right from your backyard.

Key Benefits

Choosing Jersey Giant asparagus crowns for your garden offers numerous advantages, ensuring a rewarding and productive growing experience. These plants are specifically selected for their superior characteristics and ease of cultivation, making them an excellent investment for any gardener looking for a long-term harvest.

• High Yielding: The ‘Jersey Giant’ variety is predominantly male, which means less energy is spent on seed production and more on growing thick, tender spears. This results in a significantly higher yield compared to other varieties, ensuring a plentiful harvest for many seasons.
• Exceptional Flavor & Texture: Enjoy gourmet quality asparagus right from your garden. These spears are known for their sweet, subacid taste and crisp, crunchy texture, making them ideal for a wide range of culinary uses, from fresh salads to roasted side dishes.
• Robust & Long-Lived: These 2-year old bare root asparagus crowns are well-established, promoting quicker root development and a faster path to production. Once planted, an asparagus bed can produce for 20 years or more, making it a valuable addition to any perennial vegetable garden.
• Cold and Heat Tolerant: ‘Jersey Giant’ is a highly adaptable variety, performing exceptionally well across a broad range of climates. Its resistance to both cold and heat makes it a reliable choice for gardeners in USDA Zones 3-10, ensuring successful growth in diverse environmental conditions.
• Disease Resistance: This variety exhibits good resistance to common asparagus diseases like rust and fusarium wilt, contributing to healthier plants and consistent yields without the need for excessive chemical intervention. This makes growing asparagus easier and more sustainable.
• Easy Establishment: As 2-year old crowns, these plants have a head start, making them easier to establish than younger crowns or seeds. This reduces the time to first harvest and increases the likelihood of success for all gardeners.
• Sustainable Gardening: By planting Jersey Giant asparagus crowns, you are investing in a sustainable food source that provides fresh, organic produce year after year with minimal effort once established. It’s a fantastic way to enhance your self-sufficiency.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Successful growing asparagus, especially the robust ‘Jersey Giant’ variety, hinges on proper site selection and consistent care during establishment. Choose a sunny location that receives at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily. The soil should be well-drained and rich in organic matter. Asparagus prefers a soil pH between 6.5 and 7.5. Before planting your bare root asparagus crowns, amend the soil with compost or well-rotted manure to improve fertility and drainage. Dig trenches approximately 6-8 inches deep and 12 inches wide, mounding a ridge of soil down the center. Spread the roots of each crown over the mound, spacing them 12-18 inches apart.

Cover the crowns with 2-3 inches of soil and water thoroughly. As the spears grow, gradually fill the trench with soil until it is level with the ground. Keep the bed consistently moist, especially during the first year, but avoid waterlogging. Fertilize in early spring with a balanced fertilizer or compost. The key to a long-lasting and productive perennial vegetable garden is patience; do not harvest spears during the first two years to allow the plants to establish a strong root system. In the third year, you can begin harvesting for a few weeks, gradually increasing the harvest period in subsequent years. After the ferns die back in the fall, cut them down to the ground. Mulching the bed with straw or leaves can help suppress weeds and protect the crowns over winter, which is particularly beneficial for cold hardy asparagus.

Size & Details

This offering includes 50 individual Jersey Giant asparagus crowns, each a robust 2-year old bare root plant. These crowns are shipped dormant, making them ideal for fall planting to ensure optimal establishment before the growing season. Each crown is ready to develop into a mature plant capable of producing extra-large, uniform spears. Once established, individual plants can produce spears that are typically 6-10 inches in length and a good diameter, known for their excellent flavor and crisp texture. The plants will typically begin bearing harvestable spears approximately three years after planting, with full production reached in subsequent years. Asparagus plants can grow quite tall, with ferns reaching 4-6 feet in height during the summer months, contributing to the plant’s energy storage for future harvests. These cold hardy asparagus plants are designed to thrive and provide a continuous yield for decades when properly cared for.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big do these Jersey Giant asparagus crowns get? A: These are 2-year old bare root crowns. Once established, the ferns can reach 4-6 feet tall during the summer, and the spears themselves are known to be extra-large, typically 6-10 inches in length when harvested.
• Q: What size pot does it come in? A: These are bare root crowns and do not come in pots. They are shipped dormant and ready for direct planting in your garden bed.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Asparagus is an outdoor perennial vegetable. These Jersey Giant asparagus crowns are meant to be planted directly in a garden bed for long-term outdoor cultivation.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: Asparagus requires full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day, for optimal growth and spear production.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? Is it good for beginners? A: While asparagus requires patience in the first few years (no harvesting), once established, it is relatively low-maintenance and long-lived, making it a good choice for beginners interested in a perennial vegetable garden.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: The bare root asparagus crowns will arrive dormant and appear like a cluster of roots. This is the ideal state for planting and allows them to establish well.
• Q: When is the best time to plant these Jersey Giant asparagus crowns? A: Fall planting is highly recommended for these 2-year old crowns, as it allows them to establish a strong root system over winter for vigorous growth in spring. Spring planting is also an option in some regions.
• Q: How long until I can harvest asparagus? A: You should not harvest any spears during the first two years after planting to allow the plants to fully establish. A light harvest can begin in the third year, with full production expected in the fourth year and beyond.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: Yes, ‘Jersey Giant’ is a very cold hardy asparagus variety, thriving in USDA Zones 3-10. It is well-suited to overwintering in cold climates.
• Q: What is the recommended soil pH for growing asparagus? A: Asparagus prefers a slightly acidic to neutral soil pH, ideally between 6.5 and 7.5, for best growth and nutrient uptake.