Asparagus Love

My asparagus bed is starting to wane in production for this year. The spears are starting to get skinny now. When I planted it, 10 years ago(this image is from 2000, before I harvested anything), I was the only one in my family that ate asparagus. I believe I planted about 10-12 crowns originally, thinking that would be enough for just me. I honestly can't remember how many I planted, but my bed is right at 4x12, I think Now, my entire family has learned to love asparagus and I need to plant more. I want to mention this here in case someone else might be also thinking about planting asparagus.
I originally had no idea of how much to plant. I never gave it much thought. Now, I realize that I like about a dozen spears per serving, larger would be better, but a dozen spears will do. If I planted a dozen crown, and each crown produced a spear, that would give one person one meal. A few days later, I could have another serving. However, all crowns don't produce spears at the same rate. some crowns skip a day or produce pencil size crowns whereas some crowns produce large fat spears and grow very quickly. I think to figure out how much you need to plant, you first decide your portion size...for Portion size in number of spears = number of crowns, approximately x the number of people x frequency of eating asparagus per week.

I am getting two servings per week plus a few stragglers that I add to my salads(raw). For us, that is only enough to whet our appetize for more.

So, for Skyguy, my daughter Katie, and me, let's say 15 spears per serving x 3 people = 45 crowns. 45 crowns x 2 meals a week= 90 crowns Straggler spears can go into salad, and I now have a pickled asparagus recipe if I get tired of grilled asparagus or raw spears in salads. I think I would like to grow about 50% more than I think I will need because I'd like to try new recipes, like this soup:

Cream of Asparagus Soup
Take leftover asparagus stalks(assuming you have removed the spear head for another recipe or for salad) and cut off the tough, wood ends. Peel spear with vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer layer. Steam stalks until soft then puree in a blender with a bit of water to make a runny paste. For each cup of puree, add 1 cup of milk to which 2 TBSP of flour has been mixed in well, and then 1 cup of cream. Add 1 TBSP of butter, salt and pepper, and heat soup until the flour begins to thicken the soup.


So I have come to the conclusion that I need at least 90 crowns for the three of us, but that is just the base, minimum number of crowns. I'm thinking that having 135 crowns should give us plenty of asparagus to grill and roast fresh, eat in salads, make asparagus soup, and some to give as gifts and some to pickle.

So the next problem is determining where I would put 135 crowns of asparagus! Originally I spaced my crowns as recommended, giving them room to expand, but I think I may have given them too much space. I planted them 12" apart in two rows, about 30" between rows. But even after ten years, they have not filled in the interim space. I get multiple spears, but the crowns are not even close to being crowded. I'm considering all options, but keep coming back to a wood sided raised bed like I had before. If I made a bed that was 3x50, that would give me 150 sf, a bit more than the minimum 1 sf need per crown. OR, I could make four box-style raised beds 1.5 ft wide x 25 feet long. I could put them around the garden next to the chicken moat, or create a large square, or make chevrons with the boxes that divert water from all the springs to the sides of the garden. That might be the answer. I'll think on it. Buying 135 crowns of asparagus won't be cheap, so I will have time to think while I save up. I will attempt to collect and harvest seed later in the season. Obviously, growing my own 1 year crowns to transplant will the the least expensive route, IF I can do it.