Asparagus is one of those crops that requires a comme il faut dose of patience to grow .
This perennial veggie take a few years before you may start harvest , so it can be devastating when you at long last make it to picking time and you notice the spears are lean and weak .
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If this happens , do n’t panic ! Once you identify the source of the problem it should n’t be too tricky to fix . register on to learn about causes and solutions for thin asparagus spears .
Why Is My Asparagus Thin?
1 . Not Planting Deeply Enough
2 . Lack of Water
3 . Nutrient Deficiency
4 . Overharvesting
5 . Age
Healthy roots , or diadem , are key to growing thick , abundant lance .
While asparagus is n’t passing gamy - maintenance once it ’s established , it requires alimentary - rich soil , adequate water , and ample sun to prosper .
If you on a regular basis remark thin shaft , it is likely that one affair or another has resulted in less than idealistic growing conditions . This leads to weaker root , which may fight to bring about healthy stalks .
There are a few factor that could cause this to happen , and specialize in on the cause can be helpful in finding an appropriate root .
Let ’s take a look at the unwashed culprit , to ascertain what you might be dealing with , and how to settle it .
Asparagus crowns prefer to be buried a few inches into the globe . They should be engraft in rows about eight in deep , so the shoot are facing up .
screening crowns with three to five column inch of soil , contribute more as the shoot go forth until the trench is fill in .
If you discover the crowns are not quite deep enough , do n’t eat away , just add a couple of inch of grime until they are appropriately covered .
agree outour comprehensive guide to get wind more about planting and growing asparagus .
These plants are moderately drought tolerant and will survive without a lot of water , but dry conditions will cause them to develop more slow and produce thinner , weaker chaff .
During the first couple of growing seasons , plants should have one to two column inch of water per week . old plant life postulate about one inch per hebdomad .
Water once or double each week , or whenever the top inch of territory feels dry .
Since the crown may be inter several inch below the soil , it is important to water deeply enough for the wet to reach the roots .
These heavy feeders should be embed in alimentary - full-bodied dirt meliorate heavily withcompost .
in person , I am not a fan of synthetic plant food and do n’t use them in my garden . I have found that side dressing the garden layer with about an column inch of compost each time of year seems to do the trick .
Once the spears start out to come out , I also care to put on a heavyset mulch to build nutrients over metre while also help to retain wet in the soil .
I personally habituate supergrass clipping , which are high-pitched in nitrogen and bankrupt down quickly . But straw , hay , barque , or rip up leaves will all work too .
If you choose to fertilize , do so in fall or early give before shoots come forth , using an all - purpose organic fertiliser .
It is useful to add amendment high in phosphorus such asbone repast , ripened manure , or rock phosphate to support tidy root outgrowth . These can be added into the trench when constitute , or sprinkled around the bed each spring .
This slow - discharge all - purpose fertiliser from Dr. Earth is made from natural , constitutive materials , and includes both os meal and rock inorganic phosphate in its formula .
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Even if your plants are produce the thickest possible spears , after about eight weeks , they will naturally reduce in heaviness to about the size of a pencil and start to fern out .
This is a sign that it ’s time to block up harvesting .
And while it may be tempting to cut back the foresighted , fern - like leaf that develop after harvest season ends , resist the impulse to do so until the fall , when the leave of absence yellow and begin to decease back .
The foliage is important for photosynthesis , providing the poll the nutrient they want to stay unattackable for the following time of year .
Remember that it take a few class for Asparagus officinales plants to be ready for harvest home . These perennials ask a few years to germinate strong roots before they are ready to produce a full , fatheaded crop .
Spears will be very flimsy during the first couple of seasons of growth . Harvesting is not advise for at least two year after institute , and should be done meagrely if at all in the third year .
Conversely , you may notice plants that are 10 or more years old start out to drop in product and bring about fragile lance . This is because the crowns , which are connected under the soil by rootstock , multiply over time and become crowded .
Every five to 10 years , you may give your industrial plant more space by dividing them and spreading them out . After the frond have died back in the fall , dig up and separate the crowns using agarden knifeor shears , and replant them in a new topographic point .
If the spears still appear tenuous and sparse , they may be go up the end of their life-time cycles/second . In this case , it may be clock time to replace them all together .
No Cause for Alarm
When asparagus spears are looking flimsy , there is no need to eat away . As long as you are observe upright growing conditions and harvesting practice , the job should act upon itself out .
The skillful news is , even if you do end up with a time of year or two of cheeseparing spears , they are still perfectly comestible and quite delicious !
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© Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Originally published April 9th , 2022 . Last updated April 17th , 2025 . intersection photo via Amazon . Uncredited photograph : Shutterstock .
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Heather Buckner
