Cold Hardy to Zone 3 | 1 Year Roots = A Crop the Very Next Growing Season

One of the highest yielding asparagus on the market, Asparagus Millenium is a stem vegetable that produces uniform, tight tipped, tender spears with excellent flavor. For best flavor and texture, harvest shoots in early spring while very young, about 5 to 7 inches long. Asparagus spears can be boiled, braised, roasted, steamed, stir fried, or grilled. Asparagus is considered a superfood for its nutrient rich content, having a high (top 20) Aggregate Nutrient Density Index score (ANDI), or micronutrient-per-calorie density. It is a good source of vitamins B6, C, and K, fiber, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin. It also contains a range of phytonutrients.

Asparagus Millenium, a long-lived, herbaceous perennial, is a member of the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). The plant self-propagates by rhizomatous roots. Dioecious, asparagus requires cross-pollination of 2 separate plants, a male and female, for fruit production. Once established, the plant can produce for decades with proper care, but it should not be harvested until the second year.

If asparagus is not harvested, the plant produces a towering fern of attractive feathery foliage of very branched tiny, linear leaves that turn yellow in fall and eventually die back naturally. Asparagus Millenium has a higher proportion of male plants. Female plants may also produce ornamental red berries that are toxic and should not be eaten. The plants have ornamental value and are suitable for edible landscapes.

Asparagus Millenium is hardy and easy to grow. It prefers full sun and loose, organically rich, evenly moist, sandy, well-drained soil with a neutral pH of 6.0 to 7.0 and that is free of weeds. But it grows successfully in a wide range of soil types, including heavy soils. Top dress with compost and apply nitrogen yearly, in early spring. It grows best in cooler locales with long winters. Asparagus Millenium is asparagus rust, fusarium, crown rot and rabbit resistant.

Asparagus

Asparagus is one of the few perennial vegetables; it can last up to twenty years with minimal care. It should be planted in an out of the way spot, since it is semi-permanent, takes up a lot of space, and grows up to 6 ft. (2 m) tall. A spot near a fence with plenty of space for further growth, facing the sun, is ideal.

Asparagus is sold as roots. The first season is spent developing their root systems. Asparagus is ready to harvest the second season after planting. Plant asparagus in trenches, approximately 1 ft. (30 cm) wide and 10 in. (25 cm) deep, with the crowns 6 in. (15 cm) below the surface and spaced 1 ft. (30 cm) apart within the trench. The root should be covered with a thin layer of soil at the bottom of the trench. As plants grow, fill in the trench, making sure not to cover the stem tips. Asparagus is a heavy feeder. Be sure to water and fertilize adequately.

Harvest mature stems when they are about 1 in.

(2 cm) in thickness. The plants' first harvest should last four to six weeks. Stop harvesting when thin stalks appear, indicating plant exhaustion. Harvest length will increase as the plants mature. In the fall plants should be cut back to the ground and mulched for winter protection. Mulch should be removed in the spring when weather allows.

A cool-season vegetable, one of the first to be planted in the garden, asparagus seed can be direct sown into the garden in early spring 2 to 4 weeks before the last frost date. It can also be started indoors 8 to 10 weeks before transplanting in the garden when the soil reaches a temperature of 60° to 65°F. Mulching helps to moderate soil temperature as well as to maintain soil moisture and control weeds. Protect plants with row covers if temperatures are expected to dip below 20°F.