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Originating from Europe, North Africa and West Asia, asparagus has been cultivated for over 2,000 years as a vegetable and medicinal herb. A herbaceous perennial (winter dormant), the first shoots of asparagus in spring are one of the most anticipated events in the vegetable growing calendar! ‘Precocce d’Argenteuil’ translates as Argenteuil (a French placename) Early, and this is both an early producing, and an early season variety. A French heirloom cultivar, dating from around 1885, it was bred from the Giant Dutch Purple variety of asparagus. It has rose-green stems and an attractive, rosy pink tip (note that the colour will be lost on cooking). The spears are tender with a sweet, mild, nutty and delicate flavour. Very popular variety in Europe, this is the one most commonly used to produce white asparagus (where the stems are blanched, ie. prevented from exposure to sunlight).
Prepare your asparagus beds well, in a sunny spot (or light shade only). Asparagus needs deep, rich well drained soil – plenty of compost with added sand or fine stones (it is found naturally in river and coastal environments in sandy soil). It enjoys a pH level in the neutral range of 6.5 to 7.5. Beds will crop for 20 years or more, so it’s worth putting the effort in up front! Space plants at least 30cm apart in rows 50cm apart. How many plants you need depends on your requirements as a household, but I’d recommend three per person as an absolute minimum (and personally I can eat a lot more than that!). Water plants in well, add more compost, and then mulch. We used wood chip mulch to start our beds off but have planted a living mulch of wild and alpine strawberries which seems to be working well. Feed the bed again once or twice through the season and then again at the start of each season. Dormant plants are frost hardy; new spears may be damaged by hard frosts (but more will be on their way!)
Asparagus needs to develop a good crown (underground mass of tuberous roots, providing the reserve of energy) before it can be harvested. So, despite the fact that spears will be produced in year two, you should resist the urge to harvest them, for the sake of your next 20 years’ harvests! Allow the feathery stems to develop throughout the summer and do not cut them down until they have yellowed off. Year three will be your first harvest. Harvest only spears that are thicker than a pencil, and be sure to cut them off at ground level.
You may notice red berries produced on some stems; these are (usually) female plants – asparagus is dioecious, having separate male and female plants. Until recently, many growers preferred male plants as they produce more spears, and some male-only hybrids were developed. However, under open field systems (where asparagus is not ‘forced’), recent research has found female plants often produce bigger spears, which have a higher market value, and in fact the weight and yield of female plants were equivalent to or significantly higher than those of male plants, regardless of the cultivar.
Both the roots and the shoots can be used medicinally; they have a restorative and cleansing effect on the bowels, kidneys and liver. The shoots can be juiced fresh, and the roots are harvested in late spring, after the shoots have been cut as a food crop, and are dried for later use (this will obviously impact future crops however). The strongly diuretic action of the roots make it useful in the treatment of a variety of urinary problems including cystitis. The roots are said to be able to lower blood pressure, and have also been used in the treatment of cancer.
Primary Actions: anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, digestive, diuretic, detoxifying, immuno-stimulant
Parts Used: shoots and roots
Energetics: moistening, warming
N.B. Shipping costs are added AFTER you have placed your order, you will then be emailed an invoice with bank details.
Smallest box rate:
This can fit up to 9 plants in 9cm pots.
Shipping a single tree can be expensive. We may be able to fit more in the box for the same price! See our shipping rates for single and multi tree boxes.
Combining sizes?
No problem, we will work out the best rate for you once you’ve placed your order.
Jo has a passion for growing herbs but is not a qualified herbalist and has no medical background.
We are lucky to have Patricia Beagle working here at times, who is qualified, and some of her advice does appear on these pages, but herbs act differently for different people and can interact with other medicines. We therefore always recommend that you consult with your own qualified health-care practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing or on any medications.
Kahikatea Farm cannot take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of the plants or a plant not having the effect it is reputed to have.
