Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a hero in both the kitchen and the garden. It is easy and fast to grow indoors to add a slight nutty taste to salads or sandwiches.
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If there’s one vegie worth investing your time in, Asparagus is it – literally! It can take up to 2 years for your crop to be productive, but the wait is well worth it. All you need to do is to prep the soil well, give it basic care and this will ensure it will produce delicious and crunchy spears for fifteen years or more! Asparagus can be grown from seed, but it is typically grown bare rooted crowns (aka bunch of fleshy roots) in winter.
How to grow asparagus in a garden
Growing from seed
- Prepare the soil by adding in Yates Thrive Natural Blood Bone with Seaweed.
- Seedlings should be two years old before planting out in their permanent position.
- Asparagus has male and female plants – males grow bigger and produce better spears so female plants, which grow red berries, should be discarded.
How to grow asparagus in a garden
Growing from crown
- Prepare the soil by adding in Yates Thrive Natural Blood Bone with Seaweed.
- Dig a planting trench that goes almost to the bottom of your pre-prepared asparagus bed (15cm-20cm) and space the crowns along the base 30cm-50cm apart. Spread each clump over its own little mound of soil, and cover lightly.
- Backfill trench with soil as the shoots grow.
- When the trench is full, mulch with a thick layer of organic matter (e.g. compost mixed with dried grass clippings).
- Water and feed regularly with Yates Thrive Natural Fish Seaweed+ Plant Food Concentrate.
Growing tips
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As plants grow, they develop leafy fronds, which capture energy from the sun for the spears to grow. They will naturally die down in winter, but don’t worry, they will unfailingly re-appear each spring. Remove and compost the dead ferns in autumn and feed in late winter or early spring with Yates Thrive Natural Blood Bone with Seaweed. Renew the layer of mulch each year.
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Small spears will appear in the first year, but we recommend pruning them so the plant doesn’t waste energy into producing them. Your first proper harvest will be the second growing season. Feed regularly during the warmer months with Yates Thrive Vegie and Herb Liquid Plant Food.
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Recommended products
Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone with Seaweed
A certified organic garden input boosted with NZ Seaweed to gently nourish plants, enrich the soil and encourage a strong healthy root system.
Yates Thrive Natural Fish & Seaweed+ Plant Food Concentrate
A complete plant food enriched with natural fish, seaweed, humates, molasses and more - boosted with NPK to improve plant and soil vitality.
Yates Thrive Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food
Provides vegies and herbs with the balanced nutrition they need to produce strong, healthy growth and improved yields
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