Asparagus

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Cutworms

Cutworms

Noctuidae

A seedling lying beside its own stump in the morning, cut clean through at soil level.

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Attract Ground beetles

Ground beetles

Carabidae

Night-active ground hunters, taking slugs, cutworms and leatherjackets at soil level.

to keep them in check — plant Alpine StrawberryGreat, fescueGreat and Alsike CloverGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Start Asparagus indoors about 12 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in cooler soil (around 10–18 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 21 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 45 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 730 days.

Asparagus seed rarely stays viable beyond 3 years — track what's still worth sowing.

Companion Planting

• 
  Alpine Strawberry
  

  Alpine StrawberryGreat pair

  • ❧Alpine Strawberry attracts Ground beetles, which prey on the Cutworms that attack Asparagus
  • ❧Alpine Strawberry acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Asparagus
  • ❧Asparagus gives Alpine Strawberry sheltering shade in the heat of summer
• 
  fescue
  

  fescueGreat pair

  • ❧fescue attracts Ground beetles, which prey on the Cutworms that attack Asparagus
  • ❧fescue acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Asparagus
  • ❧Asparagus gives fescue sheltering shade in the heat of summer
• 
  Alsike Clover
  

  Alsike CloverGood pair

  • ❧Alsike Clover attracts Ground beetles, which prey on the Cutworms that attack Asparagus
  • ❧Alsike Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil that Asparagus feeds on

How to grow Asparagus

1. Sow12 weeks before frost
2. Germinates21 days
3. Space45 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~730 days

Water: Medium · Height: 150 cm · Soil: Deep, well-draining, sandy, slightly alkaline — fertile and weed-free