The first sign of spring

Here we are only part way through the second month of  the southern hemisphere winter and this morning the first sign of spring could be found poking thru it's oaten hay mulch.

The first spear of asparagus has arrived but I must resist the urge to cut it and steam it and dip it in olive oil and eat it.

My asparagus plants have only just gone in.
This is the first time I have tried growing asparagus. I bought 5 crowns just a few weeks ago and planted them carefully into a their bed loaded with multiple kinds of manure  - sheep, cow, horse, alpaca.

I covered the bed lightly with oaten hay that Geranium our house cow had not eaten and pretty much left the crowns to get on with it, and they have.

I wonder how many stalks each crown will produce this year? And if I am very good and don't cut any this year,  will I be rewarded with  many more stalks next year? Will the restraint be worth it to strengthen the crowns?

I am thinking that my mother (an asparagus lover), who has  until now at least, vowed not to visit us in our cold winters or in our ferocious summers, will nonetheless be tempted to visit us  in July or August next year in order to share in the first of the season's asparagus.

Sparrows' Grass

Today I planted a vegetable that I have been wanting to grow for ages. As a child I new it as Sparrows' Grass, but sensible adults would call it asparagus or heaven in a stalk.

I planted crowns - 5 of them, and bizarre looking things they are too - kind of like a spider with too many fleshy legs and with a bunch of brown buds in the middle.

Some crowns seem to have two sets of buds.

On two of the crowns there were actually baby white asparagus spears.

I prepared the bed well I think? It was a brand new bed  - one of the first I prepared in Fortress Wallaby my fenced vegetable plot.  It's been stewing for a few weeks now. Basically the bed was prepared by removing all the grass by digging carefully thru the soil and loading the bed  with different manurers - horse, cow, and sheep, all sourced from Highfield or the farm next door.  I also added some top soil from the property and finally today some less 'hot'  cow manure and some mushroom compost that I purchased.

I made some hills and trenches and laid the crowns over the hills, spreading the roots so they draped into the trenches.

Then I covered them up so that the top of the crown was covered with 10cms of soil. I planted them about 40cms apart.

I am not sure that I will be able to stop myself picking them for two years...apparently such restraint is required to ensure that the plants are strong.

Do you grow asparagus?  Did you plant seeds or crowns? How many crowns do you think is sufficient?