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The taste of fresh asparagusin May is worth waiting for. A perennial crop, established asparagus plants will provide an annual crop of tasty spears for up to 20 years.Choose the spot you will grow your asparagus carefully. Asparagus needs lots

the time to eat my asparagus is getting closer.For best results, you should grow asparagus in a nutrient-rich bed with good drainage. I made a raised bed, packed it with a mixture of soil, well rotted manure plus a little sand  to ensure good drainage

Watch Monty Don's video demonstration of how to plant asparagus crowns, with advice on the soil preparation, aspect and aftercare.autumn or springMore advice on growing asparagusHow to plant asparagusPlant profile of asparagus officinalis

, with little effort on my part.I don't know why I didn't grow asparagus, as it's really easy. Now I'll have to wait to next spring to plant some crowns, and then another couple of years before getting a decent meal out of them.

Make a composting trench to enrich soil where beans will grow next springMake compost from spent cropsDig over vacant areasLift and divide congested clumps of rhubarbCut down asparagus fronds and the tops of Jerusalem artichokesBuy in rotted

Sow seeds of dwarf and climbing beans in deep pots or cardboard toilet roll tubes filled with compostPlant new asparagus bedsContinue planting potatoes, shallots and onion setsFeed spring cabbage with a high-nitrogen fertiliserRemove forcing jars

and other crops to keep them growing stronglyStop cutting asparagus by the end of June to allow the ferns to formThin out heavy gooseberry crops by removing the smallest fruits, and use these for cookingMake successional sowings of salad leaves and radishes

.Clean and sharpen knives and secateursPut up nesting boxes for birds on suitable treesMove shrubs growing in the wrong placeAround the gardenCut down willows and dogwoods to their baseFinish taking hardwood cuttingsPlant bare-root roses, hedging, trees and shrubs

I was producing a crop of water chestnuts).I'm also intending to start a small asparagus bed. Asparagus is a fascinating vegetable. Until a couple of years ago I heartily disliked it, but now I've fallen for its charms I'm going to attempt to grow

of the conversation were something along these lines...There are the obvious posh vegetables like asparagus and artichokes - because of their very short seasons and, probably because of the large amount of drippingly melted butter involved in their consumption. Both