Horticulturalist Duncan Cocking, who runs Kyneton-based Leaf, Root & Fruit, discusses early asparagus and what that says about carrots.
I harvested our first asparagus spears of the season at the end of August. It was only a small handful, but the kids especially enjoy a change from our brassica glut. I’ve picked a few more spears since then. Asparagus is such a rewarding crop for relatively little effort.
This year’s initial harvest is much earlier than usual. My previous dates for the first asparagus harvest are as follows: September 22 (2019), September 9 (2020), September 5 (2021), September 24 (2022), September 16 (2023), and August 25 (2024).
I’m putting this early first harvest down to the mild winter that we’ve had. Soil temperatures are probably a bit higher at this point than they have been in other years. This has stimulated an early flush of growth from the asparagus crowns.
My first asparagus harvest is my phenological indicator that it’s time to start growing carrots and other root crops. So this week I cultivated some soil and planted crops of carrots and beetroot. I’ve covered the seed beds with polycarbonate sheeting to help keep the soil warm and speed up germination.
Early spring is the best time to sow carrot seeds. The high humidity and frequent rainfall of September makes it so much easier for them to establish. Plant them right now to enjoy tasty homegrown carrots by Christmas.
Find out more in my guides to growing asparagus and growing carrots.
Happy gardening!
Duncan
🥕 For more gardening tips see my latest planting guide and garden update.