IF YOU buy it in the shops, asparagus can be pretty expensive. But we can grow it outdoors in Britain, so it’s not surprising that more people than ever now want to grow their own.

A smallish bed, maybe six feet by two feet, is enough to keep a pair of asparagus fanciers in tasty home-grown spears throughout the asparagus season (late April until mid June) every year.

It needs far less looking after than an intensive salad or veg patch of that size, so an asparagus bed is ideal for what you might call the idle gourmet.

Since asparagus is a long-term crop that lives in the same bed for its entire life of 20 years or so, it’s vital to prepare the soil well. Even though you won’t plant until spring, start making the bed now.

Mark out your plot in a sunny, sheltered spot with well-drained soil and dig in as much well-rotted organic matter as you can, removing stones and weeds as you go.

Pay particular attention to perennial weeds which will make your life a misery for years, as well as reducing your crop. Leave the soil lying rough through the winter but hoe off any weeds that come up.

Meanwhile, find a supplier of good quality asparagus plants. Most large seed firms supply them through their catalogues for spring delivery. Alternatively, you’ll find pot-grown plants in garden centres at planting time in April.

When you have your plants, give the ground a final forking over, working in some organic general fertiliser (Growmore or Vitax Q4). If the soil isn’t naturally well-drained, make a raised bed or a series of ridges six inches high and three feet apart.

Plant your asparagus crowns carefully in fair-sized holes so you can spread the roots out well in the bottom. Plant them so the top of the crown is two inches below the surface to allow for gradually “earthing up” later, which gives you superior, long-stemmed shoots.

在英國，商店中的蘆筍價格不斐，因此，越來越多的人開始在自家種值蘆筍，這也就不足為奇了。

一小塊約六英尺乘二英尺的菜地，就足夠兩個蘆筍愛好者在整個蘆筍季節中（四月末至六月中）品嘗美味的自種嫩筍。

與種植同樣面積的生菜或蔬菜相比，種植蘆筍要輕松許多。因此，如果您想做個悠閑的美食家，一片蘆筍地便是理想之選。

由于蘆筍是長期作物，需在同一塊土地生長二十余年，因此準備適宜的土壤尤為重要。即便您打算來年春天種植，也應從現在開始準備菜地。

在一處陽光充足、保護措施良好、土壤排水性能佳的地點開出一塊地，盡可能多地翻出充分分解的有機質，并除去石塊與雜草。

要特別注意那些終年生長讓人煩惱的雜草，它們還會降低你的作物產量。將開好的地保持現狀，直至冬天結束。期間，只要進行除草即可。

同時，找一家提供高質量蘆筍幼苗的供應商。大多數種子公司通過其產品目錄進行春季供貨。或者，當四月的種植期來到時，你還可以在公園中心找到盆栽的幼苗。

拿到幼苗后,再把地最后耙一遍,添加一些有機類肥料(Growmore或Vitax Q4).如果土壤本身的排水性不好,則應采用壟作模式或使用一連串六英寸高、三英尺間隔的田埂進行栽培。

將蘆筍根徑植入大小適合的洞中，這樣可使其根部在底部很好地伸展。種植時，根徑頂部應低于地表兩英寸，以便之后不斷進行“培土”，這樣就可以生長出優良的長莖新牙了。