
Magnolia pruning made easy
30.01.2014Magnolias are one of those luxurious plants that you may fear ever going near with a pair of loppers.
by Natasha Starkell | 10.02.2014 | 4 steps | medium | 60 - 120 Min. | Rating: votes
Asparagus is a very impressive vegetable to grow at home. It’s one of the most sought-after veggies that you can get, and so you save quite a lot of money by growing this succulent and tasty crop in your own garden. However, you need to be in it for the long term because once you sow asparagus, you won’t get crops until the third year but when you do – you can harvest your asparagus for 20 years or longer.
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Luckily enough you can plant asparagus anywhere as long as it is a sunny location. Make sure that the compost is free draining and enriched with well-rotted manure. Though you can sow from seed, but for the beginners we suggest buying asparagus crowns, which are simply one-year old plants. You should plant the crowns as early in a year as February or March when they are still dormant.
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To create the best asparagus growing area, dig the planting site once or twice if the soil is heavy, while removing weeds and adding well-rotted manure. Break up the soil with a spading fork.
Dig out a trench that is 20cm deep and 30cm wide, spreading a layer of compost at the bottom and covering this with a layer of the soil you’ve dug out (5 cm should be sufficient). Leave 50 cm between trenches.
The top of the asparagus crown should be slightly above the roots. So add some soil to form a 10cm mound down the centre of the trench. Put each asparagus crown on the top of the mound, spacing 30cm apart.
Spread out the roots and backfill the trench, leaving only the very tops of the crowns showing above the surface. Water thoroughly.
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Over the next two years, weed extremely carefully, avoiding disturbing the ground. Add mulch in late winter to keep the bed moist, and feed plants in spring with a blood, fish and bone fertiliser mix. Each autumn, cut the foliage down to ground level as it begins to yellow.
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In the third year, use a sharp knife to remove growing spears starting in April. Spears should be cut off below the surface when they’re 10-15 cm tall. Stop harvesting in the middle of June to allow the plant to regenerate.
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