How many asparagus plants per person
Plan on 5 to 20 asparagus crowns per person. University of Maine Extension says five crowns per person of the newer hybrid varieties are enough, while University of Illinois Extension calls 10 to 20 plants per person a good start. The calculator uses the middle, 12 1/2 crowns per person, and rounds up, so a family of four gets 50 crowns.
The spread comes from the plants. Maine's figure assumes all-male hybrids such as Jersey Supreme, Jersey Knight and Jersey Giant, and Clemson Extension notes those all-male cultivars outproduce the old ones about 3 to 1. If you plant older varieties, lean toward Illinois's higher count.
Asparagus crowns for 1 to 6 people
| People | Crowns (middle) | Maine, hybrids (5 per person) | Illinois (10 to 20 per person) | Row at 15 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 5 | 10 to 20 | 16 ft |
| 2 | 25 | 10 | 20 to 40 | 31 ft |
| 3 | 38 | 15 | 30 to 60 | 48 ft |
| 4 | 50 | 20 | 40 to 80 | 63 ft |
| 5 | 63 | 25 | 50 to 100 | 79 ft |
| 6 | 75 | 30 | 60 to 120 | 94 ft |
The row length sets the crowns 15 inches apart, the middle of the 12 to 18 inch spacing that Maine and Clemson use. In a raised bed at 15 inches each way, the 50 crowns for four people need about 78 sq ft, about two and a half 4 × 8 ft beds. Neither source gives a pound figure per plant, so the calculator shows no harvest estimate, and it gives no separate count for freezing: plant toward the top of Illinois's range if you want spears to freeze or pickle.
A bed for many years
Asparagus is a perennial, so you plant once for a long time. Illinois says plantings of 15 years or more are common and Maine gives 15 to 20 years for a well-planted bed; Clemson is more cautious, with seven to eight highly productive years before a slow decline. Choose the count for the household you will have over that time, and give the bed a spot you will not need for anything else.
The first harvests are small
A new bed does not give its full crop for several years. Illinois skips the planting year, cuts for up to two weeks in the second year and up to four weeks in the third, then harvests through May or June from the fourth year as long as spears are thicker than 3/8 inch. So the crowns you plant this spring feed the household properly from the fourth year on.
To lay the crowns out in a bed or row, use the asparagus spacing calculator. For another perennial crop, see strawberry plants per person, and size the rest of the garden with the garden size calculator.