Asparagus Pacific Purple

The latest and greatest Asparagus from New Zealand. Pacific Purple is high yielding, sweeter and much more tender than the green Asparagus varieties. Very lower fibre content which means it can be eaten both raw and cooked almost whole.

Perennial vegetable Pacific Purple is a colourful Asparagus that produces tender stringless spears. To retain colour this Asparagus is best lightly steamed or eaten raw in salad or with dips.

How to Grow Asparagus from Seed

Asparagus grown from seed takes at least a year long to reach harvest than crown transplanted Asparagus, but as the bed should go on producing tasty tender spears for many years to come, 15 to 20 if you’re lucky, this is often considered a small price to pay.

Asparagus seed can be started indoor in individual pots during early Spring, when germination typically takes 21 to 30 days, or can be sown directly into the bed where it is to be grown.

From late March to early April plant Asparagus seeds into moist soil. Soak the seed in water for a couple of hours before planting to encourage germination. Sow Asparagus seed thinly 2 to 5cm deep in rows about 30cm or 12 inches apart.

Keep the seed bed moist and once the seedlings are large enough thin them to about 5cm or 2 inches apart. Let them grow on, keeping moist until they are about 15cm, or 6 inches tall then thin them again, leaving 30cm or 12 inches between plants.

If your seedlings have females amongst them they will produce berries. Female Asparagus plants will not be as productive as males so when they show berries pull them out leaving just the male plants to grow on.

Cut the plants down in autumn as you will each year, keep the bed weed free and watered.