Aspire to asparagus

But for many, asparagus is a jewel in their culinary calendar; when it's in season, they just can't get enough of the stuff. Which means that next month, taste buds across the country will be waiting in eager anticipation of the annual feast which is about to be brought to the table.

But some asparagus aficionados may have limited understanding of how their flavour-packed spears arrive on their plates, and there aren't that many people who grow asparagus – despite the national obsession with grow-your-own.

Why don't we grow our own asparagus? Perhaps it's because of the investment of time and patience that's required, combined with the acceptance of a high quality but low yield – which is why asparagus isn't the cheapest vegetable to buy in the shops. But the rewards from growing your own can be great.

You don't need acres of land or huge experience to grow asparagus, just a genuine passion for the plant, commitment, a few essential items and a step-by-step "how to grow guide".Preparation is the key.

Asparagus will grow well if you set up the right conditions from the outset –

it's worth it as the plants will crop for up to 20 years.

Find a sheltered, sunny spot where the soil is reasonably fertile and well-drained. Excavated to a depth of 60cm; if the soil has clay content put a layer of stone or broken bricks in the bottom to help with drainage. It is also an advantage with heavier clay soils to end up with the top of your beds 30cm above natural ground level. As the soil is put back into the trench add either some well-rotted animal manure or compost.

A bed 1.5m wide will allow the planting of three rows with 45cm between the rows and approximately 25cm between the plants. If space is more limited, a bed one metre wide will accommodate two rows.Asparagus can be grown from seed, although it's easier and more rewarding for those who are less patient to grow asparagus from a one-year-old "crown" – a ready-grown plant which you can buy from a garden centre or nursery. Crowns weighing a minimum of 60g each should be planted in April. Just prior to planting, immerse them in water to re-hydrate them.

Excavate small trenches along the proposed line of planting, with the base being 15cm below original ground level. Lay the moist crowns in the trench, spaced as suggested above, and cover with soil.

The soil surface across the bed will be level with 13 to 15cm of soil above all of the crowns. As a rough guide, when the beds are in full production, each crown should produce 250g during the season.

Keep the growing area well weeded – hand-weed rather than use a hoe to avoid damaging the emerging plants. In early spring, gently remove soil from above one or two crowns and check the depth of soil over them. This needs to be maintained at 14 to 15cm and, as the crowns slowly grow higher in the soil year on year. After three years or so, additional soil may need importing from another area of the garden to maintain this essential soil cover.

Don't harvest asparagus the first year after planting but let the spears develop to fern and allow the plant time to grow and increase its root system. In the second year after planting, harvest for a just two weeks; from year three harvest for anything up to two months.

Harvesting beyond mid-summer will shorten the life of the bed. Remember that late spring frosts can be dangers, so cover the bed with some garden fleece if a frost is predicted. And as asparagus matures, it has a tendency to rise out of the soil, so keep covering the crowns with soil.

Allow the fern to grow right through to the end of the year, by which time it will have turned brown. Then cut all the stems at ground level and remove, either composting or destroying to avoid the risk of carrying over disease to the following year.

Yes, it's a lot of hard work, but asparagus is held in high regard throughout the world. Apart from Germany, the Vale of Evesham, in the UK, holds an annual festival to celebrate it, and, further afield, Stockton, in California, is this year celebrating 25 years of asparagus festivals.

So if you fancy all things asparagus, including ice-cream, head for the West Coast of the US.