If you’ve never seen a mature asparagus plant, you’re in for a treat. They grow large, feathery, fern-like leaves.

If you’re interested in growing asparagus in your garden, you’ll be rewarded with 15 years of annual harvests.

You’ll need some patience because asparagus spears need to be eight inches high before they can be harvested—this takes about two to three years. Once the plants are ready, harvest them between early May and late June.

Here’s some helpful info to get you started.

Sunshine: Choose a very sunny spot in your garden or a raised bed with well-drained organic soil with a pH of 6.5–7.0. Fortify your soil with phosphorus and potassium to ensure you have successful growth.

Asparagus can be grown from seed or crowns.

Seeds: If you are using seed, plant in the spring. Plant them 1 inch deep, two to three inches apart; they’ll germinate in about 3 weeks. Once the seeds sprout, allow them to continue growing through the summer. Keep the soil moist; weed and compost regularly. In late October, mulch around the seedlings with four to six inches of straw. (This protects the new growth through winter.) In early April, carefully dig up the root/crowns and move them to a more permanent spot in your garden.

Crowns: If you purchased asparagus crowns or have been given a few crowns, plant them in a trench about eight inches deep. Space crowns about 12 to 18 inches apart. Cover them with about two inches of rich organic soil and a small amount of the phosphorus/potassium mixture. Keep the area moist, especially as the plants become established. As the crown grows, add back soil in two-inch increments from outside the trench until the bed is level. After the harvest, let the asparagus plant continue to develop and grow the large, feathery, fern-like leaves. The fern creates energy that will be stored in the root to produce next year’s growth.

Pests: Watch out for cutworms and aphids as the seedlings grow. For cutworms, keep your garden area weed-free, use a collar around seedlings to protect them or hand-pick the cutworms off the seedlings. Plant marigolds or nasturtiums in another part of the garden to attract the aphids away from the asparagus seedlings.