Gardening: Spears of destiny

I've always been put off planting asparagus because it takes so long to deliver. To wait two or three years is a big ask of someone with a short attention span.

But on the plus side, asparagus is relatively easy to grow and, of course, it's such a fantastic vegetable it has to be worth it in the end.

Sow seeds in the garden at a depth about three times the diameter of the seed. Set them 20cm apart. The soil temperature should be between 16C and 30C.

Within two or three years they will develop into crowns.

If you want to plant crowns, place them 20-40cm apart and a few centimetres deep in well-manured soil. The shoots grow in spring and you can harvest any that are bigger than 1.5cm in diameter. Leave the rest to grow into the leafy ferns that'll feed the crowns to give a crop next year.

In autumn, the ferns will be covered in bright-red poisonous berries. Let them die down, trim off the dead stalks and pile on plenty of compost.