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Post by desertwoman on Apr 14, 2019 10:01:36 GMT -5
Who's growing it this year? I've never grown it and am considering it. I understand it takes a while before its harvestable. I am a complete novice with this crop. So how does that work? Once you pick spears are they done? Or are they sort of like a perennial and come back? I'm thinking an asparagus bed is a dedicated bed, right? So once you pick spears there's no other crop that can be planted in that space to follow it?
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Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 14, 2019 10:25:51 GMT -5
You've got everything pretty much right, desertwoman. I just planted 23 asparagus crowns for the first time this year - I've had a spot between my garden and my neighbor's fence, where I never really had anything growing, so I tilled that deeply, then used the tiller to dig a deep trench, and planted the crowns there. Then, I buried them with 2" of soil, and I'll do this again soon (the sprouts are starting to appear), then, eventually, bury them again, leveling the ground. Then I'll mulch it thickly. I won't get any harvest this year, and not much next year, but the following season should start giving me a good harvest. |
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Post by tom 🕊 on Apr 14, 2019 10:36:49 GMT -5
Who's growing it this year? I've never grown it and am considering it. Had my one asparagus spear yesterday. It's from a volunteer in a bed of flowing ginger that I was weeding. The nurse who trained me on the ways of warfarin said, "Maybe one spear a week," so I did away with my asparagus bed. Disadvantages of asparagus: slow to get a bed started; takes much space for little yield; asparagus beetles. Advantages: last forever; tastes good; looks pretty. |
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Post by binnylou on Apr 14, 2019 11:49:18 GMT -5
There is nothing like finding that single first spear in the garden, picking it, and eating it right in the garden. The intense taste of fresh green is wonderful to the taste buds.
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Post by deckman22 on Apr 14, 2019 20:11:13 GMT -5
I'm in my third year with mine now. None the first year of course, last year quite a few and this year looks to be even better. I started with a half dozen crowns & have 5 producing this year. They always sprout after a good rain. Last year most never made it out of the garden.
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Post by Mumsey on Apr 16, 2019 3:20:21 GMT -5
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Post by desertwoman on Apr 16, 2019 9:26:02 GMT -5
Thanks! Mumsey, Another question... approximately how many spears come from one crown? (when mature) And is there a difference between really thin stalks and fatter ones? Are they a different variety or are thin ones just younger stalks? |
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Post by tom 🕊 on Apr 16, 2019 9:48:32 GMT -5
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Post by tom 🕊 on Apr 16, 2019 11:50:31 GMT -5
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Post by desertwoman on Apr 16, 2019 18:29:11 GMT -5
I've eaten my fair share of wild asparagus! tom 🕊, It's so much fun to walk the banks of the creeks and irrigation ditches, in our little valley, and gather them. |
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Post by James on Apr 18, 2019 18:30:00 GMT -5
Asparagus is a perennial plant. It needs a dedicated plot. It can grow there for years. In spring cut all shoots when they are about 10 to 12 inches tall. On June 1 you stop cutting, water, fertilize and let the plant grow up tall. It will go around 6 feet tall. You just let this growth stand until the first fall frost, then it can be clipped. It is during this time that the plant puts down stores into the roots that will bring you next years Spring crop. Have fun!
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Post by binnylou on May 2, 2019 13:51:44 GMT -5
Is anybody growing their asparagus in a permanent raised bed? I’m finding it more and more difficult to control the weeds in my asparagus bed, and wondering if a raised bed might be my best solution.
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Post by SpringRain on May 2, 2019 14:31:18 GMT -5
Lots of good questions and answers here. I've thought of growing my own as I've only been able to find non American spears at the grocery stores (no organic stores around. Closest would be the Ford Hospital complex, but I don't know yet if they grow and sell asparagus). Mumsey , good article; I've bookmarked it for future reference. James , do you trim regularly, keeping the shoots to no more than 10 or 12" tall? Can you eat the shoots? One question arises: the Planting Instruction in the article Mumsey cited advise to add soil amendments annually. Does anyone who's growing it add anything but well decomposed compost? Do you mulch it, and if so, what's the best kind of mulch for this crop? Or are there special treatments for enhancing an asparagus soil bed? Another question, same as that raised by desertwoman . Does one crown produce only one spear? If so, then I would think several dozen crowns must be planted to get a good crop for multiple meals Also, same question as binnylou . I'm thinking that it would be easier to keep out unwanted invaders if crowns were planted in containers, but I'm guessing it would need to be quite a large container? And, how can the crop be spread? Can the crowns that are trimmed be used to start new plants? If not, how do you propagate them w/o buying more crowns? Where are the seeds, or do they spread by roots? |
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Post by tom 🕊 on May 2, 2019 14:54:17 GMT -5
Does one crown produce only one spear? Each crown produces several. As I remember, the first spears are the largest. I grew mine from seed. The female plants make red berries containing seed. If you can, buy male plants. They have larger spears. Mine didn't. Don't try it. They make a large root system. I gave mine dolomite limestone yearly. |
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Post by martywny on May 2, 2019 16:13:57 GMT -5
tom 🕊, SpringRain, I have asparagus plants that did not do well last year and I think they need more soil over them. Does it hurt to bury the crowns again?
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