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Post by brownrexx on May 26, 2015 9:07:04 GMT -5
You could gently dig down with your fingers and check the roots of the ones that didn't come up. I planted 25 roots my first year and all 25 came up. I planted Jersey Supreme.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on May 26, 2015 10:22:23 GMT -5
Yesterday I saw a video i think on YouTube where a man was picking from the branches? Is that what you do. You let it grow to bush size? I thought I read somewhere people here were picking to the ground? How many do you have Brown?
Right now I am just looking to get info. But I am trying to figure an area for them and preparing a bed if I will do it in the fall or not.
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Post by brownrexx on May 26, 2015 15:18:44 GMT -5
I don't know what he was picking from the branches unless he was removing the berries so that they did not drop seeds and grow (and crowd his bed).
The spears pop up and you snap them off at ground level if you want to eat them. If you don't snap them off they will grow into the tall ferns that you saw. After we are finished harvesting, then we just let them grow into ferns for the rest of the summer and then cut them down in the fall.
I have 25 roots because that is the only size pack that was available in our local farm store. I get about 20 spears per day and I just froze 2 packs this morning.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on May 26, 2015 17:09:39 GMT -5
So when you snap them off they regrow? I'll see if I can find the video.
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Post by brownrexx on May 26, 2015 19:08:36 GMT -5
The roots continually send up spears as long as you keep picking them. Here is a pic I took for you today. The same spears do not grow back, the roots just send up new spears every day. I picked 21 spears right after I took the pic. Look at the base of the spears and you can see where previous ones were cut off.
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Post by Mumsey on May 26, 2015 19:15:16 GMT -5
So the little ones I dug up and put in a new spot, will they be OK? Is this considered their first year since they grew from seeds? There is one in the middle of my pepper bed that has been sending up spears, I think that one showed up last Spring, so year 2 for that one?
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Post by lilolpeapicker on May 26, 2015 19:22:22 GMT -5
Yes I see where they are cut. How much space is given to your 25 plants?
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Post by brownrexx on May 26, 2015 20:10:35 GMT -5
Is this considered their first year since they grew from seeds? I think that my roots were 2 years old when I bought them but I think that the year they come up from seed is considered to be year 1. Pea, the directions say 12" between plants and 3' between rows but my rows are not that far apart, maybe only 1 1/2' between rows.
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Post by OregonRed on May 27, 2015 10:47:26 GMT -5
how many weeks do you harvest for?
how many spears to you leave to be sure you'll continue the crop for next year?
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Post by brownrexx on May 27, 2015 12:45:23 GMT -5
Mine were planted in 2011 so I can harvest for the full season which is 8 weeks.
No spears are left, everything is harvested for the 8 weeks and then all of the spears that come up after that are allowed to grow into ferns which nourish the roots for next year's crop.
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Post by James on May 27, 2015 22:01:44 GMT -5
My asparagus beds are constantly invaded by grass. The asparagus persists though and keeps coming. It is a rather tough persistent plant. I have seen it come up along the fence lines, likely from seed and persist for years. with no tending.
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Post by James on May 28, 2015 0:18:36 GMT -5
Found some Toad Stools also.....
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Post by brownrexx on May 28, 2015 9:10:29 GMT -5
The asparagus persists though and keeps coming.
The asparagus will persist but it will grow better and produce more spears without the weeds. I am vigilant with my asparagus bed and keep it heavily mulched with straw throughout the summer so that those nasty grasses and weeds don't get a foothold and create competition for nutrients and water.
Pretty toadstools!
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Post by johnrf on May 28, 2015 12:53:30 GMT -5
When spears are large and the stems seem tough I peel them with a vegetable/potato peeler. The spears aren't tough just the skin. I've been picking almost a pound a day for a few weeks. Never liked them frozen so in the past I've wasted a lot. But recently I found some Cream of Asparagus Soup in the freezer from last season. We liked it so this year instead of wasting part of the harvest I'm making soup on those days when we aren't eating the whole picking.
I agree with what others say. Plant 2 year old roots ASAP and don't pick any next year. My bed is almost 30 years old but for the last few years I've been replacing some plants. And 50 feet from my bed, in a bed of glads, I've got a well established asparagus plant that must have come from seed. For many years I've weeded the bed but left the weeds laying the bed. By now the soil in the bed might be the best in the garden. Sometimes, especially after the season, I neglect the bed and it gets some very large weeks. After weeding there might be 6-8 inches of pulled weeds piled in the bed.
And I usually leave the ferns until spring when I cut them and rake out the bed.
I've been crushing asparagus beetles for a couple weeks...
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Post by brownrexx on Jun 16, 2015 11:18:27 GMT -5
Does anyone have a picture of their asparagus? How tall does the plant get? lilolpeapicker here is a pic of my asparagus yesterday. They are growing into ferns now. You can see a small spear at the bottom of the photo too.
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