Hey Kym,

Did you buy any Asparagus yet?  If not I will be getting some Mary Washington Asparagus seeds soon.... I can send some to you and we can both try it!

Heidi

Kym,

This site provides great tips on growing asparagus!  I hope it will provide helpful info for you, and everyone who grows asparagus.

Best of luck....

maw 

 

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When i plant mine... and replanted that which was dug up for a new drainfield... a story in itself...  I did dig a trench 6 to 8 inches deep and 10 inches or so wide.  Then I put a slightly raised berm down the center of the trench to elevate the crown of the asparagus plant and spread the roots out over the berm.  Then i refilled the trench about half full.  At the end of the season I completed teh filling the trench and actually ended up with a raised ridge. 

 At the end of the growing season, I cut off the tops, fertilize with manure, and mulch.

I found asparagus to be a wonderfully tough plant once well established, don't sweat it too much.  Keep the weeds out, fertilize occasionally and water only when needed.

"Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree does"-- George Bernard Shaw

for the first few years...do you just ignore the plants ( other than watering of course) or do you need to cut them to keep from going to seed or anything as far as upkeep goes ?? The Christmas tree shop had roots, i think ill go back and buy them...I also saw reference to a trench ??

Forgive me , but I want to make sure I do it the right way, so I can enjoy eating them, it is costly to pay 4.00 a bunch here...and I am sure the price will just keep rising like everything else...

I too am trying asparagus for the first time this year.  I have purchased Mary Washington SEED and am going to start my own....  Not sure this is the best way to go about it, but it sure is alot cheaper than buying the crowns.  And since it comes with so much seed in a packet I will have plenty of started plants to share with others....

Kym, I was always led to believe that roots were preferable....and as treeman said, the reason is pretty self evident.

My experience has been this: you need a decent amount of space because the rhizomes will spread out a lot. During the first year (the year you won't get a harvest,) the plants will be busy establishing a root system and spreading out and providing good nourishment for the plants they will send up the following year.

The roots grow pretty deep, so you need to have well tilled and good draining soil.....It doesn't have to be farm quality soil, but just good draining and good quality soil.

I never fertilized my asparagus starts....I just sort of left them alone.....A good rain that will drench them to about 2 inches into the soil per week is pretty standard for all food crops. If you don't get that in rain, plan to water.

There are various different varieties of asparagus, so do a bit of research before deciding what to plant. They may also have different growing requirements.

White asparagus is NOT a different plant. It's the same plant as the green stuff. The only thing that causes it to be white is that it's the plants are covered after they start to emerge from the ground. They are covered so that they don't get the chlorophyll that is necessary to turn the plants green. Personally, I don't think it is nearly as good as the green.

If you really like asparagus and want to taste the best stuff you've ever had, do a Google search for Mister Spear. Every year, I send my mom some asparagus -- usually for mother's day and/or her birthday. This place has the best asparagus anywhere on the planet, and that's no joke.....I don't work for them or anything else. I just happen to like their produce, and know that my mom is nuts about it too!

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Now here is a subject near and dear too my hea.... umm stomach. 

Asparagus is really quite easy.  There are two big differences between seed and First is that time to first harvest is pretty much 1 year shorter when you plant roots.  That is you can begin harvesting about 1 year earlier.... about the tird year out for roots as opposed to 4 years when you start with seeds.  Asparagus is a perennial, and it is desireable to allow the plants to grow unharvested for several years to allow the plant to build a stout root system.  The tops produce the food needed by the plant to build the root system up.  Once the root system is well established it will have stored adequate reserves tolerate the annual removal of the sprouts for dinner.mmmmm...mmmm... mmmmm  Good Stuff. 

 

The other reason for using roots is that you can select varieties that have already had the females culled out.  The males produce consistently larger, plumper, bigger yields of shoots as the distaff side puts too much of its enegry into seed production rather than root storage for the next year.  

  Once well established you can harvest the spring shoots as they emerge from the ground.  They should be nice and plump.  Cut them at ground level with a sharp knife, then take the tip and butt between the forefinger and thumb of each hand and bend the sshoot till it snaps.  Toss the butt end and keep the tender top for  good eating.  Once the size of new shoots diminishes to the size of pencil, it is time to quit harvesting and let the aspagus fern out  Either way you have to practice some patience, and not over due the harvest even in the 3rd and 4th years.

 

Average soil is fine.  I fertilize with manure after I'm done harvesting and in the autumn.  I mulch the production area to discourage weeds and maintain even soil moisture and water when called for by weather conditions.

"Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree does"-- George Bernard Shaw