Asparagus-planting?????

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skywarrior Apr 13, 2003

I just created an asparagus bed. I dug the trenches and laid down umpteen inches of mature compost--made my mound--and planted the crowns covering the roots with amended soil. Now it syays to add back soil to the trench as they grow. Well I put all the extra soil in my wheelbarrow (for want of any room). I was wondering --do I have to fill in gradually or can I fill the trenches now??? I really need that wheelbarrow--but after all the work I put in I do not want to endager the crowns.

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farmgirl21 Hempstead, TX(Zone 8b) Apr 14, 2003

when we planted ours a few yrs ago dh filled it all in right away they grew better than the ones i filled in gradually.

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Joan Belfield, ND(Zone 4a) Apr 14, 2003

I've never tried the completely covering method, but farmgirl said it worked for her, so it very well could work. I did the gradual fill in as they grew though, and that also worked for me. I dug my trenches 12 inches deep though, so figured I needed to fill in gradually in order for them to live. This will be my third year with this asparagus patch, and I'm SOOOO looking forward to being able to harvest for a short period. They say not to harvest until the third year and I've been real good about that, but it was hard. I'd say take your pick. If you decide to do the gradual fill, I'd dump the wheelbarrow closeby and just shovel it in a bit at a time over the summer.

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leaflady Hughesville, MO(Zone 5a) Apr 16, 2003

I've always filled in completely when I planted. Just yesterday I moved several LARGE older plants with many crowns on them. I had to cut off roots of course in the digging process but they have tremendous root systems that are sill about 8" long.. I won't be able to harvest this year but really expect to do so lightly next year. I put them into a raised bed with lots of very old horse stable cleanings. I gave the bed a good dose of 5-24-24 fertilizer to get the roots going again. Some of those clumps weighed 15 pounds or more with most of the dirt removed. A couple of them had the crowns about 6" below the soil line and roots more than 3' deep. I thought I would never get those things out of the soil. I could plant a good size tree in the hole!
Obviously I really like asparagus.

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