What will asparagus DO!!?

HI! I just planted 60 asparagus plants I got on sale. Its a little late but I set them in 6 inches and will mound them as they sprout. Ive never planted them before and am very excited! Will they sprout? How many years til I harvest?! Tell me! Tell me!!! Tell me!!

Greta There is a real good site that tells all about asparagas I will see if I can find it again. Basicaly it says plant them 5 or 6 inches deep and makes no difference which way you set the crown it tells what type fertilizer to put in the trench and says you do not need to seperate the roots from the fertilizer.

As for harvesting you can do it next year but only untill the spears to about 3/8 of an inch in dia then stop. It states it is an old wives tale to wait three years to harvest. Ernie

Type in asparagas growing see the artical written by ohio state u ag dept sorry don't know how to do link thing. Ernie

This message was edited Jun 10, 2004 9:16 PM

Try this site gretagreta. It has tons of info.
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/iac/agnic/asparagus.html

Good link bob the site I referred to is within this link this one has more choices to get info for closer to where to where you may live. Ernie

Thanks so much guys!!! I buries them in the 6 inch trench so Ill have to go back out and remove most of the soil. Atleast that way I get to watcg them grow!!!! Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lol Greta

OK. So now my question is... the ones I started from seed are just 2 inches high. Marsha Washington, I was reading on the extension that all male plants are better and the girl plants seed too much and get kind of weedy. How do I tell them apart next year to pinch them out? Thanks again, Greta

Actually that's Martha Washington (not Marsha). (There is also a Mary Washington though which came after Martha.)

The females will produce red berries, the males don't.

I have several hundred feet of M.Washinton's and luv em...even the females. Why not just pick the berries/seed and start some more with them instead of getting rid of them? That variety is considered an heirloom and dates to the '40's.

Ok!
Sorry about the typo. Kids make me write all kinds of wierd stuff. Not sure if theyre mary or martha. Hope I still have the seed packet. So Ill be on the lookout for red berries. Interesting!!!! Im learning so MUCH! Thankyou for your advice. Greta

I bought what was supposed to be Jersey Knight, an all male variety, from Gurneys several years ago. But...... they aren't what they were supposed to be since many of them have red berries. The quack grass is crowding them out due to my neglegence, so I think I may replace them with all males next spring, they are being crowded a boysenberry row anyhow.