Help!!! Understanding Asparagus for the clueless.

I would like to grow asparagus, but I find it all so confusing, and everyplace I've looked assumes that you know the basics, which I don't. Some places sell all male plants. Ok but why? Do female plants not produce spears? And if you had all male plants how would you propagate them? Runners or something? How long do they take to produce spears? Once you cut off the spears, what happens to the plant? Does it die? Will it continue to produce spears? If so how many spears can you harvest annually per plant? What kind of environment do asparagus prefer (sunny, partly sunny, shady, dry, semi-dry, semi-wet, wet, etc)? I believe they are ferns, could be wrong. If that is true, one would then assume that they wouldn’t like direct light, but that is just a guess. Those are the only questions I can think of, but then, I don't know enough to even know what questions to ask, so if there is something I need to know, but was too undereducated about asparagus to ask, please feel free to volunteer it.

I'd appreciate any help anyone can give?

Thanks,
ElapheG

Welcome to DG's. . . I see you just joined today. It just so happens that I moved asparagus from several parts of my vegetable garden to it's own bed this winter after it died back. The tall ferns were shading other veggies and blocking walkways. I divided several huge clumps and moved them in early January and they've been popping up for awhile now. I will harvest them very lightly this year, to give them a chance to settle in and build up energy for next year's crop. Will try to answer some of your questions:

Some places sell all male plants. Ok but why? The all-male asparagus was developed as a result of research done at Rutgers University and has the advantage of up to 4 times the yield of OP varieties. It is also planted at a shallower depth, at about 6".

And if you had all male plants how would you propagate them? An asparagus bed should be more or less permanent and carefully chosen. They can be propagated by dividing crowns that are at least 1 year old. OP varieties (not all-male) will produce red berries which will sprout into seedlings. All-male varieties do not produce red berries. Some all-male varieties include Jersey Giant, Jersey Knight and Jersey King. OP varieties include Martha Washington and Mary Washington.

How long do they take to produce spears? It should be planted in early spring, by either crowns or seed. Apply compost or rotted manure as fertilizer during the growing season and you begin harvesting the second spring if you plant crowns. (Third year if you start from seed.)

Once you cut off the spears, what happens to the plant? Does it die? Will it continue to produce spears? If so how many spears can you harvest annually per plant? You'll want to harvest lightly during that 2nd spring, only 2 to 3 spears per plant during a short window of opportunity. Then the next spring, you'll be able to harvest more. You can harvest until the plant vigor diminishes and the spears become small with tips that are opened, from 4 to 8 weeks. The ferns that result from leaving very skinny spears to grow out, will get tall and lush and will feed the roots so it can store up for the next years crop. It is important to keep the plants well-watered, fertilized and weeded (competition will weaken the plants considerably and result in a poor yield. A good mulch can prevent weeds.) A healthy asparagus bed can last a decade or two.

What kind of environment do asparagus prefer (sunny, partly sunny, shady, dry, semi-dry, semi-wet, wet, etc)? Yield is best in 8 hours of sunlight per day, but can tolerate some shade in 4-6 hours of sunlight, just produces less. Soil pH should be approx. 6.5 -7.5.

This is kind of a 'Reader's Digest' version of asparagus info, and hope it helps you get started. Maybe some of the veggie experts on this forum will chime in with additional hints.

;-D Janet

Thank you Janet for the education. It was informative, and very helpful. I do have some additional questions though. You say to propagate the all male varieties you need to divide the crown. What is the crown and how do you divide it? Also, You said I should harvest lightly the second year 2-3 spears per plant, how many spears does a single plant produce, and after the second year how many spears do I harvest? Also you say the harvesting time is 4-8 weeks, why? Do they stop producing spears, or is it just that further removal of spears would weaken the plant? If they stop producing spears, do they, like fruiting plants have early, mid and late producing varieties?

Here's the link to Terratorial Seed's Asparagus culture page. It's succinct, but may cover most of your questions.

http://www.territorial-seed.com/stores/1/Asparagus_Growing_Guide_W91.cfm

Don't worry about how to divide the crown.... you won't want to do this for many years (if ever). The crown forms similarly to a tuber, a knobby looking thing above the rootball, from which the spears form. If the spears aren't harvested, they grow quite tall & leaf out into an asparagus fern. Yes, they stop producing spear after a while, and removing the last few small ones would weaken the plant without much gain to the harvester. I don't think there is much difference in harvest season between varieties.

I haven't grown asparagus myself, as I am lucky enough to be allowed to glean from a friend's patch, but it's an interesting plant and seems fairly easy to cultivate once established.

Here is an interesting article from Ohio State University Extension Agency. Very Informative.
It is entitled: Growing Asparagus In The Home Garden

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1603.html

-Kim

ElapheG. . .Taking it easy on the harvesting for the first few years allows the plant to put all it's energy into building the roots and crown. If you don't harvest the spears, they grow into tall, lush fern-like growth and that's what feeds the roots. If you cut them all off, it's similar to defoliating a tree, it has no way to carry on the business of growing and producing. You will get more spears as years pass and the plants thrive. Dividing as Critterologist suggests, will not take place for some time. Asparagus is rightly called a harbinger of spring, as it's among some of the first things to start popping up as the soil begins to warm. The harvest period is brief and will be determined by the plant in the quality and size of the spears that it produces. It just naturally tapers off after a few weeks. The links posted above are terrific resources. And two I really find useful are:

http://vric.ucdavis.edu/veginfo/commodity/garden/crops/asparagus.pdf

http://vric.ucdavis.edu/veginfo/commodity/asparagus/growingasparagus.pdf


;-D Janet

Thank you all for the feedback and the links. I have read some of them, I haven't gotten a moment to relax so I couldn't read them all. It's a typical Monday. Tomorrow I should have some time to just sit and absorb the info from all the links. I have just one question left, and I am not sure if the links cover this. Like some fruits and veggies, are there different strains that produce late, mid and early? This way if a person planted an early, mid and late strain one could get asparagus throught the spring, summer, and possibly fall.

ElapheG

no, I don't think that's possible.... but what a nice thought!

Wishful thinking. . .alas. ..;-D Janet