Do any of you have an Asparagus Bed?

I recently bought a bag of 25 asparagus crowns and am now planning where to put them. North end of the garden, where it wouldn't shade other plants and where the weeds wouldn't incrouch too much. Planting them in a hole about 6 inches deep (they are Jersey Kings) covering the crowns with about 2 inches of soil and spacing them about 18 inches apart. I Plan on double digging the bed to add amenities to make the soild about 6.5-7.5 PH.

I always wanted an asparagus bed but think I've probably got allot more then I'll ever need. I couldn't pass on this thought because the entire bag was only $4.50. Just wondering if my plans sound right to you and any other information you might have about growing this. How many spears does one plant produce and how many can you pick? (assuming you might need to leave some)

Thanks.

There are so many different opinions on this. One source I have says to have 10 plants per family member (if they like asparagus), but then they say "halve that number if you have one of the all mail hybrids like Jersey King/Knight." I'm prepping an asparagus bed this year, too. We love fresh asparagus, and it's terribly expensive, so I'd grow 100 plants if I had the space. As it is, I'm only able to fit 30 in my 4 x 24 raised bed. I will be matting down some newspaper around the plants to keep the weeds at bay.

I planted 9 crowns last summer. I just put them in a 4 x 4 raised bed with compost, peat moss and soil. They came up fine last year but I didn't pick any. I mulched them for cold weather, and just this past week uncovered them. I see that about 6 of them have about 2 or 3 spears each coming up.

So far, it looks like they will be ok. DH dosen't especially care for them, so I will probably be the only one to eat them, so maybe there will be enough. If I want any to freeze though, think I may need to plant more.

The only regret I have is the location. I put them in a raised bed in the middle of the garden area. Duh ! What was I thinking ?? I really should have put them in back, out of the way since they get so big and bushy.

It's a;most time to pick a few.................can hardly wait !

I'll be watching this thread with interest, I just planted 50 crowns of Jersey Giant (all male) back on March 8th. I read somewhere that 25 crowns per person should be planted if you like asparagus.

Hhhmmmm, guess I better get busy then.

sagewoodfarm, 25 crowns will never give you more than you need. Once you grow your own you're gonna become so pleased and addicted to them you'll wish you had more! You'll even find yourself pulling the spears and eating them raw right there in the garden, you'll see! :>)

I'm like the others here; I've heard several different "crowns needed" for harvest, ranging from as little as 4 per person to 20/25. I really don't think you can grow too many...you can always freeze "too many" if you end up with that much.

As for planting them, I'd suggest planting more in a trench than a hole...that way you can fan their roots out comfortably. And I'd also cover them with a little more than 2 inches of soil, possibly as much as 4" for starters and that will let you convex the top so that any rains will run off to the sides and not settle directily in the trench possibly causing root/crown rot. Feed them good with some phosphate rock and a bit of nitrogen; this will give you good root growth as well as nice topgrowth, especially important in the first year.

PeggieK, I don't think your asparagus beds in the center of your garden will block out too much sun to your surrounding garden. In the summer the sun is way high in the sky and will easily shine down on your garden and you asparagus won't shade very much of an area, probably the area directly against the raised bed (a great place to plant lettuce!).

Big Red, glad you hear you got your J. Giants in the ground. You're gonna love it! (I can just see the pics you're gonna post!) Garden ON!

Shoe.

Thanks Shoe and everyone. Shoe I don't think I will have to worry about root rot. We only get 6 inches of rainfall per year. :)

Only 6 inches a year? Wow!

(When I bonked my head on the rafter of the chicken coop and then fell face-down in the droppings I think I spit more than 6 inches of water!) pthooey!

I think you're good to go then! Happy Growing!

Shoe.

Yup Shoe, they're all in the ground, got to go out every morning to see if any are up yet. Nothing so far, but I guess I'm more than a little impatient!

I checked out an old farmer's bed just up the road from me today and his ain't up either, so their's still hope for mine!

Nope...too early for them to start peeking, Big Red. As the ground warms up a bit, daily, it'll entice them to come up and "look at the world". (They love to look around, ya know!)

Hmmm...there is someone up the road from ya with a bed? Hehehe...careful, I bet he has a shotgun. Best to wait for yours to declare or you won't be sitting comfortably if you go "exploring" in his bed!

Nitey nite.

You're probably right Shoe, every once in a while he'll bring over some fresh veggies but never any asparagus! What's up with that? Hehehe.....

My dad gave up planting asparagus in the garden because of the space and because its tough to plow a garden with a tractor when you have to watch out for the crowns. 15 years ago he started planting asparagus along all the fence rows. In the spring we go around the farm on the 'Gator" and snap off the best asparagus you've ever eaten. I doubt anybody knows how many plants there are anymore but they put up a lot in the freezer and there is plenty to give away. Its actually a good fence row plant because its pretty tough and aggressive -doesn't get crowded out by the grasses.

You are making me so hungry! Planting an asparagus raised bed is on the hot burner.
Where do you purchase all male crowns?
No females needed? (now HUSH)
Spacing?
Anybody planted the purple type?
Thanks.

There was a thread not long ago on the purple type. Someone said it was just regular tasting.

I had a great experience, thanks to recommendations here, with www.noursefarms.com They are really knowledgable and helpful, and check out their Garden Watchdog ratings.

The all males are supposed to produce a lot more spears as they're putting their energy there and not into making seeds and new baby asparagus plants. Some folks like them best; others like the old Washington type asparagus.

I removed the straw from mine about 10 days ago, when I started seeing a few peeking thru the soil. Now there are several up, but the first ones are now all shriveled. Do you suppose they are diseased or does the cold night time temps do that to them? Gotten down to about 29 degrees a couple times.

Also, should I fertilize with phosphate in the springtime ? The new ones that are coming up look fine, just small.

PeggieK, sounds to me like they got frosted. Are they also kinda black looking?

PeggieK, definitely the cold...they'd never handle 29*. Ya'll must've been having some mighty warm weather to get them to emerge out of the ground at all, especially with your beds covered in straw. (Maybe your soil is more loose than mine or your crowns are planted more shallowly?)

The phosphate rock is good for root growth (as well as stem growth) but would need to be scratched in (or tilled in). Right now would not be a good time cus you might disturb your roots/crowns. I'd wait till later in the year when all the plants have declared and are fully growing, then cultivate lightly around them and broadcast the phosphate rock then. (I suppose you could use a chemical fertilizer like 10-20-20 or 0-20-00 if you like as that is water soluble and could be used as it dissolves.) I can't remember if you posted above what you worked into the ground when you planted them out, if anything. Depending on what you used at that time will determine what you can add now, if anything at all is needed.

Edited to correct a dyslexic type typo. Sorry.




This message was edited Mar 31, 2006 9:22 PM

When I planted them I didn't know to work anything in. I just filled up my raised bed with soil and bagged (from Wal-Mart) compost and a little peat moss. They came up and feathered out all last summer. I didn't pick anything from them, just let them get established.

I just assumed that since they haven't had any kind of fertilizer, they would probably be about due by now.

You're right, we've had some really warm weather here. It has been an especially warm winter. Probably going to have to fight bugs like crazy this summer because they must have all survived.

JoanJ, they didn't look black at all, just all shriveled along the stem.
They look so pretty when they first come up, the tips are a purpleish color.
Guess I should have snatched those first couple up and ate them right there in the garden. lol This is my first time to grow asparagus. Can't possibly "afford" to buy as much at the store as I would like to eat. hehe.
I love it...........and thank goodness, it's fat-free.

I wonder if it gets that cold again, if it would help to cover them up at night? Our last frost date is still a couple weeks away. There's a chance it could nip them again.

They probably didn't take a hard freeze then, but definitely a frost. When mine take a hard freeze, they turn black, get all limp and fall over. They will put up more spears though.

With asparagus, you aren't supposed to harvest it until the third year. Did you know that?

Hmmmmmm. If these were 2 year crowns that I planted last summer, does that make it 3 years now, or do I wait 3 years from planting ?

JoanJ,

Now they claim that you can harvest some in the second year, if I can find the website, I'll post it shortly.

Here is one site, info is under "harvesting".

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

Yay!! I'm glad to hear that Big_Red! That means I can eat away this year. I can't wait. I have one established small bed, and planted another one in 2005. With all the older information I thought I had to wait until next year to harvest from it. Thanks for the updated information.

Peggy, I think that means that we can harvest some asparagus for a 3 week period. :)

Yippee!!! I was worried that I was going to have to wait another couple years. Didn't know if I could stand it. Picked 2 spears yesterday and ate them raw. Sweeeet ! Oh My ! :-)

See y'all later, I'm off to the garden store to buy some more crowns !
Gotta get a new bed ready .

im soooo hungry for asparugus, i have been wondering abut starting some but thought maybe it was to hard?
sound pretty easy just need patience suonds like
hmmmmm
sue

Shoe's right. Make sure you water them. My Dad just lays the hose on the ground and lets it soak in. He lives 4 blocks south of me and has black gumbo clay. I have a sandyish loam. His beds put mine to shame. Don't harvest for 3 years. When you do, snap them off, letting them snap where they want to, and you'll never have to trim the inedible peel. Plant plenty because there's no guarantee all will live. In the fall, burn off the bed when the fronds are no longer green. Enjoy!!!

My husband read that in an established bed, asparagas only produced one spear per week. Since we have such limited space, we need more production than that. What is your experience? Is there a variety that produces better than that?

Try cutting every other day. I have some Jerseys, but my Dads patch is at least 50 years old. He most likely has the Washingtons. He has 3 patches. Each about 10' x 5' or 6'.

My purple asparagus has started even up here. I posted this the other day in the photo forum. We had one of the driest March's on record so the rain today will help push things along. The first harvest can't be too far away.

How beautiful and yummy. Enjoy

sagewoodfarm,

You don't say if your crowns are 1 or 2 year olds. That makes quite a big difference. I planted 2 year old crowns last year, and am getting mostly nice thich (finger to thumb) spears up this year. Everything I've read, as well as my asparagus "expert" neighbor says to wait until the ferns reach 4' to 5' tall before beginning to harvest. The ferns feed the roots. Although it will be difficult (I can almost taste them) we are committed to waiting until next year to harvest, (although once a fern or two get big enough to start feeding the roots, we'll prolly sample just a couple!) I think the varieties were Jersey Giants and Purple Passion (?)

This year I got a good price on 1 year old Jersey Knight crowns and decided to start another bed (can't have enough asparagus as far as I'm concerned), and the spears coming up are as thin as a pencil lead, so I think it'll be a couple of years before we do anything but water and compost those babies.

Good luck!

Does anyone eat egg and asparagus casserole?

I've never tried it, sounds good. Do you have a recipe?

6 hard boiled eggs - sliced
4 c. asparagus - chopped
3 c. milk
9 T. flour
2 T. butter
Line a 2 qt. casserole dish with a layer of egg slices, adding a layer around the side. Add asparagus. Season. Heat milk to melt butter. Add flour, stir to remove lumps and season. Pour over top.

Bake 350* for 45 mins. to 1 hour

It's simple and really good! You can make as many layers as you want or add more asparagus as long as it's covered with white sauce.

Hmmnn...sounds delicious! I'm going to have to try this one!

It's definately worth it! Mom made it when we were small and we all loved it.

You can never plant too many. How do any of you guys get them out of the garden without eating all of them. They take at least 3 years here in montana to get a snack. I put mine to the back of my garden so they can have lots of room and can grow without blocking any other plants shaded. Also when I planted them near other veggies they got stepped on and didnt do well. remember to put a clothes pin on you nose when you go to the bathroom. The only undesirable aspect of asparagus. Pheew.

Asparagus diaper is one of the banes of my life. Yet I keep feeding the babies asparagus-leek soup... sigh...

OK, after reading through this I realize that the 6 roots of "Jersey Giant" that I ordered (and should be getting today) aren't going to be nearly enough! Doh!

I don't know nuttin' 'bout raisin' no asparagus! ☺

Rhonda