Anyone in zone 6 see their Asparagus yet ?

I didn't notice beetles for the first few years on my asparagus. I'm sure you folks will keep yours well fertilized and pHed and they will pass you by~~ but they have my number. I was pleased to see tho, that I was getting help from some scouting wasps(they'd hover around in the ferns and hunt the larva I assumed) and ladybugs found it too. Still needed my kid to get the overflow of beetles .
(found an old Park seed order with all packets $1- been awhile)

Ok, here's my pix. This first one is a closeup of a sprout.

Another pic, I think this is also a sprout but may be a weed...

This message was edited Mar 23, 2007 9:18 PM

Another sprout. This thing is about 2 feet tall.

This message was edited Mar 23, 2007 9:20 PM

Here's a pic of the whole bed but you can't really see the sprouts... It's the straw covered bed towards the back.

This message was edited Mar 23, 2007 9:23 PM

That first pic is about as tall as you'd want a stalk to get before cutting it (if you were harvesting this year -- I know you're not). The second pic looks to me like what happens when a "stalk' starts turning into a "fern." Since your plants are so young, I think some of their shoots will just be extra skinny like that. Everything looks good to me!

Congratulations!

Thanks Critter and Roseone. Now if I can just keep them alive long enough to eat some next year.

Jeff

You can do it, asparagus wants to live!
Rose

Hey Zeppy i use to Live in Winchester for a lot of years i use to take the kids out walking along the tracks in early spring with a sharp knife and a bag some times we would come home with 5 lbs or more of asparagus Paul

Look what I found today! Most of the ones that are coming up are nice and fat - this has to mean I can pick some this year!

Hey, some of mine's showing today too!

Phicks, I'd LOVE to know where you were hiking in Winchester... wow.

Woohoooo! Congratulations, Kim!

down behind masons old sea food rest along those tracks

Yum, I'd steam that and add some butter :) I hope mine look that good next year.

I'm on it! Thanks!

i use to ne bill masons chef

Bill Mason the jewel thief or Bill Mason the naturalist/canoe guy? Oops, neither one Bill Mason the seafood restaurant owner! LOL I lose track so quickly, sorry Phil.

... as I head to Winchester and Kim's already beaten me to the asparagus patches...

Hmmm, I am not busy on Tuesday.... HONK HONK - get outta the way - free asparagus ahead!

So glad I found this thread...

I have 2nd year plants (I think), but they are all very skinny and most have gone to fern stage. I've read in my rodale's book and my home grown vegetable book, but I'm still not sure when/if I should cut them back? Some of them are like 3 feet tall and all lacey with the fern thing going. Others are only 5-6 inches tall with no ferns yet. One book I read said to cut them down and burn over the tops before the foliage puts out seed....

Can someone point me in the right direction please?

Nice sprouts Jeff!

Wait, Jeff, are your plants "males" only? I wouldn't mow them down; they're making food for themselves. My stalks are quite fat (planted last year) but I'm letting them make food this year and next I'll start cutting. We let the ferns grow as large as they want all summer and chop them down around first frost; then we fertilize, throw on manure, and mulch. Mine don't make seeds b/c they're all male, but even when they do, I wouldn't chop the ferns down this early, ever. I know some people just pull up the new seedlings that are crowding the older plants.

Hineni, go with Zeppy's advice. Don't cut down anything. The ferny greens are what's feeding your roots for next years crop. They're quite pretty to me. Just let them grow and enjoy them and you'll have a crop next year. If you chop them down they might not even come back next year.

Mine are just planted 2 year old roots and they are already starting to put up very skinny stalks, smaller than a pencil. I'm hoping the ferns will make a good backdrop in that flower bed. I can't wait until they grow enough to harvest in a year or two.

Okey dokey, thanks. Mine aren't all Males, so ...maybe I'll have some extra sprouts from the seeds next year :)

I have a few sprouts up, but some have frozen. How about that?!

I'm hoping mine don't tonight and tomorrow night. We'll see!

I just cut my first 3 spears today. My beds have been in for about three or four years. I don't remember.

I haven't checked mine yet.. but with this cold snap they will have to fend for themselves.. does anyone know wanything about transplanting asparagus. A friend has tons of established plants and wants to get rid of some and I offered to help her out.

Still nothing yet here.
I have read advice not to cut it for eating unless it's bigger than a pencil. I do like the ferns in the flower bed, all the way into fall, they will turn gold.
I had very bad luck moving my asparagus fall before last, but then I didn't know then it was a heavy feeder, so it was probably my fault. I would certainly not turn down free asparagus. Someone else hopefully will give advice.

Mine finally showed up. Lots of them, too ! I was so excited to see them.

This is the first year to actually be able to cut any to amount to anything. Oh,

they were sooooooo good. I can just eat them right there in the garden.

Unfortunately, it was almost time to cut a few more...........and along came Old Man Winter and got his share. The freeze turned them into mushy slime. Yuk.

I guess that probably answers the next question I was going to have. If I got an abundance, I wondered if you can freeze it.....................hahaha. If what's out in my garden right now is any indication of what it might be like.............no way. Don't like it mushy and slimey.

Hopefully, more will come up soon and I can again enjoy some fresh before it stops for this season.

Peggie..I think you can freeze it. I have had some that have been frozen before and it was fine

A quick blanch (I think it's 2 minutes in the boiling water, but the timing is worth looking up before you do it), and then into a freezer bag -- yes, asparagus freezes beautifully! It just doesn't handle frost well. :-(

I caught Alton Brown's show last night. He was freezing strawberries, which are as fragile as asparagus. His tip was to get some dry ice, crush it into almost powder. Add the berries (whole, with caps) and stir together, then put in a cooler for maybe 20 minutes until frozen solid. Then remove the berries, put them in a zip-lock bag and into the freezer. Apparently its the rapid freeze that keeps them from turning to mush. I wonder if that would work for asparagus? (I hate canned asparagus.)

Just spreading the asparagus in a single layer on a tray to freeze (as I've done for berries) should work all right too... I've frozen them in bagged clumps (after blanching), and I thought they thawed out just fine -- not quite fresh-crisp, but definitely not mushy.

Well I'm not in Zone6 but I can't help but comment! This is my first year getting a good crop! I have been picking for about 3 weeks but of course the cold snap slowed them back down.

I had an asparagus grower on the phone yesterday (I work in the food industry) and although I couldn't get him to understand my QUESTION I wanted to know - how long can you harvest the stalks before you kill your plants? Meaning - can I harvest all summer? Do I only need to pick for 2 weeks and let them go? Know what I mean? I don't want to eat them to death!! LOL!!! Anyone know?

Oh and about their nutrition needs - Johnny's select seeds tells you exactly what to do when planting them. I planted mine in MANY MANY bags of composted cow manure per their recommendations. Grab a catalog!

Oh and from what I've read - don't cut back the ferns until the end of the season AFTER they've turned brown and 'died.'

Nicole

You'll know when your plants are getting tired of being harvested, because they'll start sending up mostly skinny little stalks. That's the time to quit and let the stalks develop into the "ferns" that will feed the asparagus for next year.

Ironically, when people see skinny little asparagus stalks in the store, they think, ooooh, beautiful, tender, choice little early stalks (like skinny green beans)... in reality, those late skinny stalks are less tender and tasty than the big fat ones that come up first.

Nicole,

If you have an established bed, you can cut for about a month, then you should let them grow to feed the roots (according to what I've read). Mine are in their second year so I didn't pick any. Guess I should have, I lost all the tops that came up during the cold snap. :o(

Thanks!!!! That's exactly what I was looking for!! I don't think I explained myself very well to the grower. Speaker phone didn't help either, I hate those things... My bed is at least 3 years old - maybe 4, I can't remember! LOL!! I have 25 crowns and the produce buyers here are all - WOW that's a lot! Uhh..... NO IT'S NOT!! LOL!! I wish I had 50! :)


I picked a 'few' last night and I noticed that while the weren't totally destroyed by the cold - they were tougher!! :( Crossing fingers I get a few more harvests before I have to stop! I finally convinced my 5 year old to try them and he likes em! :) (He already liked canned but that is SO NOT the same thing.....)

Nicole

This message was edited Apr 11, 2007 9:07 AM

Well, I'm just going to let mine continue growing and ferning then. They are such skinny little things...lol. I'll do more research into when to side dress with composted manure and when to add some fish emulsion and just let them flail about :)

I really like reading what others are doing, so thanks for the helpful tips (hehe, tips, get it?)