Topic: spindly asparagus

[Annemieke]

We've had our bed for some 15 years. This year, as always, a lot of very thin ones are coming up, along with, luckily, fat ones as well.
Are they the female ones, and is it a good idea to pull them up, or just a waste of time?
Or do they show that the bed has run its course and is it time to think of starting a new one?
I feed them compost every winter.
Thanks! Love, A.

[goodlife]

They should have many, many years of cropping ahead.
Have you ever fed your asparagus in spring-summer at all? If you give them just a compost...the nutrient content can vary a lot in compost and during winter weather asparagus is not using any of it  for growth and it most of the nutrients will be just wasted and washed away by winter wet.
Now would be good time to give them boost...chicken manure pellets or blood, fish and bone meal...leave the thin ones to be..they will help to feed the roots. 

[GREGME]

Hi yes I took on my plot in july last year and found out from neighbour that it had an overrun with couch grass asparagus bed.- I weeded it best I could  This year  I am getting thin and a few fat asparagus spears- some appearing overnight. Not sure how to evaluate- late year, too many weeds etc but yes I have thin and a few fat which i didn't expect. Probably does not help that I don't know what variety  I have either but I have basically the same observation too. Asparagus for tea this pm though but a mixture of thin and thick spears.

[Annemieke]

In your case, Gregme, they will probably not have been fed for a while, or else suffered from competition by the couch.
So I'll give them a boost now as you suggest, Goodlife and am pleased to hear I should leave the thin ones be, for I've got plenty to do out there!

[GREGME]

Hi thanks for advice Annemieke today's pickings made a good meal - steamed them with some olive oil and feta cheese but the bed needs a feed as you say I think.

[goodlife]

I couldn't sleep last night so I picked a book to look through AND it had some asparagus info..
What it said is not that different from my original reply..but suggestion for thin spears were either over cropping (no cropping after second week of June) and/or soil 'running thin' with nutrients. Advise was to give general feed growmore/chicken manure pellets/BFB before growth come through (in March) and mulch with compost/leafmould/spent potting compost etc.. to 'condition' the soil.
Removing too much spears...thin or thick and cropping too late in a season will exhaust the crowns resulting even more thin spears following year.

[GREGME]

hard to assess if in a cold late year like this you could stop picking spears later or follow the same rule of not picking after 21st june ?

[Annemieke]

suggestion for thin spears were either over cropping and/or soil 'running thin' with nutrients. Advise was to give general feed growmore/chicken manure pellets/BFB before growth come through (in March) and mulch with compost/leafmould/spent potting compost etc.. to 'condition' the soil.

Thanks - very useful Goodlife, though I hope you dropped off in the end - I'm a bad sleeper myself but have found that pork trotter stock (or any stock made with poultry heads and feet) helps enormously. So I make stock every so often and have a few spoonfuls in my soup every day.

hard to assess if in a cold late year like this you could stop picking spears later or follow the same rule of not picking after 21st june ?

There always comes a point, about 6 weeks after I start picking, when they don't taste very good anymore, that's when I stop.
Love, A!