Topic: asparagus

[Multiveg]

3rd season (and hopefully first cutting season) for us - but there is no sign of any asparagus showing. When should I give up hope of a harvest?

[BAGGY]

I wondered that -  can't find it through the weeds as yet !!

[Mimi]

Bit early yet  Mia.  Wait a couple more weeks then the little beauties will show. ;)

[Mrs Ava]

good good good.  phew phew phew!

Keep looking, wiht a magnifying glass.  Not a weed on that bed, I am so determined to do it right, but still nothing, nada, nowt!  I shall keep waiting with fingers and toes crossed!

[Multiveg]

Was looking at me allotment pics from last year, and found asparagus in full ferny state by mid-May. I should have made a note when they first appeared.

[gavin]

15th May - first time I tasted fresh asparagus straight off the plot :) :)

All best - gavin

[Merry Tiller]

I wondered that -  can't find it through the weeds as yet !!

A bit of salt on the asparagus bed helps to keep the weeds out

[undercarriage plan]

Feel better now, was wondering if I had managed to do something wrong with my asparagus! In same boat, no sign as yet ::) Lottie

[jamie]

Have been harvesting Asparagus for 2 1/2 weeks now from our 20 crowns. My wife has just harvested approx. 30 spears today. Don't worry, you'll all be harvesting asparagus long after I stop harvesting (22nd May, after 8 weeks), and I will share the delights of the asparagus beetle when I've got asparagus ferns open. I realise that my crowns produce an early crop, someone else on the allotment has just had his first spears up, the usual initial spindly ones.

In the meantime I would carefully scrape away the surface to look for any activity, just to get a warm feeling that everything is ok.

By the way my allotment is on the south coast.

Jamie

[Lizard Man]

My allotment is in the south-east and my three year old plants are producing nice big shoots now. They first started appearing about two weeks ago. Guess it depends on a whole host of things, including how deep you plant them?

[Wicker]

Found my very first very small asparagus spear poking up through its mound of compost yesterday - all the more of Ia relief as I got them as 1 year plugs last April/May and went against all the rules by lifting them from their first bed in August and transplanting them in their (I hope) permanent bed.  Will be grovelling around every day now for more signs of progress tho I know I can't actually harvest any this year - can I ?

[Clayhithe]

I can't actually harvest any this year - can I ?

Go on:  be a devil.

One from each plant can't hurt.

Can it? :-\

[Multiveg]

Well, shall give the asparagus till the end of May - if not, then I shall reclaim valuable growing space for my hoards of leeks and brassicas!

[undercarriage plan]

They've appreared!  ;D At last, the little darlings are peeping through the soil, champagne all round :D Lottie

[Multiveg]

Mine have now appeared  ;D not many but at least they are still there  ;D

[Mrs Ava]

boohoo boohoo, still nothing on my bed!  And I can assure you, Sunday morning, crack of sparrows, Emma was on her hands and knees going over the bed with her finger tips looking!  My lottie neighbour has some wonderful spears through already, however, I am wondering, her patch it is full sun, mine is in quite deep dappled shade.  I am hoping ^{fingers tightly crossed)} that as soon as it warms up a little more, I will have spears poking through.

[Suffolklad]

slightly off-topic..............

I fancied trying asparagus (though I don't know if i like them) and couldn't afford to buy the crowns on a maybe, so I grew from seed. Supposedly 10 in packet, but 11, and I got 6 to germinate - now decorated with 6 inch high ferns.

I read somewhere that they are quite hard to grow from seed, so have I done well, or is 50% poor ?

Mike

[redimp]

I bought (or my partner bought) six green crowns from Wilkinsons for about £6.  The first night, three of the crowns were dug up by a mysterious being and then my son went for a sprint across the beds just as they were showing some signs of activity.  I now have four stubby shoots above soil level and I am thinking that I have been quite lucky.

PS when should I fill in my trench a bit.  I am keeping them well watered.

[littlegem]

hi everyone, new to this today, great forum. I planted my first crowns in march this year and saw 2 spears off one crown coming up after bout 5 wks. then a spear off anothe crown last week, doing really well even thou my d**n dog has trampled on them chasing a cat out of the garden!!!!!!!!!! and my horseradish is doing well considering doggy footprints!!!!!!!!!! A 1½ft high string fence hasnt stopped the cat crazy beast!!!

[jamie]

Not many weeks to go before I stop harvesting asparagus. Today I harvested another 50 spears (it's this quantity every two days). I've let a couple of the spindly spears grow into ferns and I've squashed 2 asparagus beetles already! The beetles are trying to mate and lay black eggs which produce grey grubs which eat the ferns. I'll try to take some photographs next time I'm at the plot.

I buried my autumn cut ferns in one of my potato beds. I've just noticed very small asparagus ferns coming up, these were from the red berries that were buried with the ferns. No problem growing asparagus in my allotment.

I do have the occassional brown asparagus, I can only think that either something has got to it below the surface or I've managed to damage the spear whilst cutting other spears with my asaragus knife. Some of the spears curl and split, I can only think that this might be lack of water, I haven't had the hose out yet this season, although keeping the bed moist is essential in the early years.

I've got an infiltration of couch grass in both my asparagus patches. I'm going to control this by painting roundup on the grass leaves.

Do remember to support the ferns throughout the summer, this will prevent wind rock.

Enjoy the asparagus!

Jamie