asparagus-again.....

[kitty]

i made an asparagus bed as per instructions ,in march-planted all the crowns-now there are 2 spears to each crown,each 8"tall-i know this sounds daft but i cant remember what you are sposed to do-cut them off NOW-wait til they get bigger and cut 'em off and eat 'em.....or leave them...
and get a proper crop next year..
i have looked at the relevant past threads and dont see the answer to this question..
am i seeing a prob where none exists?-i dont want to jeopardise future crops by doing the wrong thing....
also-how deep do YOU plant your crowns?i keep reading how people are slinging mulch like the very devil on top of their crowns-will they still grow spears if theres too much mulch?
can you have TOO much mulch???????
:-\kitty ???

[kitty]

[amanda21]

I'm confused too Kitty.  I know you must not cut off the spears - they need to fern for next years crop.  I planted my crowns about a spade depth deep and have been covering them up as they come through.  I am about 2 inches now from the ground level and hadn't been up to the plot for a few days at the spears are about 6" tall and already going 'ferny' at the ends.  They are very thin and spindly!  I am not sure if I should carry on covering them up - some people on the plot have their asparagus beds mounded (much like the potatoes!).

[grawrc]

Don't cut any spears in the first year. Second year one or two and third year you can cut freely. Grotbag explained it beautifully in another post so if you can't find it you could always pm him I suppose. You can cut for about 6 weeks from third year on and then leave them to grow to replenish the plant's strength.

I dug the standard trench and am filling it in as they grow. Last year's are perceptibly thicker than this year's new plantings. :)