New Asparugus Beds : Any Sage Advice!

[Jitterbug]

Hi there

Well I have eventually decided that I have space for two rows of 5 Asparagus plants each.  Can't put them together due to the 1.5 metres distance between rows.  They say that 10 plants will provide sufficient spears for a fmily of 4?? 

Does anyone have any special advice, tips or shortcuts that they can share with me.  Also any varieties that I should look out for??

Thanks in advance.

Jitterbug

[Jitterbug]

[ACE]

Plenty of water every evening when they are ready to crop , I could tell which ones I missed as they did not crop that day.

[Barnowl]

I've got some to plant as well.  Do they need to be planted so far apart in a raised bed, particularly if you stagger the positions?

[flossie]

THanks for that Ace will try it this season

[saddad]

We have 16 Convers Collossal (was twenty but we lost some when we had to transplant them a couple of years ago!). Not enough now the boys have decided they do like it again... the newer hybrids are meant to be heavier croppers.
???

[Jitterbug]

Hi guys thanks for that - Convers Collossal is one of the definitely (x 5 plants - or is that too many of one kind) on my list and then there is a choice between Franklin (which yields in May) or Mary Washngton (which produces purple tinged spears) or else the early variety Gijnlim.  Decisions, decisions !!!!  Any ideas guys? ???

Also can I incorporate fresh horse manure into the trench now and will it be Orotted down sufficiently to not burn the roots of the new plants?

Jitterbug

[cambourne7]

What would be different if you were to use seed, i have 20 Asparagus type Mary Washington.

[Jitterbug]

Hi Cambourne

Now I am by no means a specialist in this area but from the cramming I have been doing it appears that it takes from seed to harvesting 3 years.  If you buy one year old crowns you can harvest in the second year!  Correct me if I am wrong anyone ???

Jitterbug

[bennettsleg]

It appears that you & I are in the same boat Jitterbug! Funnily enough, I was reading up on this very same thing last night...

To summarise the advice in The Vegetable Grower's Handbook by Arthur J Simmons, Penguin, 1948 (essential bed-time reading for moi):

1. You will need a good size area t oget a bundle at one cutting, they don't all merrily pop up all on one plant.

2. Make very good the bed. The better the bed (and obviously the care post planting) the longer they last. It's from the coastline so prefers a sandy loam with salt in it. Effective drainage of the sub-soil is highly important and it really pays to get the bed ready before use. The bed should be in an opend spot and only light manuring is required. If the soil is damp or clay, it is better to excavate and remove the top spi and replace with a mixture of loam, leaf mould, sand, lime rubble and gritty material with the addition of a little bone meal. Mr Simmons thinks a raised bed using the proposed materials is best and lets you avoid the excavation.

3. The bed should be 3ft wide with a 2ft alleyway on either side so you can get to them without treading on the bed.  Each bed will take two rows (trenches) of plants placed 9" from the edge. Ensure you have corner posts to tie rope around when the asparagus ferns grow; they're fragile and can be snapped off in the wind.

4. Planting season is late March or early April. Dig out a trench 9" from the edge of the bed; along the centre of the trench create a ridge on which the roots will ride astride. The trench must be the correct depth to allow 5" of earth above the root's crown when covered.

5. Buy crowns, it's quicker.   HOWEVER the root smust be planted as soon as possible and not exposed to the air any longer than absolutely necessary. Get the trenches ready before the post is due, and even go so far as taking a sickie from work as soon as the post arrives (any excuse  ;D). Take one crown out at a time and cover over as desribed in 4, don't wait to do the whole trench in one go.

6. Mulching will get you blanched asparagus.

7. Cutting ceases from late June/early July. Don't cut them all and allow the last spears to grow into ferns.  When the ferns yellow in autum, cut them off, rake the bed clean and give a dressing of manure. Don't dig it in as you will damage the roots.

8. In spring, rake again and prick the bed lightly with a fork - not more than a few inches deep.

9. Salt is not required on new beds but should be applied to established beds at the beginning of April at the rate of 2oz per yard.  A 2nd & 3rd dressing can be given at 3 weekly intervals following the 1st. Do not apply the salt too early for if the weather should freeze it can form a freezing mixture and damage the crop.

10.  Red, Yellow & Black Asparagus beetles are the only pests though carrot fly can make an appearance. Rust can also appear. A dusting of lime over the bed will help keep the bed healthy.

So: anyone else who actually grows asparagus got any advice? Particularly about the salt as I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else, but if asparagus is a coastal plant...makes sense to me!   ;D

[Jitterbug]

Ooh Bennettslegg ;D

Thanks so much for that info.  Youjust saved me some more reserch.  Gues what I am going to the lottie with on Sunday.

Jitterbug

[cambourne7]

yes i bought 10, 1 year old crowns before christmas.

I popped them in a pot but dont think they survived... i think i have another month before the bed is ready so not rushing into this.

The bed i had was 2ft by 10ft for asparagus but i am thinking of taking 4 ft of the bed for JA as its a perminant crop.

But this is all jolly intresting :-)

???

what can i plant on top of the asparagus bed? any veg or flowers?

[Marymary]

i ordered 10 Gijnlim today & shall take the advice & get the bed ready before they come in April I think.  Would be good to hear from others about the salt.

[delboy]

Kill two birds with the one application... Throw seaweed over the beds over the winter. Adds salt and rots down as well.

[sweet-pea]

My wild asparagus crowns arrived on the 22nd December from 'Seeds of Italy'.  I was told that the crowns could be stored for several months in sand prior to planting.  So I have been busy digging out 2 beds, I recon one more weekend and I can plant them.  I know that books say to plant them March-April, but mine have already started to grow because of the mild weather, so I figured it might be better to get them in the ground as quickly as possible and hope that they change their mind about growing for the moment.

I'd also like to know whether it is ok to plant other things in the bed.  I was thinking of maybe putting some bulbs around the edges, and maybe sowing some annuals too. 

[bennettsleg]

Kill two birds with the one application... Throw seaweed over the beds over the winter. Adds salt and rots down as well.

Other than raiding the sea shore, is seaweed readily available commercially? The drive to the seaside will probably cost more than buying some in.

[tim]

Seaweed meal??

[Barnowl]

Most garden centres seem to have seaweed based fertilisers of one kind or another - liquid, meal, powder etc

[cambourne7]

heard of a hotel in NI where u can bath in seaweed and the post iit out so u can have a soak at home then put on lotty

never been aBle 2 findt them though

[Kea]

I have read that you can water with salty water. Should help keep the pesky slugs at bay I had trouble with slugs eating my newly planted asparagus last year. I have connover's colossal and purple pacific but haven't tried them yet this year we get a small taste. The purple one is supposed to be very tender and not as fiberous. I chose this one for my husband who doesn't like asparagus very much because it's too fiberous for him! Hoping to change his mind.....not that I care too much all the more for the rest of us!!!!

[Jitterbug]

Just thought that I would brag.  ;D :D I went down to the beach last Sunday (to walk the dog) ;) and just happened to get a whole bag full of sea weed - that's the benefit of living in Dorset - close to the New Forest and the Beach (5 minutes each way)!! When I got home I just popped the whole lot into a bucket of water and will use it to water the asparagus bed when my plants eventually arrive and are planted.

cambourne if I were you I would dig around in that container - chances are that the crowns are only sleeping.  (fingers crossed)

Sorry - brag over :-[

Jitterbug