Well my asparagus plants have done a disapearing act. Planted ths year and no sign of them.
Should I give em a bit longer or go digging for them to see what theyre playing at?
Ours have been sprouting for a week - you may well be cooler where you are ?
They tend not to come up until May round here anyway.
If it's your first year, then they'll be thin and spindly shoots ,so may get damaged if you poke around.
I'd pull up a chair and wait for them!!!! ;D ;)
Ok - cheers
They've also got to break through soil that looks like concrete
chair n beer then
Quote from: tin can on May 03, 2007, 10:54:33
If it's your first year, then they'll be thin and spindly shoots
That's good to hear, because all 10 of mine have come up but they are very spindly, although they are wild asparagus which I think is thinner than cultivated asparagus anyway, but still I'm hoping they will be a bit thicker next year :-)
SP x
Round here they've been harvesting for three weeks already!
How old were the crowns you planted? Even if they were 2 yrs old I wouldn't expect a crop of any sort until next year, they're busy growing roots and getting established.
Be patient, it's well worth the wait - we planted twenty 1 yr old crowns in 2004 and left them to get established. The instructions said don't harvest the following year (05), but we couldn't resist and took just one spear from each plant.
By today's date in 2006 we had picked 44 spears and had a total harvest of 272. So far this year up to the 1st May we have picked 111 spears and are expecting some more to be ready when we go after work today. We're already thinking about who we can give it away to and wondering whether it's possible to freeze it ;D ;D ;D
Once you're on a run though, it is important to keep picking as and when it's ready. If you leave it to get too big it reaches a point where the mature stem starts producing an enzyme which inhibits the growth of more stems.
Quote from: Belinda on May 04, 2007, 11:21:29
How old were the crowns you planted? Even if they were 2 yrs old I wouldn't expect a crop of any sort until next year, they're busy growing roots and getting established.
Im not after a crop and dont intend picking anything this year - i would just like to see some activity above the soil
Hi Glow,
Just did the very same thing today as I was getting concerned about the lack of activity.
Dug up a couple of crowns very carefully, but still managed to break off the majority of tiny spears that were beginning to form. Have probably set my self back a good few weeks now, so have learned my lesson, and will try not to get too impatient again. I think you would be best just to leave them to get on with it.