just eaten my first asparagus of the year, how's everyone else's asparagus this year?
We had our very, very first aparagus last night. Some Glynjin[or however you spell it!] and some Connovers Colossus. One had more flavour than the other -but don't know which one it was !!!!!!
No sign of ours yet.. soon tho' :)
No sign yet!
Is asparsgus a vegetable that finds relating to other vegetables really difficult and as a result, often has behavioural difficulties? ;D
just had 5 spears of my 1st home grown - transplanted to my home when i gave up the allotment. Wonderful feeling! Had with toad in the hole!!! ;D
First spears appearing this week, should be eating from a week to 10 days. The newbies are sprouting well, but we're resisting the temptation - at least we have plenty. In 2 years time we'll have plenty more :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P
picked my 1 st spear late march and have picked another 40 since then,from 8 plants
The first spears are just peeping through the soil. I weeded extremely carefully and licked my lips.
Quote from: redclanger on April 27, 2008, 18:32:18
Is asparsgus a vegetable that finds relating to other vegetables really difficult and as a result, often has behavioural difficulties? ;D
Yes, but on the lower end of the scale of the autistic spectrum!! :) :)
i was that excited my spellcheck head wasn't working!!
Asparagusergers? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I'm growing them from seed, they're only 1.5 inches tall so far.
A couple of years before I'll be able to eat them though. :(
Definitely worth the wait ;) ;) ;) ;)
no sign yet... should i be worried? we're in the south, and someone further down the site has some tall thick spears!
When did you plant/sow it? Mine was very slow the first year.
Mine peeped through in February.....so I buried them deeper and again in March so i covered them again. today i harvested 5 spears that were long enough 2 Connover's Colossal and 3 Purple Pacific, looking forward to a taste comparison. At least it's easy to tell the difference the purple ones are very purple.
we planted some 1 year old crowns last october... they're in really good soil and mulched with that straw mulch stuff u can buy in bags...
Its my third year so I am really Looking forward to a good harvest. Shoots 2 - 3" long at present but the tips are being got at by something :o don't think its slug damage had a good look around and couldn't find any signs any one any ideas :-\
Susiebelle,
are they actually being nibbled? or do they just look strange (pale and possibly a bit misshapen)? if the latter then it may be frost damage. We grow Cito and invariably get some frost damage early on.
I planted one year roots last year of Connovers Colossal and one row has come up and one not. Planted same time, same conditions - weird?
I never harvested from them last year but am I allowed to take some this year - or another year wait?
Jitterbug
Bak they do actually looked nibbled!
Better if you're patient Jitterbug and wait till next year. It's three years since i planted mine and this is my first harvest.
Suziebelle,
apart from slugs, cutworms can be a problem and of course asparagus beetle. However, I would have thought that it is a bit cold and early for either of them ... so my favourite would have to be slugs.
I've got one, (1, singular, non plural) spear come up... Thought it was a blade of couch grass until I looked very closely at it.
It might be ants! the little blighters were eating some of mine last year!
Plot 69: I've seen it, I think it's a blade of grass mate ;)
You could be right there Tonybloke I did have to redistribute an ants nests ??? I have raised beds which do seam to attract the ants - nice and warm I expect, was thinking of using some of the natural predator thingies think their some sort of nematode, don't know whether any one has an opinion on the probable success rate because I think it's quite expensive to go down that route :-\
It amazes me how many anti-ant posts I read. They may do some marginal harm by farming aphids, but I've never noticed that the aphids affected plants much. They also kill a lot of nasties. You don't want them in pots, but I've always had ants nests all over my plot, and I've never seen one do any detectable harm.
mine are the red blighters and they bite! >:(
Yes ;D Yes ;D Yes ;D
It's not raining and our first tips are starting to poke their heads out of the asparagus bed.
Last year was our first harvest - looking forward to an even better year this year.
I had already picked about 8 spears early last week but on Monday i went down and found quite a few more spears including one giant 40cm tall x 2 cm diameter purple thing standing there looking.....well hmm! :-[
Anyway i took them home including the 'giant' and my husband said that one will be tough and fibrous! But he was wrong it was just as delicous and tender as all the rest!
try them as they are , without cooking them, tast like the pea pods
Pauline
I cut my first few tonight. Not enough foe a meal though, so what's the best way to store them in anticipation?
In a vase of water.
my wife freezes them
My first spears are up, but I'm only looking this year.
Crowns were only planted in March - so I'm also just looking - at quite a few spindly spears....
Cut our first last weekend - all three of them :)
Aha! I've been eating quite a lot every few days for a couple of weeks now - but 20 crowns went in perhaps five or six years ago. I can clear them one evening, and pick another ten 24 hours later, and they haven't reached peak performance yet. Well worth waiting for, and restraining oneself for the first 2 or 3 years.
Last year I invited a neighbour to pick them until mid-June, as I was away, and when I got back at the end of June he had forgotten to stop, so I was a bit worried they would not recover - but they have.
we put in 30 crowns 4 years ago, now at pick every other day stage, should be every day in a fortnight ;D
I planted 20 crowns in 2005 - this will be the first real harvest, and i had the first three spears last night. Looks though another 20 will be ready to pick over the next few days and they are all gloriously fat.
I am going to be planting another 20 crowns at my other lottie next year, yummy.
have picked 79 spears so far
picked first 4 spears to have with dinner, cooked them and forgot to serve them DARN :-\