Allotments 4 All

Hi All,
I am thinking ahead to what I will be planting next spring and would welcome some advise about asparagus.
I have not grown this before and I hope you can help me with the following:

When is best time to plant?
What distance do you leave between crowns at planting?
Which varieties do you recommend?
Where do you get them from?

Thanking you in advance,
Thomas

Others can advise you better than I can on the right soil/compost/manuring, BUT for the plumpest, largest crowns around (and full instructions on what to do and when), try the grow-you-own asparagus page at

http://www.asparagus-in-kent.co.uk/

If you have an allotment, you get discount, or in my case for not telling them that until my payment was processed, an extra couple of crowns! (very, VERY nice man)

I bought some last year: they are way ahead of the little crowns you can buy from garden centres. The other allotmenteers were positively leering at the sight of those big, healthy plants!

The varieties? For yield and flavour, go for modern hybrids.

I bought Backlim last year, and will buy again from the same source - this time will be Gijnlim.

Now's the time to order for delivery from March!

Good luck.

Sorry slightly hungover... just added to this thread in the other Asparagus box!
::)

Bless saddad. I got mine from cheapo wilkinsons and have been very pleased with produce. Good luck once you put them in you should have them for a long time so take stock as to where you put them because you won't be moving them again and they should produce spears for over twenty years!!!!!

I got some frem Wilkinsons last year and hardly any of them came up. A lot of the stuff I got there was no good; you probably need to buy it as soon as it's in the shop. I won't bother with them again, I'll probably get some from Asparagus in Kent. Anyone else tried their crowns?

I have looked at the Asparagus-in--Kent website. They talk about planting at '4 crowns per sq yard'. I am thinking of planting a long row. I measured this today to be 7.5 metres in length.
Therefore, how many crowns should I get for my 7.5m length.

Thanks,
Thomas

20 would be about right

Well at 4 per sq yd, that is two per linear yard, with a row spacing of 18 inches.

Taking 7.5m as approximately 8 yds, that would give 16 plants ...

Commercial growers plant at around 10 inches between plants

I am about on that 18 inch spacing ...

Mine are planted at around 15 - 18 inches but I saw something on TV this year about commercial growers, might have been Gardeners World.
The thinking on asparagus growing has changed quite a bit in recent years apparently

Morning, all.

Robert, I bought from asparagus in Kent last year: fast, friendly service, got extra crowns for the same price as I forgot to mention I had an allotment (doh!) and that way I got the 'discount'.

The reason I bought from them initially was the comment along the lines of, 'plump/enormous crowns,' from a happy customer. It's true!

The crowns are SO big and healthy-looking! I planted them next to some I bought in plaggy bags (Unwins, I do believe) from a garden centre, and they were several times the size, big plump roots, and the shoots they sent out were thrice the size and height of the Unwins crowns planted on the same day.

THAT's why I'm going back for more: that, and  the fact that I gave away some crowns to the drooling masses of allotmenteers who gathered round in awe at the size and state of the things... so am getting another dozen or so for another row.

No-dig:
Plant Spring or Autumn (September)
Cut off surface weeds and spread the asparagus roots out 18" apart
Cover with a hefty layer of organic mulch (<8") and keep topping it up
Feed in Spring
Wait three years :'(

Those Kentish ones sound great GG, thanks for the tip :D