Allotments 4 All

hello everybody . . .  I'm planning an asparagus bed for the new year.

Where do you recommend that i get my asparagus from? if you don't want to plug a particular supplier i would like to know exactly what to buy, and what I should be doing with it, and when.

Thanks.

I grew all my own from seed - planted it in March this year. It's done really well and I've only lost 1 crown out of 60.
I sowed the remainder of the seed in May, and now have a selection of pot crown crowns available.

i would get 2 yr old crowns ,dig a trnch bout 2ft wide 18" deep ( bout 2ft spacing ) .make a raised mound in the bottom .Place the plants on top and backfill till plants ars covered,then as plants grow keep backfilling .Would plan on plantin in april/may.

Like Vortex I have grown mine from seeds. They seem sturdy and almost every seed which germinates survives.

Other growers on our allotment site who have them have not reported a lot of losses, most appear to grow but not all give a good crop.  Even after a couple of years they can still be spindly.

They grow overnight and are ready for cutting at irregular intervals so it is annoying getting something like 5 a day at their peak for eating.  So if you are going to get some, plant at least 20 if you like a decent portion.

The bloke with the best crop spent a lot more on the stuff he put into the bed to plant the corms in then he did on buying the asparagus.  He admitted it was over £100.

Hi BornAgain-I started this thread a while back-not entirely the same as yours but I got brill advice from it.
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,32948.0.html

I never did start mine as I didn't like the way the committee were being about the plots and didn't want to commit to something so expensive and long term without being sure I'd get to keep it!!
Best of luck with yours.  :)

I think preparation of the bed is the key, whether you go for two-year or one-year crowns or seed.  It must be completely weed-free before you start so that when the plants are growing and established you only have to hand weed the annual weeds that crop up.

Also the longer you leave the plants without cutting the stronger they get.  If they are spindley they have been cropped when they are too young.  Resist (I know, it's really hard) picking for the first year or two, then only pick a couple of spears per plant, leave the rest to grow and gather strength, then the following year a bit more and for longer so by the time the plants are 4 -5 years old you are picking regularly through the season.

Asparagus is a very long-term vegetable, but well worth it.  We have one bed (7 years now) of 20 plants and another just started (2 years ago) of 20.

before setting up your asparagus bed, read this!! http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1603.html
I did, and our asparagus bed (4ft x 22 ft) gives us LOADS of spears daily!!(in season) ;)

My neighbour (half a mile away!) set up asparagus beds intending them as a commercial enterprise for his gardener.
The following year I found asparagus seedlings in our garden!
I transplanted them into a new bed and we now get a few dozen spears every Spring.
There are more seedlings every year!

Hello all, I bought some plants in the local seed shop, they have started to sprout in the cellophane bags they are in.  With the rain and the cold does anyone think they will survive. I have a greenhouse where I have put the packets.  When should I put them in the ground?

All the very best to you all for the coming year and a merry Christmas.
Jude ::)

I would take them back to the shop, they shouldn't be selling them at this time of year.
asparagus crowns are usually sold in the spring.

Quote from: tonybloke on December 16, 2009, 20:15:26
I would take them back to the shop, they shouldn't be selling them at this time of year.
asparagus crowns are usually sold in the spring.

If it's too late to take them back then I'd suggest getting them in pots of not very damp at all compost in a frost-free greenhouse/cool conservatory and pray....  they want to go in once the frost has passed really as the topgrowth won't take being frosted....

chrisc

which reminds me I need to get all the seedlings in their pots into a better situation (though they've been growing all year and have died back naturally, I want to get them into a place to sit out the winter.....