Allotments 4 All

We have been vaguely thinking of growing asparagus on the allotment. I really want to know whether you think it is worth it, what is the minimum area it would need, which are the best varieties, in fact anything that you knowledgeable lot can tell me so that we can make up our minds. Thanks ever so.............

Well i dont know much about it- but you should get some, i did. Its perrenial so you dont have to sow every year, thats partly why i got it, and apparently very tasty!

BJ I think all that you have to do is search...asparagus, and you will get lots of information from previous posts.  I think that the most obvious thing that you have to think of is ..........do I like asparagus.  I can never see the point in growing something that you dont like :-\  Once you start to grow the asparagus you will need to have it in a perminant bed so you wont be able to grow anything else in that area.  Then you have to wait up to 3 years to crop from the plants.  If you like it enough then all that will be worth it.  As to varietys cant give you any advice on that.  I grew mine from seed last year, bought the seeds on ebay and they were Martha Washington.

got my first crop this year - WOW - what a difference to shop bought!

if you like asi, and you have a couple of years, grow it, simple as that.

Buy 2 yr old crowns from a reputable source, plant in spring 9" deep in a totally weed free rich soil - plenty of manure.

wait another 2 years then eat.

try to keep the asi beetles off but apart from an annual mulch, thats it.

Variety wise, go for male plants if poss. female plants waste their energy on berries (which are not edible).

Thanks for the info so far. We do love asparagus so that is a bit of an incentive to grow it but need to consider all the other issues with it. I did do a search but did not find it as helpful as I hoped.

I'm going to grow some asparagus from seed.  I fancy one in the Seeds of Italy catalogue which is very slender and green  :)  My lotty mate came to see me yesterday and he'd come up to pick asparagus for dinner.  My OH and I were eating fish and chips on our allotment and my mate bought us a can of lager each.  How civilised allotmenteers are  ;D

I have a bed in dappled shade on my plot, which has only recently started to produce, so I am hoping to still be enjoying when the main crops have all finished.   And, I got so fed up with waiting from them to sprout, I planted some lettuces in the asparagus bed!  Well, seems like such a waste of good fertile ground!  I love them, and am alone at loving them in this house, so just have 8 crowns, which is keeping me happy, variety Franklim.

Definitely worth growing your own but read up on it & do the preparation properly, get the drainage right etc. and you'll be very glad you did

yep, agree with merry tiller - the prep is the most important bit as you should try to get the bed as clean(weed-free) as you can and build it up in layers. I am growing from seed(Connover's Colossal) and am ready to transfer from pots into seed bed but have been a bit daunted so far - drowning in other essential tasks. I want to get it absolutely right as a good asparagus bed can be productive for 20 years.