asparagus question

[surfivor]

 I just have a couple of questions as I saw some websites on asparagus. If I harvest an asparagus spear, will another one come up or will the one I cut continue to grow ?

 How do you get asparagus to spread ? Can you dig up some roots and separate it out ? Do I need to do a better job of controlling grass, weeds and other plants near the asparagus ?

 I have been planting asparagus every year for 3 years or so. The only luck I have is if I buy the roots in Maine where they sell them and you can see they are alive by the growth on the roots. If I buy the roots from a box at home depot, they seem dried up and nearly dead. I plant these roots thickly together in pots and when they start to show serious growth then I transplant them into my yard

[fritz_monroe]

When you cut the spear, that spear stops growing.  The crown does not send up another to replace it, it is just sending up spears regularly.

Yes, you should take better care of getting rid of the plants around the asparagus.  It works best if you have no other plants coming up around the asparagus.

I got my crowns from a seed place, not the big box store and they still looked like dried up roots.

[CharlesH]

They spread very slowly for me.  That’s a good thing because I have them planted where I want them.  Mine are very prolific and we eat asparagus virtually every night for a month, have soup on the weekend. Dehydrate some for soup, and give lots to friends.  That’s about 3 50’ rows.

[surfivor]

I have one plant that puts up 5 spears. If I picked two or three of those, would the plant put up more spears to compensate? What if I picked all 5 ? Does picking the spears adversely effect the plants or their ability to spread ?

[surfivor]

They spread very slowly for me.  That’s a good thing because I have them planted where I want them.  Mine are very prolific and we eat asparagus virtually every night for a month, have soup on the weekend. Dehydrate some for soup, and give lots to friends.  That’s about 3 50’ rows.

Are deer, woodchucks, rabbits or other critters a problem with asparagus? I thought a friend of mine had said deer eat his asparagus. It seems one time something ate one of the big spears a couple years ago in my yard but I don’t know how common that is

[CharlesH]

The spears keep coming up but eventually they get more fibrous.  Most of them will get skinnier, too.  Once they start getting tough I stop cutting them and let the plant grow undisturbed the rest of the summer.  They will get tall and leafy (skinny leaves).  I’ve never had anything bother them and I live in an area full of deer and other critters.
 
I do pour my winter wood ashes over them in the early spring.  I’ve been told they like sweeter soil and mine runs acidic.  We’ve had a very wet few years here and the place I planted them has been something of a bog.  I’m told they like well draining soil but these have always done fine there.

[bigbear]

Don't harvest/cut the spears for the first few years (most say 3 years).  Let them bush out so that the roots/crowns develop a bit.  Then they'll push up more spears the next year. 

You could dig them up and separate them, but I don't think that'll help them spread faster.  It may even stunt them. 

I've never had issues with anything eating my asparagus.  And I've had issues with groundhogs, mice, rabbits, squirrels, and birds with other crops/plants.  I can't speak to deer though (no experience with them somehow).

Weeding is important.  Keep the competition out as much as possible.

I'm moving to a "Back to Eden" style mulching this year.  I just put a thin coat of wood chip mulch on the asparagus.  Anyone have experience with BTE and how it relates to growing asparagus?  How thick is ok for the spears to push through?

CharlesH - I'm jealous!  Fresh asparagus are among my favorite veggies!  We have a small plot and have enough for about a 1 meal a week (for my family of 7).   I'm currently cutting about 8-10 spears a day.

[Prepper456]

can it be grown in a large pot or 5 gallon buckets?

[fritz_monroe]

can it be grown in a large pot or 5 gallon buckets?

I guess it's possible, but asparagus doesn't really produce for harvest until 3 years or so.

[Prepper456]

we are hoping to move to more land so hoping to take plants with us

[fritz_monroe]

we are hoping to move to more land so hoping to take plants with us

I'd wait until I made the move.  But a good thing about doing what you suggest means that when you move, you can wait until dormant and then the roots will be pretty substantial.

[Prepper456]

dig them up you mean instead of in buckets?

[surfivor]

can it be grown in a large pot or 5 gallon buckets?

 I buy the roots and put them in pots until I am ready to plant them. They will grow in the pots but I would transplant them before winter I think


here is something on martha washington asparagus. It says it produces seedlings which can't be all bad:

http://www.gardening-guy.com/tag/martha-washington-asparagus/

Martha Washington’ is the classic asparagus variety, but it has male and female plants, so they produce seeds – and little seedlings. This is not good. You don’t want extra seedlings growing in your patch, as they will compete with your plants for water and nutrients, just like weeds. Of course, you can pull the seedlings growing under Martha, and re-plant them elsewhere, but that sounds like work to me.

[Prepper456]

thank you surfivor

[surfivor]

thank you surfivor

 Sure, I buy the roots at hardware stores in Maine in the spring. If they show growth on them they are good but the dried ones that some places sell I would not buy because they don't look alive to me. I take those roots and jam as many as I can into medium sized pots. They then grow in those pots fine and gives me time to plant them in the ground later on whenever I have time