I planted asparagus root stock in the very early spring, I have thin shoots coming up that are 18-20 inches high with heads on them that are thin as can be, like grass almost. Whats going on with them? is this normal and over time I will get more substantial shoots? Do I trim them down? Any help appreciated.
Asparagus question for you gardeners
- Thread starter Jim
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I have a small patch of my kitchen garden with asparagus. It's been about 6 years from when it was first planted, but I know the first year I let it grow to seed and pruned back as the greenery went dormant in the fall. It bears a passing resemblance to dill as it matures. The first sprouts of every year are thinner than a pencil and thicker sprouts come in later. I harvested about 1 in four sprouts the first full year, 2 in four the year after, and about 2 in three now but I may be conservative and could probably take more. I'll take a picture of some tomorrow.
My grandmother had a huge asparagus bed, with some of the roots more than 20 years old. She alays let it "go to seed" and trimmed it back when it went brown after the first frost. She claimed it took 3 to 4 years to get realy nice size shoots.
Interesting that she got her root stock by driving down the country roads around the farm and looking for the telltale foliage in the fall. That way the roots always had at lest one full season when they went into her garden.
Interesting that she got her root stock by driving down the country roads around the farm and looking for the telltale foliage in the fall. That way the roots always had at lest one full season when they went into her garden.
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Love B&B, thanks guys.
I have this vision of you lurking for asparagus sprouts in the back alleys of NY!
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- #6
Haha "Asparagus Nior".
I have heard that asparagus is a long term commitment plant, takes a few years to get really going.
And can last for 20 years once established.
Love the stuff. I live near Evesham in England, home to what's reckoned to be the best asparagus around, know as gras in the area. What did I find when I went into the large Tesco supermarket in Evesham last year in the height of the season?
Asparagus specially flown in from Peru! I did complain but they didn't understand the irony.
Gareth
Asparagus specially flown in from Peru! I did complain but they didn't understand the irony.
Gareth
We are on year two of our asparagus experiment. We have a few shoots that somewhat resemble asparagus this year.
I have had asparagus for a number of years. I didn't touch it the first year and cut a very small amount the second. After that, I enjoy it for about three weeks each year in the spring and then let it go to seed and cut it when it's died back in the fall. It gets better every year but improtant to keep it weeded so the grass doesn't take over. I also fertilize it a couple of times during the summer. Wonderful stuff if you have patience.
My father has a patch that he started a couple of decades ago. Sometimes he has to fill in thinning spots. His rule is that if he plants seed, not harvest that area for two years. If he has used root stock, he doesn't harvest that for the first year. After that he uses it freely.
Typically we keep cutting the same stalks repeatedly. We can pretty much keep harvesting all through April and May. As the weather heats up, it eventually starts growing fast enough that we can't keep up. At that point he allows it to go to seed. Usually he allows it to die off in the winter and not trim it until spring.
The asparagus seems to do fairly well with dumping salt water on the ground to kill off the grass around it. The problem is that deer come into the garden to lick up the salt...
Same as all the above, it took a couple years to get established but once it does so all you need to do is harvest.
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