I have not removed those yet. I have thirteen crowns in their third year. This is our first year harvesting.
We have been pleased with production so far and have enjoyed asparagus side dishes at meals for about 5 weeks. I'm thinking it might be time to stop harvesting. A few stalks got ahead of me and are already 4 feet high and getting the expected ferny foliage. They may be future stalks; let them be. You could lay on some mulch and prepare to set stake poles and string around the bed like a simple fence so that when the ferns become top heavy they do not fall to the ground.
I have a wonderful asparagus bed that is years old. I have little fern like things coming up around each crown. Separate and very different than the spears of asparagus. Are they weeds or part of the plants? I have a half dozen plants in my garden they are doing well and we were able to harvest some this is the third year.
My issues is the ferns, they are so tall they fall over and cover the path and what is growing the next row over. Can I trim them back some? You would do well to leave them. Run string around the poles and around the asparagus bed not the plants at about four feet high or higher, there is no magic formula to keep the ferns off the ground. When you cut the ferns later in the year, put away the poles and string for next year.
It is early. If you added that much material you added days to the emergence calendar. I bet you will see spears within 10 days.
That being said, IMO, the time to add compost to the bed is fall, not spring. The Asparagus bed I have has plants of 2 and 3 years of age. We had a decent harvest last year but I felt they needed more soil. So this spring around the 1st of April we added approximately 3 to 4 inches of soil mixed with compost and also added a heavy layer of straw.
It is now the last day of April and I do not see any asparagus coming up. What could I have done wrong? I recently planted asparagus crowns for the first time. The first spear to come up from any of them was brutalized by wind and frost and most likely my well-intentioned, but poorly executed insulating row cover. Now it's a pitiful bent thing. I tried to support it with twine and stakes which I've heard are recommended later in the season for ferns anyway , but it looks like it is beyond hope.
For now, just support it with stakes and twine as best as you can. The plant should send up more spears soon enough! Skip to main content. You are here Gardening » Growing Guides.
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Asparagus. By Catherine Boeckmann. When to Plant Asparagus Plant asparagus crowns in the early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. Many gardeners plant at about the same time as potatoes go in the ground. Starting with asparagus crowns, however, eliminates the year of tedious weeding that comes with starting from seed, and will speed up production overall. Start seeds indoors in spring and set out the seedlings when they are 12 to 14 weeks old, just after your last spring frost.
Soak seeds in water for up to 24 hours before sowing. Sow seeds in moistened peat or seed-starting soil in flats or peat cups. Once plants reach 12 inches in height, harden them off outdoors for a week. After the last spring frost, transplant the young plants to a temporary garden bed. Once they mature in the fall, identify the berry-less male asparagus plants and transplant them to your permanent planting site, removing the less-productive female plants. Choose a site that gets full sun.
Place the asparagus bed toward the edge of your garden, where it will not be disturbed by the activity of planting and re-planting other areas. Ensure the bed will drain well and not pool water. Asparagus does not like to have its roots get too wet. If you do not have a site with good drainage available, consider growing asparagus in raised beds instead.
Learn how to make a raised garden bed here. Asparagus thrives in neutral to slightly acidic soil pH of about 6. Eliminate all weeds from the planting site, digging it over and working in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost, aged manure, or soil mix.
Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting. The soil should be loosened to 12 to 15 inches in depth to allow the asparagus crowns to root properly and not be disrupted by rocks or other obstacles.
How to Plant Asparagus Plant crowns deeply to protect them from the cultivation needed for annual weed control. Dig a trench of about 12 to 18 inches wide and 6 to 8 inches deep. If digging more than one trench, space the trenches at least 3 feet apart. Soak the crowns briefly in lukewarm water before planting. Make a 2-inch-high ridge of soil along the center of the trench and place the asparagus crowns on top of the mound, spreading their roots out evenly.
Within the trench, space asparagus crowns 12 to 18 inches apart measured from root tip to root tip. Water in. As the season progresses and spears grow to be 2 to 3 inches tall, add 2 more inches of soil to the trench, being careful not to bury the spears completely.
Once the spears again grow through the layer of soil, add an additional 2-inch layer of soil. Repeat this process until the trench has been filled to ground level. Depending on how deep you dug your trench, you may need to add soil 1 to 2 more times throughout the season.
Learn how to plant and grow an asparagus bed in our video:. Caring for Asparagus When the trench is filled, we would recommend adding a 4- to 6-inch layer of mulch. The biggest issue with asparagus is managing weeds during the first two years. Weeds will become less of an issue as the plants fill in. Mulch around the plant with compost or grass clippings to help retain soil moisture and reduce weed growth. During the first 2 years after planting, asparagus plants need 1 to 2 inches of water per square foot per week.
So far, nothing. I am looking at purchasing 3 yr old male crowns. Can they be harvested in the first season? When is the best time to move them?
And would I have to make them go dormant before planting them??? The asparagus do we need to cut some of the plant out My asparagus plant grow a lot of new plants Or just leave it and let grow It plant is about six month old.
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By Brian Barth on April 3, Brian Barth. Sign up for your Modern Farmer Weekly Newsletter. Notify of. Most Voted Newest Oldest. Inline Feedbacks. Jane McCabe. Do they grow better near a fence with shade in the mornings? View Replies 1. Chan Prosser. Small, narrow spears will start to emerge from the soil within weeks of planting, depending on precipitation, temperature and amount of soil cover. Once the spears are sturdy and several inches tall, several more inches of soil can be back-filled into the furrow.
Use caution with this step, as large clods of dry soil can break the brittle spears. Asparagus is typically planted as crowns, rather than seeds. However, gardeners wishing to try starting asparagus from seed may follow these recommendations:. Choose an area of the garden as a nursery bed. Young asparagus plants will grow here for their first year. The site for the asparagus nursery should be level and have sandy soil.
Plant seed in spring, about one inch deep, spaced two to three inches apart, within rows that are a foot apart. Seeds can take three weeks to germinate. Keep the nursery bed free from weeds, as the asparagus seedlings will not be able to compete with strong weed growth.
Mulch the nursery bed with four to six inches of straw in late October to keep it warm during winter. In early April, before the plants start to grow, dig up the crowns with as much of the root system as you can, and move them to their permanent location, following the method described below for planting crowns.
Soil moisture is important for good root and fern growth in asparagus. Even though asparagus ferns rarely exhibit obvious signs of drought stress, they need consistent soil moisture in order to stay healthy for the next year. Watering during the harvest season may also increase yields in very dry years.
Asparagus patches should receive at least one inch of water every week. If they have not received an inch of rain in the last week, soak the soil with water. Asparagus growing in sandy soil should be watered more than once per week in the absence of rain, and heavy clay soils may not need to be watered as often.
Additionally, soils covered in mulch will retain more water. An inch of water will wet a sandy soil to a depth of ten inches, and wet a heavy clay soil to six inches. Weeds compete with asparagus for soil nutrients, water, and light, so managing weeds will help support a more bountiful yield of spears.
Removing weeds by hand is still one of the most effective methods, especially in smaller asparagus beds. Additional methods include well-timed hoeing, flame-weeding, cover crops, and careful use of select herbicides. Perennial weeds like Canada thistle and quack grass thrive in asparagus because it is a perennial crop that is rarely cultivated or tilled. In larger asparagus gardens with multiple rows, managing weeds between the rows is relatively easy compared to managing weeds in the asparagus rows themselves.
Cultivation hoeing and tilling : Cultivation is an effective weed management tool for vegetable gardens in general, but be cautious when using it in asparagus. Cultivating too deep, or at the wrong time in the season, can damage the crowns and emerging spears.
There are two times when asparagus beds can be cultivated: Before the spears come up in the spring, and after all of the spears are harvested but before ferns come up in late June.
At both times, the cultivation must be very shallow, less than 2 inches deep. Cultivating in the spring allows for the addition of fertilizer to the soil, but can also stimulate the growth of weed seeds that were previously buried. Therefore, gardeners should only cultivate in the spring if it is truly necessary for removing the weeds in their patch, and if they need to add fertilizer.
Do not cultivate the asparagus rows during the harvest season, when new spears are coming up every day. In larger patches with multiple asparagus rows, cultivation can be used at any time between the rows. Cultivation is most effective on small, young weed seedlings and is not likely to control perennial weeds or large, established annual weeds. Cover crops: In larger patches, perennial cover crops groundcover plants can be planted between asparagus rows. Healthy, dense cover crops can help outcompete weeds, without disturbing the soil through cultivation.
Use a perennial cover crop mix including species like fescues, perennial ryegrass, and clover that are hardy in Minnesota. Flaming propane weeding : Flame weeders, also called propane weeders, emit heat and flames from propane-powered torches. Instead, it is meant to kill the weeds by heating them to high temperatures. Small scale flame weeds for home gardens are available. Hand-removal : In small asparagus patches such as home gardens, hand weeding can actually be one of the most effective and efficient ways to remove weeds.
Hand removal is necessary to manage large annual weeds and perennial weeds. Hand removal is also the safest way to keep weeds out of the rows during the harvest season May-June.
Hand-removal can also be used to eliminate any weeds that escape through cover crops and mulches. Hand-removal is the most efficient way to eliminate stubborn perennial weeds like Canada thistles and quackgrass in asparagus.
Flaming and mowing are not effective tools for managing Canada thistles in asparagus, because the plants will continue to reproduce even if the tops are removed or burned. Mulching : Straw and leaves can be used for mulch in asparagus beds to help smother weeds. However, these mulches also keep the soil cooler and wetter, potentially delaying or reducing asparagus spear emergence in the spring. Therefore, push the mulch away from the rows in the early spring to allow the soil to warm and encourage spear growth.
In larger patches with multiple rows, the aisles between the rows can be mulched using wood chips, straw, or landscape fabric. Good weed management is critical for establishing high yielding, healthy new asparagus beds.
As described previously, most new asparagus patches are established by planting one-year-old crowns into deep furrows. The newly planted crowns have very small root systems, so just a few weeds around each plant can cause the plants to grow slowly and produce fewer spears later on.
Home gardeners can use glyphosate i. Roundup in and around asparagus at certain times in the season.
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