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Another asparagus question!

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  • Another asparagus question!

    Right, I've lovingly prepared the bed where my asparagus is going to live and I've planted the crowns as described by Alan Titchmarsh but I'm a tad unsure if I can crop from the plant this year. I know that if you buy year old crowns, then you should wait 2 years before cropping, but the crowns I've got were given to me by a friend who'd had them in his garden for 4 or 5 years - does this mean that I can cut any spears that appear this year, or should I wait a year or two before cutting them?

  • #2
    Personally, I'd wait. They might have a good root system, but they've still got to get established in their new home.
    I guess if they throw up a dozen spears, you might get away with harvesting 2...?!

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Novice Gardener View Post
      Right, I've lovingly prepared the bed where my asparagus is going to live and I've planted the crowns as described by Alan Titchmarsh but I'm a tad unsure if I can crop from the plant this year. I know that if you buy year old crowns, then you should wait 2 years before cropping, but the crowns I've got were given to me by a friend who'd had them in his garden for 4 or 5 years - does this mean that I can cut any spears that appear this year, or should I wait a year or two before cutting them?
      It depends how you transferred them. If you took them as a plug (ie intact in a thick layer of soil) and planted them in a well prepared bed without exposing the crown and roots then you should be able to crop lightly (ie until the start of June). However if there is a risk you damaged the roots and/or exposed the crown then play it safe and don't harvest this year - it should guarentee a good crop for the next 10-15 years


      Regards

      Kitchen gardener

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      • #4
        Thanks to you both. Kitchen Gardner, they were given to me in a huge bag. There were about 8 or 9 crowns, each with a bit of dirt/mud clinging to them. I left them in the bag but outdoors for a couple of weeks while I finished the bed off. I think I'll let it get used to its new home this year and look forward to a nice crop next year then. I've been reading loads about asparagus and what I find odd is that with quite a few veggies, you don't let them fruit the first year so they can concentrate on getting a good sturdy root, so you take out the bud/flower/fruit (eg globe artichokes) but with asparagus, you shouldn't cut the spears for the first few years to ensure a good crop for many years to come - sounds odd to me, but then what do I know??? Thanks for the advice

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        • #5
          With asparagus, the spears are actually the plant's stems/foliage, so you leave them to open up and photosynthesise (sp?) and thus feed the plant. Even when harvesting them, you only take them for a short period and then leave the rest to feed the plant.
          Last edited by SarzWix; 27-12-2008, 11:58 PM.

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          • #6
            check this out buddy.

            RHS: Grow your own Veg
            good Diggin, Chuffa.

            Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabris, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam.

            http://chuffa.wordpress.com/

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