Asparagus Advice

[broadway]

Morning Folks,

I've read a lot of articles and watched a couple of vids but I'd rather get it from the horses mouth so to speak.

Firstly how many crowns would you plant in a bed 2 x 1 meter (I know it's not a lot of space but it's the back garden!).

Also prep, was thinking of mixing in compost chicken pellets and fish blood bone, too much?

Lastly, has anyone had any success in containers?

As always your advice is greatly appreciated.

[BUFFS]

i planted two rows with plants 12ins apart in a 6ft x3ft raised bed,with the first and last plants virtually against the wooden walls,so 4 in each row,8 in total,enough for our use,i have a load of this years seedlings,grown from the original seeds ,so i will make another bed,depending on your soil,you may need to give it a good feed,i have black loam and i put 2ins of cow/horse/homemade compost all over the bed in november and leave the rest to the worms,it really works for me so good luck and have a go..

[PMW]

Apologies for butting in to your thread Broadway, but there does seem to be a lot of conflicting advice around and I was about to ask a very similar question. Only difference is my bed will be a bit smaller at 1.8 x 0.9 m (same as Buffs 6 x 3 ft basically). I was hoping to squeeze in 10 plants, but perhaps I should stick to 8 as per Buffs advice.

Just wondering Buffs, do you think 8 plants gives a reasonable crop once established (there are 2 of us that will be eating it) and would anymore than 8 be too tight in that space?

Regarding the soil, I was just going to mix in some compost and bit of manure. Hopefully in the next few weeks if I can find the time to finish my new raised beds.

[rustylady]

You need to remember that Asparagus crowns don't stay the same size as when you plant them. It's regarded as a permanent crop and those crowns can get HUGE!! This is why you are advised to give them plenty of room to start with. Mix in compost and manure by all means - not too much though. Then each year when they die back for the winter you can topdress with more compost or manure. Happy harvesting

[kentish girl]

I planted my 2 year old plants grown from seed into their new be today spacing 12" apart, the root system was about the size of my palm. Hopefully I will get a crop for picking in 2013 !!

[pigletwillie]

My bed had the crowns about 18" apart, much less than this and they get crowded but still yield some spears. As for growing them in containers, I did this and planted one crown in each 25l barrel. I harvested the first year as you are not laying down a permanent bed. Cropping was excellent for the four years I kept them and for small spaces it's a winner. I gave just given up my plots and will be putting a few crowns in barrels this spring because it worked so well.

[solway cropper]

I did try a small asparagus bed but gave up as I felt I could make more efficient use of the space. I like asparagus so, like pigletwillie, I've grown some in large containers. I started them from seed and my intention is to make small sowings each spring, transplant into containers and crop them for a few years till they get exhausted. The containers can also be brought into the greenhouse to give them an early start in spring.

the recycled gardener

[PMW]

Just found this website with a useful growing guide to download
British Asparagus

They suggest 45cm between rows, but only 25cm between plants. This seems a bit less than most advise, but I am thinking I might try 2 staggered rows of 5.

[Alison]

I have 12 in a 10' by 4' bed with 4 plants in one direction and 3 in the other. Seems to work OK and the plants seem healthy but I'll know more next year when I have my first harvest.

[broadway]

Thanks all,

I have 20 crowns arriving sometime soon, I thing I'll do a mixture of bed and container as solway said the space can be used more efficiently