asparagus crown planting

[hypnophil]

hi, i have some asparrowsguts crowns that i got from woolies, and i want to plant them but they have very long curly spears on them.
My Q is, what do i do with the thin curly spears? do i plant them to a depth? cut them off? bury them?
any help gratefully received

[Nicos]

Are the spears long???
When you plant them ,if they are below soil level then they will stop growing due to the cold.
If they are very long and are peaking out then the frost will get them.
They shouldn't even start appearing until May, so they have been stored too warm.
I'd plant them as per instructions and leave things to nature.( perhaps a little extra top soil on the ridge just might help cover them???)

I personally wouldn't cut the spears off as for the first couple of years they only produce 2 or 3 anyway.

[veg4681]

Hi Nicos,

Sorry for hijacking this thread. I saw a pack of 3 crowns at Wilko. Surely these are not enough. Will 6 be enough to feed mostly 2 adults (& a little child depends on whether he'll like them). I can never have a designated bed for them but can they be grown in container, like a window box, possibly 2 window boxes.

[Nicos]

Asparagus roots grow down up to about 10ft and sideways by about 4 feet although most of the roots will only reach half that length.

Google Image Result for http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010137veg.roots/fig15.jpg
I therefore think a windowbox may be a little shallow unless it's custom built!!
A big barrel/water butt would probably do. ( if you inhibit the root growth then the spear production will be much lower)

We have 10 producing crowns and get enough for 2-3 peeps for a few weeks . Different varieties have different yields.

I know a few people on the Vine have grown in tubs, but I think they still have young plants?????

[veg4681]

Thanks Nicos, just testing my luck on a quick, straightforward clarification. Good to know (& relieved) that 10 crowns will be more than enough for my household. Perhaps 6 crowns from Wilko won't be such a bad investment if I can make way for some land, somewhere.