I plan on starting them outside, and I’m not middle age. I’m far from it. At 17 years old, I am far from middle age
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I don’t but I’ve bought from them last year along with a few other websites i can’t remember and they all look the same
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I have some Mary Washington seeds that my husband picked up from a seed swap that I thought I would start. I think I am going to start them outside too, @theunknown17180 .
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I started them like tomato starts inside to ensure success, but having started some outside since then, I wouldn’t hesitate to just start them outside. Nowadays I’m pulling baby asparagus plants here and there and chucking them in the compost. Every once in a while you’ll see a patch of wild asparagus that escaped a garden somewhere and is just growing wild in a ditch beside a main road.
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Ok so quick question. What variety should I go with? Ya’ll have given some great varieties, but I want to know what the best one would be
I’d go with a newer, all-male variety that does well with however much heat/humidity you get in your area.
I looked up the Alabama extension and they just suggested the Jersey ones, Purple Passion, UC whatever, and Grande. Which sounds like whatever should work fine, or they didn’t really have any specific advice, to me.
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Asparagus enjoy deep beds high in organic matter. Plant asparagus crowns in rich soil, covered by 5-8cm (2-3") of soil. Plant them four weeks before your last average frost date. Leave the plants to develop and grow strong during the first year, and harvest from year two on. Asparagus like to root deep, so conditions that can allow this are preferred.
Most purchased crowns should be 2 years old. Each crown is composed of a central group of stems surrounded by dangling, finger-like roots.
If your asparagus crowns arrive before you can plant them in your region, plant them in soil in containers and keep them cold until you can safely transplant.
Allow the ferns to grow out at the end of harvest, promoting a stronger root system before dormancy. It’s often suggested to cut back and remove dried ferns prior to winter, as asparagus beetles may use them for hibernation, and then feed on your plant.
I have wild asparagus where I live, and have also grown asparagus up from seed. I am purchasing another 40 crowns this spring, so I can share more asparagus with family. I suggest buying crowns over starting from seed if you can afford it, as it takes around half a decade for sizeable crops from seed. It should take 2-3 years from crowns.
If your dogs are like mine, you may need to fence off your asparagus. My dogs love asparagus, and killed a couple wild plants by digging a foot down to eat the stalks in their entirety.
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Just planted a bed this year with millenium and purple passion, and it’s already quite clear that millenium is far more vigorous than purple passion.
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What do you guys think about spacing? I started making a a bed about 5x8 and have 10 crowns shipping soon of millenium and saw jersey giant at walmart 3 for $4 so was thinking about doing 2 rows of 8 spaced about 2.5-3 feet apart. Ive seen other people do just 1 foot rows. Could i sneak 3 rows of 8 in or bad idea?
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Ferns on Millenium are about 60" tall at 18" wide at full growth. You could give that much space if you like. I have also seen mature wild asparagus ferns 6-8" apart growing like a wall.
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Just wanted to show off this massive purple passion spear I picked yesterday First one of the year. It weighed 2.4 ounces. I read a few years ago that in ideal conditions the ancient Roman’s could grow asparagus so well that four spears would weigh one pound and still be delicious to eat. This big one is not typical for PP in my beds, but it was nice to see.
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I got Starks asparagus roots last year, I’ll try to look if I ever took a picture of them
Some of them were quite small though. They are advertised as one year old.
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Wow, how old are your roots?
I have no idea if my way is the best way, but I gave my millennium roots each one square foot.
These are going into their 3rd year. I started them from seed in '23. I started purple passion and Atlas that year.
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You started with seeds in 23 and have spears that big in 25?
Spear (singular) that big in year 3, yes. Last year I snuck a few PP spears even though they were in their 2nd year just because I wanted a taste, lol. My Conover’s Colossal is going into year 4. Last year it gave me some really nice spears. My MW and JKs did pretty good as well. I planted them as 1 year crowns in 22, the same year I started CC from seed. I just put them in my garden beds, scattered some compost on top, and kept them mulched well every year. My seed grown has done slightly better than my crowns, but the crowns were planted in the worst soil with a pinch of competition from nearby apple tree rows.
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my asparagus beds are on year 2 and 3 now. I am hoping to get at least a meal worth from the older bed this year. I refrained from picking more than a single spear or two last year for garden snacking. one bed put up HUGE ferns last year.
my hopes are high.
I planted them immediately where I wanted them in ground.
edit; I haven’t seen any poking out yet and therefore I’m nervous about them.
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Decided to go weed this morning and look at things since i can’t sleep.
THEY’RE ALIVE!!!
Along with an oriental lily that i thought died but it’s making a ton of babies!
I had two bulbs in here but now i have countless
I have a pot of mary Washington and purple passion as well as purple passion alone and millennium alone. I have enough for 1 stalk munch this year.
I think I’m only going to save purple passion and millennium and put them in beds. Not sure if i want to keep mary Washington
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WOW!! looks your asparagus are back from the dead. Wish you well with those. I’m saving my money to create my own business. I plan on creating a outdoor bench business. regular benches, and benches with trellis on the side and top. affordable
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