Asparagus bed

[SSDreamin]

My experience with Mary Washington is that it's the smallest and most fiberous of all the commercially sold asparagus crowns. All varieties grow as well as weeds in north Louisiana, but I pulled up all of my Mary Washington and put it in the compost pile. My asparagus beds are mostly Jersey Supreme, Jersey Giant, and Purple Passion, with Purple Passion and a couple of my own hybrids grown from seed being the biggest, sweetest (almost like fresh, baby green peas, or corn) and least stringy, even at two to three feet tall. I regularly harvest spears that are inch and half in diameter, with mature ferns up to 8 feet tall. The two year crowns from Jungs or Gurneys can be planted with plenty of organic compost, bone meal, and a dash of chicken manure, and harvested lightly the very next spring. If the soil is rich enough, asparagus roots can be over-lapped or layered, with the crowns spaced as close as six inches. Mulch well every fall and feed with compost and earthworm castings. Do not bury the crowns more than a couple of inches deep. They will gradually get buried deeper and deeper as you add organic matter and mulch every fall and spring. If you never harvest anything smaller than a pencil, you will not run any risk of over harvesting. I usually get sick of eating so much fresh steamed asparagus, that i finally let it all go and it ferns out. The pencil rule is the only method that takes all trepidation out of harvesting. I have never lost a single plant to disease or pest, but i live in a hilly area with sandy soil. The land east of the Ouachita river is more clay and might require raised beds for the asparagus. Most of my beds are raised now as well, because of all the excess organic matter. Asparagus never sprouts in unison, so many more plants are needed than you might think. Thirty plants might give you two spears per day. save them in a cup of water on the kitchen window until you have enough for a small meal. I have about 100 fully mature plants, and it's just right for me to eat all i want and give some of the harvest away to friends and family. It's well worth the investment in soil preparation, and right now i'm living on asparagus, loquat fruit, and fresh black mulberries. I love springtime!

Excellent overview/advice Sunsaver! Thanks!

I'm with Deb - good to have you back on here!

 

[Cindlady2]

sunsaver
I hear what you mean about not burying it too deep! I have been digging for crowns in my 30 yr. old bed and some of them have been a foot (or a tad more) deep! The main root of the crowns have been 2 1/2" thick! I wish I had the means (or endurance) to dig up and redo the whole thing. It's hard to pick because the 10' x 10' plot is almost solid with sprouts shooting up for about 6 months of last year! There is no place left to walk to pick the center! I have no idea what kind it is, but it's very good to about 5" from the top, good for the next 2 ". I'm trying to thin paths through it. Gave some to my kids and bartered some. Maybe by next year I won't be afraid to walk through it to pick the center.

Any ideas as to an easy way to "thin" it?

 

[Denim Deb]

Put an ad on CL during the dormant season. Then, let other people dig it up and charge them for it. Mark off an area where you don't want them to dig so you know it's not all destroyed. Then, you can use the rest to replant it.

 

[dragonlaurel]

My experience with Mary Washington is that it's the smallest and most fiberous of all the commercially sold asparagus crowns. All varieties grow as well as weeds in north Louisiana, but I pulled up all of my Mary Washington and put it in the compost pile. My asparagus beds are mostly Jersey Supreme, Jersey Giant, and Purple Passion, with Purple Passion and a couple of my own hybrids grown from seed being the biggest, sweetest (almost like fresh, baby green peas, or corn) and least stringy, even at two to three feet tall. I regularly harvest spears that are inch and half in diameter, with mature ferns up to 8 feet tall. The two year crowns from Jungs or Gurneys can be planted with plenty of organic compost, bone meal, and a dash of chicken manure, and harvested lightly the very next spring. If the soil is rich enough, asparagus roots can be over-lapped or layered, with the crowns spaced as close as six inches. Mulch well every fall and feed with compost and earthworm castings. Do not bury the crowns more than a couple of inches deep. They will gradually get buried deeper and deeper as you add organic matter and mulch every fall and spring. If you never harvest anything smaller than a pencil, you will not run any risk of over harvesting. I usually get sick of eating so much fresh steamed asparagus, that i finally let it all go and it ferns out. The pencil rule is the only method that takes all trepidation out of harvesting. I have never lost a single plant to disease or pest, but i live in a hilly area with sandy soil. The land east of the Ouachita river is more clay and might require raised beds for the asparagus. Most of my beds are raised now as well, because of all the excess organic matter. Asparagus never sprouts in unison, so many more plants are needed than you might think. Thirty plants might give you two spears per day. save them in a cup of water on the kitchen window until you have enough for a small meal. I have about 100 fully mature plants, and it's just right for me to eat all i want and give some of the harvest away to friends and family. It's well worth the investment in soil preparation, and right now i'm living on asparagus, loquat fruit, and fresh black mulberries. I love springtime!

Hello Thanks for the advice. I bought my crowns last spring. Since they are all I have, I'm gonna enjoy them. Nothing to compare them to may help.
We have heavy clay here, so I mix lots of compost into the raised beds to help it.

 

[Cindlady2]

Denim... Sound likes a good idea!

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I found out my neighbor planted asparagus and questioned his wife about how all her did it and how deep he planted it, etc....mind you we have blackjack soil and they are right next door, so I can only imagine they have what we have. Well I decide to check it out and I walk over with her. She swears her DH read up on it and did everything by the book. I don't know what book she is referring to because its planted flat on the ground. I don't even see that the soil has been disturbed in the surrounding area. There is no bed.
Well, I wish them all the luck in the world, but I don't think they have exactly planted an asparagus bed, which will take care of them for the rest of their lives. At best they might get a few side dishes outta them and lose it all. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I got 19 sacks of composted cow manure yesterday and added that to the asparagus bed. It was about time too, because I had some little 3 inch spears showing. I feel I need another 10 sacks to officially have that 9 inches above the crowns.
DH was asking me if I thought we could plant a light crop of greenbeans over the bed this year, seeings as we only going to see some of the ferns and won't even be able to harvest. I can't see why not. It would add nitrogen to the soil and give us a crop of at least beans this year. What do ya'll think.