asparagus

[CrealCritter]

Picked these last night to save them from freezing. It got down to 23⁰F this morning.
View attachment 26003

Those look delicious 😋

Jesus is Lord and Christ ✝️

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I wish I could help you. I suggest you do a search on your County Ag. Cooperative Exchange site, and look up their articles about Asparagus. If you don't have an active Ag coop exch in your state, check out the ones that are in a similar climate. I spend a lot of time during winter "down time" reading up on those sites. Lots of good reads and videos. Everything from Animal husbandry to small gardens, and field management... perhaps even some good reads on tractor maintenance and purchase! I love Asparagus, but am not at all successful growing it. Most recent efforts: raised beds shared with strawberries. I don't have good land for growing asparagus. At least that's my excuse.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

i'VE ALSO heard of people digging those wild plants, harvesting the monster crowns for an instant bed, without having to wait the typical 3 years till first harvest.

 

[CrealCritter]

Our place has tons of wild asparagus growing all over the place, mostly along the fence lines I notice. I am sure the fence line is an area that is undisturbed, so that is why it is growing there. It grows in full sun, as it needs the suns warmth to defrost the ground and get it to start growing so early in the spring.

You can buy all male plants or the old fashioned kind (like Marth Washington, which has both male and female plants). I guess the all male are a larger asparagus shoot and won't make baby plants which will make for smaller shoots because of overcrowding.

If you have a nice place for it, I would make a bed about 2' to 3' wide and as long as you want. It will make it easier for you to weed, pick aspargus and mulch with a narrower row. Plant 18" apart and don't harvest for 3 to 5 years.

Thank you for the reply 😊. Any thoughts on Jersey Knight ?

Jersey Knight Asparagus | Farmer Seed And Nursery

Master gardeners have been known to pull the female plants from their asparagus patch (those producing red berries). This left the bigger more succulent male plants. Now plant hybridizers have developed Jersey Knight Asparagus, a variety that grows predominantly male plants. The stalks are much...

www.farmerseed.com

 

[CrealCritter]

The female shoots are bigger than the male shoots.

My asparagus bed is approximately 5' wide by 20' long. It started at 3' wide and keeps spreading from seeds.

I started with Martha Washington and Jersey Giant. Later I added Purple Passion. Now it is a mix of those plus hybrids created by the original plants. The hybrids have a distinctly different taste. The taste is just different and not any worse or any better than the originals.

There isn't anything comparable to asparagus picked fresh from the garden and then cooked to your preferences.

I thought males were the bigger shoots and females were the smaller shoots with red berry seeds on their ferns?

 

[R2elk]

I thought males were the bigger shoots and females were the smaller shoots with red berry seeds on their ferns?

Apparently you are correct.

 

[Mini Horses]

Very interesting and informative. Thank you. I'm considering a small bed. May do it now.

 

[Lilbitsnpieces]

Having chickens thus trained makes it easier to allow free range if you don't have a LGD. So many predators here, that free range is a rare event for chickens. It's only a matter of time before local fox or hawks make a run on my ducks. Also, IF I do free range either species, I like to put them in before we go anywhere, b/c that's when the preds tend to make their moves. This morning, ducks were out for an hour before I had to leave. It took me less than 5 minutes to call them up from the lower lawn, and put them in their yard. Wish I had a LGD. My dog is a wuss. Anyway,... hubby hates having chicken poo and craters all over the yard. So... I work with the system I've developed: try to keep the critters in the back yard, and the chickens LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the front yard and flower bed.

Same..our mindsets seem to be similar..i do have an Austrailian cattle dog..good at getting the ladies back where they need to be..sometimes a little to eager when they cross their boundries🙄I have more problems with coons, skunks and owls. So mine roam most days but lock up every night.

 

[Lilbitsnpieces]

I have added new plants this spring and mine are doing fine. Might get one or two more days before i let go to fern out of my patches..

 

[CrealCritter]

Here is plastic sheeting mil/thickness/usage chart. Some good info on plastic sheeting here

Mil Thickness Chart| Plastic Sheeting-What thickness to use when

What mil thickness do you use for a certain application? Check out this reference chart. Where can a 3, 6, 10,12,14,15, 20 mil etc be used with success?

www.globalplasticsheeting.com