Asparagus Question

[probe1957]

I bought a house that included an established asparagus bed. About 4 feet by 4 feet, I would guess. The previous owner lived in the house for 7 years so I would guess the asparagus bed is about that old.

Last year we moved in after the asparagus harvest was finished. Concentrating on moving as we were, we gave no care to the asparagus bed and in fact, I may have messed up by mowing down the ferns a couple of times.

This year, the bed hasn't seemed to be very productive. I doubt I have harvested a pound off of it. Most of it ferned out. Perhaps I will get a little more off of it but I doubt it will be much. I clipped off the ferns last evening.

I read conflicting information on the internet on how to care for this patch. Like I said, I clipped the ferns out last night because they were overwhelming the bed. I try to keep it weeded. What should I do from here? The soil is very clayish. If I can't expect to get any more than a pound off of this bed, to me it isn't worth it and I may turn it and re-establish in a row rather than as a bed.

Your advice please.

[jal_ut]

I may have messed up by mowing down the ferns a couple of times.

I think people don't understand that the ferns are the leaves of the plant. It is this part of the plant that manufactures the food the plant needs to build a strong root system and store up energy that can be used next season to make the shoots we all crave.

If you want asparagus, you have to feed it and after June 15 do not cut any ferns. The ferns have to grow up tall and stay intact until after frost. Then you can mow it down and mulch it for winter. It is likely that by cutting the ferns last season that the roots did not store up enough energy to give you a good crop this year.

I would fertilize it after you stop cutting it this season. You may want to just stop cutting it now and let it grow up. That is if you decide to keep it. There is no use to fertilize until there is some top growth to make food for the plant. Then let it grow up tall and wait until after frost to cut the ferns off. I would not try to move that bed. Since it takes three seasons to get really good asparagus, that is a valuable asset to your garden.

You normally have six weeks to harvest on an established bed. Of course you clip some shoots about every two or three days. You want to get the shoots when they are about 8 inches tall. It is not likely you will ever get a pound at one time from that bed, however over six weeks you may be surprised how much it will produce if properly cared for.

[probe1957]

Very good info, thank you very much.

Like I said, I read conflicting info on the net. Don't let it fern. Don't cut the ferns. Cut the ferns after the harvest is complete, cultivate lightly, spray with Roundup to kill the weeds, let fern again and cut the ferns after the first hard frost. Who knows what is right? Again, thanks for the clarification.

A follow up question if you don't mind.

I have no problem not harvesting the rest of the year. I probably wouldn't get much anyway.

You say to fertilize after the asparagus starts to grow again. Any suggestion on what to fertilize with?

And as to your suggestion to mulch it for winter, since my soil is clay, would it be appropriate to mulch with compost? How deep?

[jal_ut]

If asparagus crowns are planted 6 inches deep, you can run the tiller over them in the fall and it won't hit the crowns. It will disrupt the weeds. If you use roundup early in the spring before the asparagus comes up, but when there is pretty good leaf on the weeds, you can get the weeds. This works good if you have bad grass like Johnson Grass. For a bed that size I would just hand weed it with a good butcher knife.

Now, I would fertilize with something like 16-8-8. Read the label for info on how much to use. Any bagged fertilizer can be over done. Just because a little is good, doesn't mean a lot is better. You can do it again in six weeks.

Compost would be good for a mulch, but I would not put on more than an inch then cover with grass clippings or leaves. If you have compost, you could even put some on now. Compost is a soil amendment, that is, fertilizer. You can use too much of that too.

When I harvest my asparagus, if there is a small shoot smaller than a pencil, I just let it go to become what ever it will. If one gets 16 inches tall before I nab it, I just take the top 8-10 inches and leave the rest or if it is started to fern out, I just let it grow. I figure that if I can't eat it, it may as well go to work making food for the plant. Whether this is according to magazine gossip I know not, nor do I care. It works for me.

I have been at this location 16 years now and have planted a little asparagus almost every year. The older it gets the better it gets it seems. I planted 24 crowns this year.

[Enginerd]

What a great Q&A! I bought asparagus roots on a whim and put them in the ground over a month ago to see what would happen. I gave up on them and stuck a couple perennials over top last week.

I was so excited to find little asparagus shoots yesterday! Based on your info, I won't pick a single one this year and let them grow. Thanks!

[jal_ut]

One year or two year old roots are often sold. I like to get the two year old roots. You never harvest anything the first year the roots are planted. Feed it, water it and let it grow.

You may take a few of the early shoots the following year, but they will not be much bigger than a pencil. Harvest for two weeks.

The next year you will get larger shoots and the harvest may be longer.

It takes patience to grow asparagus. I believe its worth it though.

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/asparagus_10.JPG[/img]