Asparagus

[mnjrutherford]

Here's an ass-per-grass question for you. Our little patch is ... 5 years old now? Anyway, what is the BEST way to pick the spears? Some are finger thick, some are as thin as the lead for a mechanical pencil. Do I pull them from soil level? Or above and leave the stump?

Also, when I get a bit of the root attached, should I cut off the spear then bury the root part at the edge of the patch? Will it act sort of like a planted crown?

Mike was told that we should pull the ones that go to "fern" before we get to them. He says that it is to early in the season to allow them to make seed, they will stop producing spears. How long can we expect them to put up spears?

[steev]

Depends on what you want them for; if for immediate use (the best and sweetest), then snap them as low as they will; if for keeping some days (as if selling), then cut down in the ground where the stem is tougher, to aid water retention. Just have care not to damage the crown, so it's good to have planted crowns at a known, uniform depth. Personally, I don't consider anything thinner than a pencil should be taken ever, and IMHO spears much thinner than a finger are indicators of immature or weakening plants; better to let them grow on for the strength of the crown.

[mnjrutherford]

At 5 years, they are more likely weakening rather than immature, right? Obviously I have damaged a crown. =o( Have any suggestions for strengthening the wee little things?

[12540dumont]

Asparagus should only be picked for 30 days. Pick as Steev suggests.
I always snap, bring them in and put them in water upright like flowers.

If you're crowns are getting week, let them go to fern. It will strengthen them. Never cut ferns until they dry down. Fish emulsion will also give them a burst next season, if you fertilize in the fern stage.

Where Leo goes to hide from the old nag.

Attachments:

[steev]

Didn't know you have a horse.

[Drahkk]

Apr 26, 2012 4:04:51 GMT -5 mnjrutherford said:

Here's an ass-per-grass question for you. Our little patch is ... 5 years old now? Anyway, what is the BEST way to pick the spears? Some are finger thick, some are as thin as the lead for a mechanical pencil. Do I pull them from soil level? Or above and leave the stump?

Also, when I get a bit of the root attached, should I cut off the spear then bury the root part at the edge of the patch? Will it act sort of like a planted crown?

Mike was told that we should pull the ones that go to "fern" before we get to them. He says that it is to early in the season to allow them to make seed, they will stop producing spears. How long can we expect them to put up spears?

This may just be semantics, but since you're seeing root attached I'll say it: you should always cut spears, not pull, to avoid crown damage. As Steev says, above ground for best flavor, slightly below for better keeping. I prefer the bend and snap method myself for tender new spears, as I tend to munch about half of them before they make it to the house. The stumps are fine; they'll weep a little and then dry up on their own.

From a 5 year old bed you should be getting about 6 weeks of spear production, give or take a week or so. As a general rule I stop cutting and let them make ferns when the majority are coming up pencil sized or less. Before then I do cut off any that shoot up to fern before I find them, to keep them in full production.

If you're seeing tiny, needle thin spears, they are volunteers, and should be weeded out to keep them from competing with and eventually crowding your original plants. As for helping damaged crowns recover, they're pretty resilient, and will probably recover on their own. Keep them dressed with good compost and a little rock phosphate to give them a boost.

Mike

[bertiefox]

I posted on this forum last year (I believe it was here), that where our asparagus bed has been encroached by a self sown hazel tree, the spears that come up right next to the stems and shoots of the hazel are double the thickness of all the others. This might just be coincidence, such as the strongest crown was at that place, but I've just noticed the same thing again this year. At least the proximity of the hazel roots don't appear to be damaging the 'sparrow grass', and maybe they might even be helping somehow in a symbiotic relationship.
I've got a new purple asparagus bed now just a year or two old so I can't yet pick any spears, but I'm wondering what to do with my older bed (about seven years old) where there are now gaps where roots have died. Can I just stick another set of asparagus roots there or is it best just to leave the gaps and start a completely new bed (or in my case wait for the purple stuff next year!)?

[12540dumont]

Bertie, we set aside a couple clumps in pots when we planted. Now we went back in and replanted the voids.

[olddog]

Thanks for posting this, is really interesting, and I guess hazelnuts do grow with asparagus family plants in the U.S. so believe you are correct, in that there is some symbiotic/ or other type of relationship. Also, found that hazelnuts supposedly repel flies, and they which attack asparagus.

[bertiefox]

12540dumont, that's such a good suggestion and makes such good sense, I just wonder why I haven't done it. When you plant out seed grown asparagus there will always be voids so keeping some back in a pot makes such sense!
Glad to hear that growing asparagus with hazel makes sense too. I must try to experiment with this over the next few years, though common sense dictates that you would need to keep the hazel under control and find the maximum benefit.

[olddog]

Bertiefox,
Yes, it seems one plant sort of takes over at the expense of the other, if you let it, unless they are perfectly matched; though I think you have a great combo there, with the hazelnut and asparagus!
Even so, I am still a great believer in companion planting (though my husband laughs at me, as he is a monoculturist aggie himself) or whatever you call it.
My best asparagus was when I interplanted tomatoes and parsley one year; it seems those old farmers/gardeners knew something.
But what really sold me on it was when I planted carrots, daisies, and garlic together, that was great! Garlic and daisies were o.k. together, but when I added the carrots to the mix, all the plants seemed to grow better.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

I end up with companion plantings all the time... It usually ends up as things like asparagus with grass. Strawberries with thistle. Corn with pigweed. Tomatoes with morning glory.

[12540dumont]

Joseph, I'm against the morning glory, especially if it's field bindweed.

I prefer daikon instead with tomatoes. It sort of chases out all the other weeds. I have to constantly add calcium to my soil to chase this snagglefoot weed out.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

Until I started growing radish for seed, I used radish seed as row markers, inter-planted along the row so I could tell where the row is.... They would often not get weeded out and go to seed. These days I don't want stray radish pollen contaminating my seed crop, so I'm using onion sets as row markers. The onions sprout ever bit as fast as the radish.

[Drahkk]

Apr 29, 2012 9:32:23 GMT -5 olddog said:

Bertiefox,
Yes, it seems one plant sort of takes over at the expense of the other, if you let it, unless they are perfectly matched; though I think you have a great combo there, with the hazelnut and asparagus!
Even so, I am still a great believer in companion planting (though my husband laughs at me, as he is a monoculturist aggie himself) or whatever you call it.
My best asparagus was when I interplanted tomatoes and parsley one year; it seems those old farmers/gardeners knew something.
But what really sold me on it was when I planted carrots, daisies, and garlic together, that was great! Garlic and daisies were o.k. together, but when I added the carrots to the mix, all the plants seemed to grow better.

Companion planting can really reduce the need (or at least temptation) for chemicals. Using a low growing shade tolerant crop as a ground cover between tall crops can really keep the weeds down. For example, this year I've got New Zealand spinach (and some unidentified volunteer melons) spreading under my corn. I'll never eat that much spinach, but I also won't have to weed as much this summer. Also, any strong smelling herbs seem to help keep the pests at bay. Borers don't seem to bother my squash as much when there's garlic nearby, and I know I haven't seen a hornworm since I started planting Basil with my tomatoes. And then there are some symbiotic relationships that don't seem to make any obvious form of sense, but they work just the same. I still don't understand how garlic increases the perfume output of nearby roses, but I know it works. Hazelnuts and asparagus fall into that category with me. Dunno how it works, but if it does, then so be it. I believe one of my neighbors has a hazelnut tree; I'll have to put a bug in his ear. Thanks!