Asparagus without the strawberries

[megajoules expenditure]

We've just managed to reach the top of the list to get an allotment which we have now dug over and left to lie under the 2 feet of snow we now have.

Anyway I'm very keen to grow loads of asparagus and wanted to get as much info on what it likes/dislikes as possible to ensure success. Can anyone help??

Many Thanks.

[Wobbly John]

You'll have a long wait - it takes about 3 years to get asparagus crowns to crop.

It likes to be well drained, and well fed. If you've got claggy soil then dig a shallow wide trench and fork some grit into the middle. Place the asparagus crowns on that, and mix some manure or garden compost into the soil that you use to cover them. aim to leave the row slightly mounded, as this will help drainage and identify where the asparagus is before it shoots.

Do not harvest any shoots in the first couple of years. Cut the fern like foliage back to ground level in late autumn. Mulch with manure or garden compost after cutting to feed and keep weeds away.

[Cyclops]

Before planting try and get rid off all perennial weeds and remove as many stones from the soil as possible.

As you've just taken over the allotment you possibly don't know what was grown in the bed before but to avoid disease don't plant where there's been aspargus (unlikely in Gala ) or tatties grown in the last year or two.

[FatBloke]

What it doesn't like is asparagus beetle, and I have no suggestions about that. If you get 'em you're stuffed.   

[megajoules expenditure]

Thanks.

Do you think it's best to cover the stalks with straw or similar in the winter for a bit of protection from the weather?

Cheers

You'll have a long wait - it takes about 3 years to get asparagus crowns to crop.

It likes to be well drained, and well fed. If you've got claggy soil then dig a shallow wide trench and fork some grit into the middle. Place the asparagus crowns on that, and mix some manure or garden compost into the soil that you use to cover them. aim to leave the row slightly mounded, as this will help drainage and identify where the asparagus is before it shoots.

Do not harvest any shoots in the first couple of years. Cut the fern like foliage back to ground level in late autumn. Mulch with manure or garden compost after cutting to feed and keep weeds away.

[Wobbly John]

I have seen a few people leave the cut ferns on top as protection, but they tend to blow away on my plot, so I havent bothered.

[megajoules expenditure]

Thanks John and everyone.

I'll get some crowns ordered and give it a go. Hopefully the snow will be gone by about May

I have seen a few people leave the cut ferns on top as protection, but they tend to blow away on my plot, so I havent bothered.

[vorsprung]

i like asparagus but our garden has a big problem with convuluous
if you have persistent weeds then an asparagus bed would be a waste of time