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Asparagus harvesting?

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DirtBag

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May 12, 2013, 6:01:10 PM5/12/13
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Planted several Asparagus plants last season. They came back this season
but were really thin. How many years should I wait to harvest - and when
will they get thicker than a pencil? :-)

David E. Ross

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May 12, 2013, 7:54:42 PM5/12/13
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It takes 2-3 years. Then, you have to stop harvesting when new shoots
are again very thin.

Feed and water as you would other plants in your garden. Leave the
billowy "ferns" in place until they turn yellow in the fall.

When you cut the yellowed plants, leave a 3-inch stub as a marker so you
can see where to expect new edible shoots the following spring. If you
get snow in the winter, Sunset recommends leaving the dead growth to
hold snow in place, which will protect the roots from even colder
temperatures. (Fortunately, that is not a problem in my climate.)

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
<http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html>
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>

Chris

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May 13, 2013, 12:21:12 PM5/13/13
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Yes, wait at least two years before you harvest any asparagus. Don't
let them flower. And you might need to move them around in about 5
years. Generous fertilizer is a plus.

Chris

DirtBag

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May 13, 2013, 7:38:45 PM5/13/13
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Chris said

> On May 12, 7:54�ｿｽpm, "David E. Ross" <nob...@nowhere.invalid> wrote:
>> On 5/12/13 3:01 PM, DirtBag wrote:
>>
>> > Planted several Asparagus plants last season. �ｿｽThey came back this
>> > se
> ason
>> > but were really thin. �ｿｽHow many years should I wait to harvest -
>> > and
> when
>> > will they get thicker than a pencil? �ｿｽ :-)
>>
>> It takes 2-3 years. �ｿｽThen, you have to stop harvesting when new
>> shoots are again very thin.
>>
>> Feed and water as you would other plants in your garden. �ｿｽLeave the
>> billowy "ferns" in place until they turn yellow in the fall.
>>
>> When you cut the yellowed plants, leave a 3-inch stub as a marker so
>> you can see where to expect new edible shoots the following spring.
>> �ｿｽIf you get snow in the winter, Sunset recommends leaving the dead
>> growth to hold snow in place, which will protect the roots from even
>> colder temperatures. �ｿｽ(Fortunately, that is not a problem in my
>> climate.)
>>
>> --
>> David E. Ross

> Yes, wait at least two years before you harvest any asparagus. Don't
> let them flower. And you might need to move them around in about 5
> years. Generous fertilizer is a plus.
>
> Chris

Thanks for your help guys.

How do I stop them from flowering? Cut off any attempts for flowers to
form?

(Sorry, newby here) :-)

David Hare-Scott

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May 13, 2013, 7:54:23 PM5/13/13
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Why not let them flower? Just what are you going to do about it?

Why move them in 5 years?

David

Billy

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May 14, 2013, 1:00:20 AM5/14/13
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In article <XnsA1BEB7F0F...@78.46.70.116>,
The bigger, the better.

--
Remember Rachel Corrie
<http://www.rachelcorrie.org/>

Welcome to the New America.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg>

David E. Ross

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May 14, 2013, 7:06:31 PM5/14/13
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On 5/13/13 4:38 PM, DirtBag wrote:
> Chris said
>
>> On May 12, 7:54 pm, "David E. Ross" <nob...@nowhere.invalid> wrote:
>>> On 5/12/13 3:01 PM, DirtBag wrote:
>>>
>>>> Planted several Asparagus plants last season. They came back this
>>>> se
>> ason
>>>> but were really thin. How many years should I wait to harvest -
>>>> and
>> when
>>>> will they get thicker than a pencil? :-)
>>>
>>> It takes 2-3 years. Then, you have to stop harvesting when new
>>> shoots are again very thin.
>>>
>>> Feed and water as you would other plants in your garden. Leave the
>>> billowy "ferns" in place until they turn yellow in the fall.
>>>
>>> When you cut the yellowed plants, leave a 3-inch stub as a marker so
>>> you can see where to expect new edible shoots the following spring.
>>> If you get snow in the winter, Sunset recommends leaving the dead
>>> growth to hold snow in place, which will protect the roots from even
>>> colder temperatures. (Fortunately, that is not a problem in my
>>> climate.)
>>>
>>> --
>>> David E. Ross
>
>> Yes, wait at least two years before you harvest any asparagus. Don't
>> let them flower. And you might need to move them around in about 5
>> years. Generous fertilizer is a plus.
>>
>> Chris
>
> Thanks for your help guys.
>
> How do I stop them from flowering? Cut off any attempts for flowers to
> form?
>
> (Sorry, newby here) :-)
>

The flowers are tiny and scattered over the plant. Don't bother trying
to stop them or remove them.

Asparagus shares a characteristic with certain other plants -- including
ginkgo and ash trees and date palms -- that there are separate male
plants and female plants. If you have female asparagus plants, you
might get berries. If they ripen (turning bright red) and fall off, you
will soon have even more asparagus plants, some where you don't want
them. In that case, you might trim away parts of the plants that have
berries turning red.
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