Another asparagus question!

[Novice Gardener]

Right, I've lovingly prepared the bed where my asparagus is going to live and I've planted the crowns as described by Alan Titchmarsh but I'm a tad unsure if I can crop from the plant this year. I know that if you buy year old crowns, then you should wait 2 years before cropping, but the crowns I've got were given to me by a friend who'd had them in his garden for 4 or 5 years - does this mean that I can cut any spears that appear this year, or should I wait a year or two before cutting them?

[SarzWix]

Personally, I'd wait. They might have a good root system, but they've still got to get established in their new home.
I guess if they throw up a dozen spears, you might get away with harvesting 2...?!

[kitchengardner]

Right, I've lovingly prepared the bed where my asparagus is going to live and I've planted the crowns as described by Alan Titchmarsh but I'm a tad unsure if I can crop from the plant this year. I know that if you buy year old crowns, then you should wait 2 years before cropping, but the crowns I've got were given to me by a friend who'd had them in his garden for 4 or 5 years - does this mean that I can cut any spears that appear this year, or should I wait a year or two before cutting them?

It depends how you transferred them. If you took them as a plug (ie intact in a thick layer of soil) and planted them in a well prepared bed without exposing the crown and roots then you should be able to crop lightly (ie until the start of June). However if there is a risk you damaged the roots and/or exposed the crown then play it safe and don't harvest this year - it should guarentee a good crop for the next 10-15 years


Regards

Kitchen gardener

[Novice Gardener]

Thanks to you both. Kitchen Gardner, they were given to me in a huge bag. There were about 8 or 9 crowns, each with a bit of dirt/mud clinging to them. I left them in the bag but outdoors for a couple of weeks while I finished the bed off. I think I'll let it get used to its new home this year and look forward to a nice crop next year then. I've been reading loads about asparagus and what I find odd is that with quite a few veggies, you don't let them fruit the first year so they can concentrate on getting a good sturdy root, so you take out the bud/flower/fruit (eg globe artichokes) but with asparagus, you shouldn't cut the spears for the first few years to ensure a good crop for many years to come - sounds odd to me, but then what do I know??? Thanks for the advice

[SarzWix]

With asparagus, the spears are actually the plant's stems/foliage, so you leave them to open up and photosynthesise (sp?) and thus feed the plant. Even when harvesting them, you only take them for a short period and then leave the rest to feed the plant.

[chuffa]

check this out buddy.

RHS: Grow your own Veg