Am i Too Late for Asparagus?

[maillme]

Hi there,

Brand new to gardening and woudl like to grow a little asparagus - am i too late? - My book tells me best to use yr old "crowns" and to plant early spring

many thanks,
Neil

[~elizabeth~]

It's too late to plant crowns now, but not to plant seed. I've found asparagus much easier if you grow it from seed, as crowns don't like being moved/transplanted (most of the crowns of Conover's Colossal you see for sale are actually grown from seed, so you may as well do it yourself). Asparagus is very easy to germinate. Sow now, grow on and overwinter in 3" post in the greenhouse/sheltered spot outdoors, then plant out the following spring once the soil has warmed. Seed grown plants will crop a year earlier than small crowns that have had the stress of being transplanted.

I've actually just planted a bed of asparagus in my front garden. Half from seed planted last year, half from crowns I bought in. All the seed-grown plants are thriving, whilst only 2-3 of the 25 crowns have appeared (though I suspect a squirrel may have been digging them up), so I wasted quite a bit of money on them. I've more or less given up on them and have just sown some replacements (T&M seed Martha Washington)

[snuffer]

Asparagus

Hi there,Mailme. If you really wanted to grow asparagus from crowns they can be planted in the autumn aswell as in the spring. The secret of successfully growing from crowns is preperation. Well before planting time get the bed well dug over, incorporating plenty of well rotted manure and compost. Asparagus hates to sit with its roots in the wet so add plenty of sharp sand and horticultural grit if you think drainage might nbe a problem. I planted 22 crowns this spring and everyone is up and running.

Remember to get your crowns from a good specialist grower. When they arrive they are big healthy well established roots. Avoid the spindly pathetic looking things that are sometimes sold in the super markets.

Give it a go, it's got to be worth trying.

[maillme]

hmm - thanks for the great advice!

Im in the process of sourcing a greenhouse, so if i secure this, then ill try and grow from seeds

Neil