Note added later: Please read the comments. I planted this wrong and will be digging it up to replant soon.
I finally got my asparagus roots planted! They arrived in the mail a while ago (2 weeks ago I think). I moistened them a bit while waiting to plant them. They seem fine still - little sprouts have started on most of them.
I planted them a bit close - 12 inches apart in my 5 ft x 2.5 ft bed. I gave away half of the crowns and planted 10 crowns in this bed. I dug trenches 8 inches deep, laid out the roots, then added back 2 inches of soil and patted it down.
Since I also kept the planting instructions moist for the past couple weeks, I photographed it before it disintegrates.
Now I just need to be patient for two years.
asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)
21 comments:
Oh my goodness...two years. That is a LOT of patience... Eventually I'd love to plant asparagus...just not at this house as we're hoping to buy country property in the next year or so. Until then...I'll keep buying my asparagus...
I wasn't going to put asparagus in this year, it's been so much work just setting up the garden. But I was at the local garden center getting some flowers with my girls and saw a package.....if it takes 2 years, I should start now I thought! So if it ever stops raining, I'll be following your lead and putting my asparagus in! Your pictures have really helped.
I also received my asparagus two weeks ago and it is still waiting to go in the ground! Maybe if I got off the computer and out in the dirt I would get them planted!
Wow, I didn't realize you could lay all the roots out to one side. I thought you had to make a little cone of soil, carefully drape the roots symmetrically down the sides, then cover with the sprouts pointing straight up. Hmm. As a result of these concerns, and because I am extremely lazy, I used a simpler system when I planted my asparagus 2 years ago. I bagged the whole trench thing, and just dug individual holes (not very deep ones, either), jammed the roots in and sort of swirl/mushed them around and covered them with soil.
This being the 2nd year, I am eagerly waiting to see if I can possibly eat a few stalks. So far my lazywoman's system seems to have worked. I have sprouts, they are bigger than last year, and ......... I have to say, though, that I am still impressed and humbled by the hard work all you 'regular' (ie proper) gardeners do to plant asparagus. Will be sins of sloth and impatience be punished? Only time will tell.
Your fan (I also greatly admire your tidy raised beds, and I covet the garden view you have from your upstairs window -- I have no upstairs, though I suppose I could climb on the roof for my own aerial view?) in Oregon
ooooh asparagus! I need to educate myself about these cuz last year I found two shoots of asparagus randomly poppin out of the ground around september. (I bought my house 2 yrs ago) I had heard if you let it become trees it will strengthen roots and produce more the next year so I didn't thouch them and let them be.
I'm wondering if it will work out though. The only problem was that they were popping out from between the border stones so I really want to relocate them. Do you think it it's okay to dig them up and replant them? And if so, when?
Oh my, I have never tried asparagus! You're brave!
I think maybe I didn't plant these right. What do you think? Should I go back and set them upright? And I didn't notice that the instructions say not to cover the growing tip.
It'll be easy to locate the crowns and replant them. Please let me know!
Wow - two years? That is good to know. I love asparagus, but I am not sure I would have the patience - but we will see. :-D
Kathy, I always dug a 12" deep trench, then worked some good composted manure into the bottom and made a bit of a ridge through the center of the trench. Then I straddled the roots over the ridge, spreading them out a bit. You want the plant to look rather like an octopus sitting on a sandbar :-) Then just put enough dirt back into the trench to cover the roots, leaving the asparagus crown showing. Tamp down and water well. Backfill the trench as the crown grows. I do think laying them on their sides like that might pose a problem.
I think I may try asparagus, preparing the bed in the fall and then planting in the spring.
I grew up eating it fresh from my dad's garden. He's been maintaining that same patch for over 30 years. I was back home recently for a visit and got to harvest some of the first chutes. So yummy!
I never knew it took 2 years for asparagus to produce. I've never seen asparagus roots either. Very different. Good luck.
Waiting is always the hardest part, like planting rhubarb. I am still on the fence about asparagus. I have tried it a few times, liked it some times and not others.
I'll be planting asparagus this spring, so I appreciate your photos and the comments here. Yum!
An asparagus bed has to be a long term commitment of your space! Once planted it is a permanent feature and all subsequent designs and rotations have to work around it. A true gourmet treat when you do eventually harvest.
I am planning to dig up and replant the asparagus correctly, like Annie's Grannie recommends. As soon as the weather dries up a bit.
you should read the planting directions here:
http://www.veseys.com/us/en/learn/guide/veginfo/asparagusroots
or here
http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uj231.pdf
Hi Kathy,
You're not the only one who planted their asparagus laying on their sides! I want to thank Svelta for the link to the Verseys website where they give very clear instructions on how to place the roots. A little digging around in my bed and now my plants are right side up! This is really a great blog for those of us venturing into the world of vegetable gardening for the first time. Many thanks.
Hey, someone else@! Now I don't feel so bad. I 'm still waiting for time to replant.
Planting asparagus crowns is no small job, so I admire you for just digging the trenches! You'll have a feast in a year or two!
Kathy, hi
Try this video, which I made recently to help with planting asparagus crowns:
http://vimeo.com/3939735
I know this method works, because I used it to put in my current bed, which is uber-productive: we're eating asparagus every other night at the moment!
i have planted two asparagus beds, one like how annie's granny did, and one they way you did. and I yielded more asparagus from the bed planted the way you did.
it's worth the wait, this year you need to water evenly, and feed, and just let it grow to huge fern.
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