Jen&Rog Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 OK, a slight exaggeration but it's brilliant to see my faithful asparagus plants doing their best despite the slugs and cold weather. Anyone else having any success out there? My green fingers are itching to get gardening.. hopefully spring is finally here now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Weeellll.......... ours looks a bit like that except all the bumps on ours are cat poo I'm going to get it all cleared off, disinfected and then netted once my tooth pain has subsided. Cats I can't wait for my asparagus bed to look like yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbug Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 They look good. How many plants approx. do you have. Is it is easy to grow asparagus. It is so expensive in the shops. Will taste extra special straight out of the garden.....mmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Ours are coming through, but it's their first spring so they don't look as good as yours ! We've got a variety which we're allowed to crop very lightly this year Mmmmm. Must restrain ourselves though - not too much Look forward to next year. We're going to extend the bed too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Ours is a new bed as well - the fourth one I've made. The first one was undermined by moles , then we had builders in.....I covered the bed with trellis but they still destroyed it .... made a third one and then moved here to the farm I'm looking forward to the sp"Ooops, word censored!" pickings we can make this year. Redbug - it is easy to grow but you need a permanent bed so not really suitable in small gardens. You need to keep it weed free. I do plant dwarf french beans around the edge of mine as I hate to see an empty bed once the asparagus is over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbug Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Been reading about asparagus and how to grow it. Would like to grow some. The plants have to grow high for the first two years? Not to pick the asparasgus for the first two years. But the plants last for 17yrs or more. I have moles in my garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I had a hard look at ours on Tuesday, but the only things growing are bindweed and grass. Our patch is pretty big and provides masses of stems, we planted it over a 3 year period, and even managed to get bored with it last year It is fairly over run with bindweed now which has come over from the school boundary which is alongside our allotment We will have to try to move some of the stronger crowns in the autumn to a clean bed. It cropped really well last year despite the bindweed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I have moles in my garden. If you want to have asparagus, then I would advise you dig out a deep bed and line the sides with wire mesh or wire netting before backfilling and then planting the crowns. Moles can decimate a whole bed in one night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbug Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Moles are a nusance my grass used to be level once. Will do that Lesley. Love the idea of having my own asparagus....mmm. Think now is the very latest time to put them in. Have seen some still in a couple of garden centres. Think I may buy 10 plants do you think that is enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 There is a mole running riot on our allotment site at the moment, I think an email to the managing agents may be in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen&Rog Posted April 26, 2008 Author Share Posted April 26, 2008 How many plants approx. do you have. We've only got 4 plants which give us more than enough asparagus from now til 1st June. After that you allow the stems to grow into tall frothy ferns which are cut down in about Oct/Nov. The first year you need to leave them to settle in, but after that you can start picking! Ours are 4 years old now, hopefully we'll get the first crop this weekend! Definitely one of the best/most reliable edible plants to grow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindy Loo Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Oh, I am SO jealous. I go out to the asparagus bed regularly but there is STILL no sign of any activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Mmmmmm looks good Last night on Gardener's World they were showimg how to plant asparagus. My garden is too small to even attempt to grow any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Ours has gone mad over the last few days - lots of spikes emerging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helly Welly Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 We planted ours last year, i currently have a total of two spears. Acually, i'm relieved to see even that, i was beginning to think i'd killed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Do they have to be planted a foot apart? I have 30 to go in ( sown a couple of years ago and still in pots). I also wondered if you can plant other things in between as the bed will only be cropping for a short time during the year. Not that I'm running out of space, but I want to maximise the use of the bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindy Loo Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Yes, Yes, Yes, I can see some small spears poking their heads out of the asparagus bed!!!! I confess, I was that eccentric woman in the garden at dusk getiing damp and blown away putting the chicken wire around the asparagus bed. Luckily our neighbours know us so well that unconventional behaviour such as this goes unnoticed and un-commented upon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Our neighbours are the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhotchick Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Hooray! My asparagus is showing signs of life! I bought a pack of 3 crowns in B&Q this year, put it in but thought it hadn't taken. So pleased! Not supposed to pick it this year though. Are slugs very fond of asparagus Each of the 3 crowns has one little spear coming through and one of the spears already had a slug attached to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 I planted a couple of crowns in a couple of tyres - I thought they were doing nothing then hey presto, last weekend I saw they had sprouted. Just have to be patient for a few more years till I can eat them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...