asparagus hybrid question

ChiliPeppa · September 25, 2015

I have a large area of my garden dedicated to asparagus. 2 beds of Purple Passion F1 and 2 of Martha Washington a heritage type. They are a mix of male and female and last year i did not remove the seed shoots in time and so the F1s had lots of volunteers this spring. I dug them up and potted them and they are growing great. I have a bed to plant them in this month but I'm wondering if since I took volunteers from the F1 only, perhaps the resulting plants may not produce well. Seems like I should (after couple years) get good eating asparagus regardless. Anyone have any experience with this? thanks.

clkeiper · September 25, 2015

My only experience is with the purple Passion... I didn't do a great job keeping it weed free and after a few years it became really weedy and I let it go... it has really failed to produce the last year and has kind of faded away. So... keep yours weed free. Otherwise all the "seedlings" (aka bird droppings) I have dug up and replanted in another bed have done well. I am going on the third year with it and it is looking healthy... except for the weeds. *sigh* I just can't get ahead of them.

ChiliPeppa · September 25, 2015

Thanks for the reply. I mulch really heavy so weeds are not a problem. So did you harvest from the 'seedlings' crop? How was taste and so on?

joseph · September 26, 2015

Asparagus are a glorious crop to grow from seed. Because there are male only and female only plants, every seed produced is a hybrid. So I'd expect lots of vigor from the seedlings. Some might do poorly, some might do really well. My typical strategy for plant breeding project like this is to plant the seedlings far enough apart that each unique plant can be studied for vigor, and disease resistance, and taste, and other desirable traits. In the case of asparagus, I'd grow them in a temporary bed for a year or two, and then transplant the most vigorous and most productive to the final production bed. (Perhaps I'd select for different traits like fattest shoots, or earliest shoots, or latest shoots, or color, or disease resistance, or whatever.)

If the beds of different varieties are side-by-side I'd expect quite a bit of crossing. If they are separated by dozens of feet the expected crossing rate would drop dramatically.

ChiliPeppa · September 26, 2015

Good info Joseph, thank you.

clkeiper · September 26, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiliPeppa

Thanks for the reply. I mulch really heavy so weeds are not a problem. So did you harvest from the 'seedlings' crop? How was taste and so on?

I haven't harvested very much from the bed yet and what I did harvest this year I sold at a farmers market. My family didn't get to eat much of it because I am too busy when it is ready ( I am getting the garden fit and planted. I have 2 acres worth to get ready) to do much with it. What I did eat I ate raw right out in the garden and it didn't aste any different than the original patch.

ChiliPeppa · September 27, 2015

Ok sounds good.

September 25, 2015	#1
ChiliPeppa Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Mojave Desert - California Posts: 368	asparagus hybrid question I have a large area of my garden dedicated to asparagus. 2 beds of Purple Passion F1 and 2 of Martha Washington a heritage type. They are a mix of male and female and last year i did not remove the seed shoots in time and so the F1s had lots of volunteers this spring. I dug them up and potted them and they are growing great. I have a bed to plant them in this month but I'm wondering if since I took volunteers from the F1 only, perhaps the resulting plants may not produce well. Seems like I should (after couple years) get good eating asparagus regardless. Anyone have any experience with this? thanks.

September 25, 2015	#2
clkeiper Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 4,350	My only experience is with the purple Passion... I didn't do a great job keeping it weed free and after a few years it became really weedy and I let it go... it has really failed to produce the last year and has kind of faded away. So... keep yours weed free. Otherwise all the "seedlings" (aka bird droppings) I have dug up and replanted in another bed have done well. I am going on the third year with it and it is looking healthy... except for the weeds. sigh I just can't get ahead of them. __________________ carolyn k

September 26, 2015	#4
joseph Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Cache Valley, N/E of The Great Salt Lake Posts: 1,244	Asparagus are a glorious crop to grow from seed. Because there are male only and female only plants, every seed produced is a hybrid. So I'd expect lots of vigor from the seedlings. Some might do poorly, some might do really well. My typical strategy for plant breeding project like this is to plant the seedlings far enough apart that each unique plant can be studied for vigor, and disease resistance, and taste, and other desirable traits. In the case of asparagus, I'd grow them in a temporary bed for a year or two, and then transplant the most vigorous and most productive to the final production bed. (Perhaps I'd select for different traits like fattest shoots, or earliest shoots, or latest shoots, or color, or disease resistance, or whatever.) If the beds of different varieties are side-by-side I'd expect quite a bit of crossing. If they are separated by dozens of feet the expected crossing rate would drop dramatically. Last edited by joseph; September 26, 2015 at 12:57 AM.

September 27, 2015	#7
ChiliPeppa Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Mojave Desert - California Posts: 368	Ok sounds good.