Asparagus

[JerryL]

Several years ago I started an asparagus patch. Had pretty good success but I didn’t tend to it as well as I should and it went down hill.

Last spring I started another patch. We had a VERY dry summer last year but I watered the new patch fairly regularly. Well, so far I have NO spears in the new patch. I do have one or two in the old patch.

Does anyone in the zone 6a area of SW Ohio have asparagus yet?

[neoguy]

Jerry,

We dug our bed up last year, the return on land investment didn't seem worth it.

I'm sure you know they have high nitrogen needs. We used to feed heavy throughout the year and again in early spring, didn't seem to help much.

I should add, I think the majority of our crop was probably female plants, not the more desirable male plants.

[babylark]

I'm of no help. I only started a patch this year.

I'm curious though, how you tell the male from female plants?

[Ruth_10]

Mine just started to come up (had the first real picking yesterday). It was late because of our cold spring. If yours was cold as well, give it another week before you get worried. Also, since it's a new patch it might be rather sparse while it gets established.

[JerryL]

Thanks for the input.

Of course, I ask and then I see. Yes, this morning I have a few very small shoots.

As to male/female. Here is what I found.

Asparagus plants are dioecious (either solely male or solely female). The female plants develop more spears or stems than the male plants, but the stems are smaller in diameter. With normal open-pollinated varieties, gardeners plant both male and female plants in an approximate ration of 1:1. After the first year, small red berries form on the female plants in late summer. These then fall to the ground, sprouting plants that essentially become perennial weeds in the asparagus bed.

[neoguy]

And, here is some info from Ohio Sate University Extension:

Traditional asparagus varieties are dioecious, meaning that they have male and female reproductive structures on different plants. Female plants produce spears and also produce seed when the plant is in the fern stage. The production of seed diverts photosynthetic energy from spear production and reduces the yield of spears. The seeds fall to the ground and germinate, creating an undesirable asparagus-seedling weed problem in the field (Figure 1). Male plants yield more asparagus with no seeds produced while in the fern stage of growth.

[feldon30]

Male hybrids like Jersey Giant and Jersey Knight will produce twice as much as the typical male/female combinations. http://www.jerseyasparagus.com/aspara.html

[Miss_Mudcat]

Hi Jerry,

I'm pretty sure I'm in zone 5b.

I planted 50 Mary Washington in the spring of '05 and 50 Purple Passion in the fall of '06.

The MWs did very well; we were able to harvest for about 4 weeks last season. (We had our first asparagus of the season for supper last night.) About half of the PP didn't fare so well - bad weather, I think. We are replanting those this spring as soon as we can determine the location of the survivors. They are just beginning to pop up, being pretty new plants, they are teeny tiny!

Lisa

[Ruth_10]

The all-male varieties will often contain a few females. We planted Jersey King (all male) and have a few female plants. Volunteers are now showing up in various places around the yard.

[piegirl]

So far I have picked 4 batches - yummmmo. Very early in the spring I put dried manure or compost on my two areas. I always believed growing asparagus was no brainer, and laughed when a co-worker said he planted 75 plants. well, after two batches of 25 plants, I have ONE very nice hill of 'gus. A 2nd plant lasted a couple seasons. In the other area I have 3 hills - one quite small - this is from another 25 plants. A very productive hill just up and died two years ago - boom, just gone. good soil, water, etc. If nothing shows up in some areas, may be you could dig around alittle bit - might kick the plant into gear (let the ferns develop). This is the best tasting asparagus I have had - well, it is always great but this year the taste is the best! Piegirl

[jhp]

If you're not having luck growing asparagus, you may want to check your pH. Asparagus grows well in soil with a pH of 7. Lower than 6, you'll have problems growing it.

My asparagus is on it's 3rd spring. I've harvested a few spears so far. About a dozen more poking half way out of the soil as of yesterday. When I only have a few spears, I cut them up and add them to a salad so DH and both get a taste.

Good luck.

Jen

[JerryL]

Jen,

Thanks for the pH tip. I haven’t actually tested it. I do have a few coming up now but I think I’ll check the pH when I get home.

[Ruth_10]

Our asparagus is just now really coming on. We get enough for a meal for two about every night. I drool over all the recipes for serving asparagus, but we usually just steam it and eat it with a dash of salt and (for me) a tiny pad of butter. Perfection!

[Miss_Mudcat]

We had more asparagus tonight. This time I cut it into 2" long pieces, blanched them for 3 minutes, then stir-fried for about a minute with some green garlic, butter and salt. VERY VERY GOOD!

[babylark]

I like to put it on foil and grill it. Or roast it in the oven. My DH and I can go through a whole lot of asparagus that way!