[Under The Hill]

I was worried mine had died, I planted them last April. But on Sunday they were 5 or 6 spears showing and a few more just an inch under which I found whilst weeding the bed. Made my day!!!?  Can't crop any though, not this year.  Am I right in thinking I can crop Some next year, half maybe? And my site is quite exposed should I stake then a bit or give then a bit of support?

[ptarmigan]

See how they look next year - and if they are looking particularly strong and luscious then you could harvest some, but I'd think less than half, the year after you should be completely rewarded.  If the plants haven't taken well then maybe just take an 'accidentally broken' one or two in the 2nd year.

I'm on a very exposed site and put up a windbreak round the beds.  But still lost a few so this year I'm going to set up some kind of staking system.  Maybe poles put in the corners and tying string round - I saw a picture somewhere (probably this website) where someone had done that rather than staking individual fronds which I thought sounded a bit difficult. 

My 4th year so I'm really hoping for a decent crop this year, so far only an inch of one showing.  It is worth the wait!

[Lardman]

I have 2 rows of crowns in a bed and an 'n' shaped timber support at each end about 3ft in height. When the ferns get to that stage I cable tie 2 8ft canes either side of the rows to sort of box them in.

It stops them flopping all over the place and protects from any wind rock there might be, probably not necessary but keeps the paths clear.

[JayG]

I was worried mine had died, I planted them last April. But on Sunday they were 5 or 6 spears showing and a few more just an inch under which I found whilst weeding the bed. Made my day!!!?  Can't crop any though, not this year.  Am I right in thinking I can crop Some next year, half maybe? And my site is quite exposed should I stake then a bit or give then a bit of support?

If they grow strongly this year you could risk taking a few next year - trick is not to pick from a plant if there is only one spear - it might be the last one it produces that year! 

I use canes at each end of the row, and support the ferns with plastic twine tied between them on both sides - if your row is long or happens to be aligned with the prevailing winds you will probably need intermediate canes and strings to break up the row into sections, otherwise you could find the whole lot lean and push each other over.

[Hampshire Hog]

I have seen a system similar to JayG's at National Trust gardens. When needed I put up something with canes and string holding the plants up. Normally need to do this once the cropping period ends and the ferns appear. Given your exposed site you may need some more solid supports though.

Cheers HH

[Kristen]

will they actually produce spears or is the first year spent building up the plant itself?

I grew mine from seed, so perhaps have more helpful pictures than if just starting from a crown.

This is what I planted - I planted it as a crown, spreading the roots out like a spider, but it already had the "spears" growign



and this is the feathery foliage that they created in the first year



and that same row in Year 2

[Annen]

At last!  I had just about given up and was planning what to use that empty bed for when I spotted 6 weeny shoots, yey!  So six out of ten plants not dead after all.  The 4 that haven't shown yet are in the shade of the fence so might be a bit slower, so I haven't given up all hope yet.

[ghost61]

We are now cropping 30 spears every other day.  Now, I like asparagus risotto (as OH cooks it) but not as often as this.........  I save the woody bits for soup too, so will have buckets of that available too!  Btw we have 30 crowns, some older than others, but the youngest is now three years old so being fully cropped for the first time.

[ptarmigan]

Ghost, do you feed your asparagus a lot?

[ghost61]

All I do is give a bit of water in the growing season if there is no rain.  So far I have done this once.  About 2 gallons per sq metre.  In the autumn I put on a thick layer of horse manure.  They are kept weed free and that's it. 

[ptarmigan]

Ta, mine aren't cropping anything like that, but you'll be warmer I suppose where you are. I'm v impressed!

[ghost61]

We also pick off all the asparagus beetles and squish em.  Usually can get about 60 per day later in the year.  They are death to asparagus.  We're about the only ones that do it and seem to get the best crop.

[sonnycbr]

I planted 30 crowns about 6 to 8 weeks ago in a prepared bed, free draining and in full sun. I then covered them in about 4 to 6 inched of well rotted horse manure and soil. So far, nothing has shown. Is this to be expected or am I too impatient?

[Annen]

Mine are still showing one after another, only yesterday I spotted 2 more little shoots.  So 8 out of 10 are growing when I thought they were dead. Don't give up yet!

[Comfr3y]

I planted 20 last autumn and they are creeping in - unfortunately asparagus beetle is doing for them almost as quickly as they are growing - that might be why you cant see any. I removed mulch to try and get rid of the eggs and lingering beetles.

i'll wait till autum then stick a few more in and transplant a few rogues.

enc a picture of the blighter.