[hermon]

can anyone advise me on growing this delicous food from seed, i can manages to germinate them but i think they are ready to go on my plot.
the ferns are about 4inches high and some are yellowing and dying would this be because they got to wet? the roots are coming through the bottom of the pot. what time of year do they go to big school!(allotment )
what do i do in preperation to the soil and do i need to cover them in winter? i understand they stay in the same space for a number of years so i want to get it right.

[hermon]

anyone?  

[stompy]

Hi there hermon, i'm growing asparagus from seed but mine arn't as big as yours yet. :oops:

I don't know too much, but i will be keeping them in pots until next spring, a 3 " pot.

I read somewhere that you have to dig out a groove and plant them in it,
then when they start to come through earth them up about 3".

Dose the ground with manure each year.

Good luck, i know i'm going to need it.

[Oliver]

anyone?  

Well, since you ask. We don't know too much about sparrowgrass, but all the places that sell it sell 3 year old crowns, so It would appear that you won't get much joy out of your asparagus for some time. They also seem to grow the stuff on a raised bed - so the earthing up bit figures. What I do know is that the plants last a long long time once they are established. We inherited a bed of them, about 20 plants, when we first took on the plot. They eventually gave up the ghost.  About 15 years later. We don't grow it now because we buy it from the local organic grower. It takes up a lot of room and the season is very short. Good luck!

[Oliver]

growing asparagus  

Here is some blah on how to grow asparagus from a book she has: ‘The Gourmet Garden  - The Fruits of the Garden transported to the Table’ by Geraldene Holt.

 (My italics and  … =  where I have left some text out for brevity's sake)

... the vegetable will flourish in most soils provided that it is well-drained. In a region with heavy soil an asparagus bed is usually ‘raised’. This is simply done by digging a trench around the outside of the bed with the soil from it thrown into the centre to make it higher.
Professional asparagus-growers in the Vale of Evesham and Norfolk (both loamy soils) grow the vegetable on long quick-draining ridges which warm up quickly in the spring.

The spring is the best time to plant an asparagus bed. There is a choice of plants – seedling asparagus grown in peat blocks and often sold as modules, or asparagus crowns. Crowns, usually one- or two years old – are spider-like plants of fleshy rhizomes which need to be kept damp while they are out of the ground; their chief advantage is that you have less time to wait for your asparagus crop. (A lot of nurseries sell 3 year old crowns for this very reason, but you should only crop lightly in the first year to give the plant time to establish). Both seedlings and crowns come in named varieties (See below).

… Asparagus is supposed to an aphrodisiac – however, any food or drink can be aphrodisiac if you are so inclined – … love begins in the mind, but passion requires a healthy body! ...

Recommended varieties: Cito, Conovers Colossal, Franklin, Jersey Giant, Martha Washington and the highly productive all-male Limbras varieties which can be raised from seed quite easily.

Good Luck – (Her - Oliver’s human).
Will send the whole story to you pm.