[Annie]

My asparagus plants have just arrived,I`ve wrapped them in wet newspaper for now.I know I should plant straight away but feel it is perhaps a bit cold as it is due to be frosty here tonight again.Any suggestions,can I cover the beds with polythene then plant in a few days and cover in fleece for a bit.Also how much space do I need for 15 plants,the info that came with the plants was a bit frugal.Any and all advice gratefully accepted. :?

[muntjac]

just store them in a cool place until your ready to plant . no longer than a few days as the fine roots may dry out badly , plant 18 inches between each plant . mound them up to cover them completly .with about 6 inches soil on top they will be fine . mine ( i have a over 1000 plants i crop for farm gate sale ) survive freezing extremly well , they have been known in some places to survive minus-30c so dont worry about them , make your trench  a 6inches deep as the roots can go down up to about 6ft cover them over with another 6 inches or so .. throw a half hand full of grow more on the top of  the soil before you rake it over , then again after harvesting  only take a few spears in the first year . then you can take them upto about mid june the next year . when you cut the ferns back in winter . give a good feed of well rotted compost mixed with the same in manure , i use horse muck as it is less hot in nitrogen than cow manure , others may have some tips for you relevant to your area

[Annie]

Thanks Muntjac,I will have to reevaluate space and get planting,short thanks as sleeping small person has rolled onto flagstone floor fromsofa,the screaming beginss....

[muntjac]

i dont cut beyond 20th june here . give the plants loads time to recover

[greenie]

I was under the impression that asparagus was generally planted in Spring? If you planted now, would it make a difference to their growth?

[muntjac]

not really it will seem like the rest period they need .they will come up in spring as normal ,but the thing not to do is take to much from them in the first year.i will sort piccys out of my field .we cut approx 3000 bunches a season i sell it outside the school and through restarants and hotels one pound 75p a bunch of 10 i have to pay folks for cutting from that

[greenie]

Thanks muntjac, I will make a mental note of that. Your price seems quite reasonable as even in the supermarkets with bulk purchasing power, they offer just a few measly spears for nothing under £2/bunch.

Annie, did you buy crowns? And where did you get them, the catalogues all seem to send out in Spring.

[muntjac]

if they are not from a catalogue i have a feeling they may be used ones ,i will change mine for new baby plants every 10 yrs .and i sell the old ones at 2 pounds each .( only done it once) they are great for folks wanting a few spears of thier own garden..they can grow on for many many years

[Annie]

I got them through a gardening magazine,5crowns each ofguelph millenium,purple pacific and eros for £16.99 inc. p&p.They are from T&M.I`m not sure of the ethics of me giving any details on the open forum but anyone wishing to discuss ethics could contact me via a pm.

[muntjac]

its allright by me , i asked a question and im sure we all like getting an answer that all can read .after all it is public information loloo.. now about that semtex ya got for shifting moles?

[Annie]

Semtex from Boots,will shift moles and freckles.Asparagus via Kitchen Garden mag.Order code no.ARR9340.If you have more room you can have 10 crowns of each for £31.99 INC P&p.Credit card no.01473695225.This was the Nov.issue so since I`ve just got mine ordering quickly  should mean you`re OK to order.
  I would be interested from John if it is OK to pass on any special offers as I get subscriptions to Gardening mags from the Outlaws and OH.There are often Free seed offers for just p&p.I`ll have things I got that are not needed on swap later when I know what I want to grow next year.
  If I am black-balled by all I will hold you responsible Muntjac....

[muntjac]

thats ok annie .. u can join me in the sin bin lolo

[greenie]

Thanks for the info Annie. I'm thinking to get some crowns as a present for the gardening in-laws.

[John]

Now come on - I'm not that bad!
Please pass on any offers - they help us all.

Last week someone joined and posted about how they forgot to plant things but they'd found a wonderful site that would email reminders. I checked it out and they wanted your email but there were things that made me uncomfortable about the site.
Checking, the poster's email was the same as the domain owners. Now if it was aboveboard why not say 'I've just launched a site that ...'? A healthy dose of paranoia does no harm on the net.
If anyone wants to put their own business site in a post, contact me. I like to help. But when people start trying to be clever and selling under guise (sugging) they get shown the door.

[Oliveview]

I picked wild asparagus yesterday morning when walking the dog.  nly got 4 spears but enough to have with my scrambled eggs later on today!
Pamela