[Noah'strolly]

I decided to try growing asparagus and picked up a 2 crown pack from tesco! It says on the pack to plant out in march but I just googled asparagus crowns and it says not to let them dry out. So two questions:
1 - what do I do with them until march
2 - I have a spot put aside which is about 2m x 3m and I notice lots of places are selling crowns in batches of 10 or 20+, so is two enough, not enough or too many for my small patch?

[Trillium]

Depends on just how small your patch is. If you hope to feed several people, 2 crowns just isn't enough. Asparagus needs to be planted in well worked soil with some old manure and bonemeal, and a touch of lime if you have it. Space them roughly 18" (45cm) apart as the roots will spread, which is your guide to how many you can fit in. As for storing them, you can temporarily heel them into some soil in the garden (a temporary hole) or place them all in a largish pot with some damp soil or mix in a shed or greenhouse and check from time to time if they need a bit of water. They're very hardy plants and if your permanent spot is diggable, then simply put them in now. However, if any shoots are already popping out, then do the potting bit. 

[DD.]

Two is not enough!!!

I've got 39 crowns, raised from seed, admitedly squashed in a bit from the recommended spacing. In season, that gives us asparagus every other day, asparagus soup and some to give away!

In a 2m x 3m plot, (is that about 6 x 9 feet?), you could get three rows of 6 plants, so 20 may be a good option.

BUT - don't forget the ferns that you have to leave to grow will overlap adjacent ground greatly.

[braders1234]

Hi All,

Not wishing to hijack the thread but I have been racking my brain about asparagus. 

I am new to allotments but am trying to think long term as well.  I have 20 crowns of Asparagus on order and am planning to make a raised bed for them.

I have a new plot that is currently covered in manure and plastic sheeting, my concern is that I have read that asparagus can need 120cm of soil depth for its roots and I am not sure how to prepare a raised bed.

Current thinking is to have a bed 1m by 2 m with a raised part between 30 and 40 cm.  My concern is that this is a lot of soil to add/find/buy to fill this up near to the top?

I am happy to double dig the part below the raised part and add manure/ B&B.

Any thoughts or guidance appreciated.

[DD.]

I just stuck mine in, still get excess to requirements.

[Noah'strolly]

Thanks. I think I'd better get some more then. But I'll go online this time as it seems cheaper - the bag of two crowns I got from tesco was nearly £3. There's a nursery selling through ebay selling 10 crowns for about £7.50  inc p&p they sound quite professionl.

Edited by john - Please don't post huge long links as it breaks the layout

[pushrod]

just remember not to harvest any spears this year.

[nicchick]

I got mine from ebay, and they seem to be doing well despite having to wait in pots until I had somewhere to plant them. £12.50 for 10 inc. postage if I remember correctly.