[Quetzal]

Above are some asparagus seedlings I have on my kitchen windowsill. They are quite tall, feathery and a bit floppy. I was intending to harden them off, before transferring into a window-box type pot for this year, before planting in a permanent site next spring.

Is this the right course of action? None of the instructions I have read really deals with cultivating asparagus indoors at first.

thanks in advance.

[mikem]

Mine are a bit taller than yours, I have had them outdoors now for about a month and they seem to be OK.  I don't know what you are supposed to do next but I intended to leave them out over the winter, perhaps in a cold frame to stop them getting too wet, and then plant them out next year.  Hopefully someone can let us know what we should do! 

[DD.]

I just "winged it".

I put mine outside on the driveway soon after germination. They are a very hardy plant.

They were potted up into 3" pots.

In the autumn I noticed that they had rooted into the tarmac, so I stuck them in the plot. All 39 survived. I've just come back from the plot with yet another load of the stuff.

[Quetzal]

Thanks. Out they go then. The kitchen windowsill is pretty prime real estate at the mo, so it'll be good to shift them.

[Trillium]

Thanks. Out they go then. The kitchen windowsill is pretty prime real estate at the mo, so it'll be good to shift them.

Soon as I read that you'd potted them on I knew you'd have root troubles, DD 

Unlike a lot of other plants, asparagus make huge roots and once they are hardened off, (yes, they should be) then they can be potted up for a short while but it's best if they can go directly into their permanent bed which must be free of weeds, amended and kept weeded. Otherwise you'll not be able to park in your driveways 

[DD.]

That was about 7 years ago. I was a mere slip of a lad!

[Trillium]

Cough, cough, cough 

[peapod]

That was about 7 years ago. I was a mere slip of a lad!

Only in hobbit years 

[DD.]

I'd think of a witty retort to that, but I've got to get my third supper.

[Kristen]

My seedlings are in 2.5L pots at the moment.  They keep sprouting "baby asparagus tips" which turn to feathers, so I think they are happy.

My bed won't be ready until the Autumn ...

... I was assuming I could "hold" them in pots (I've got bigger ones and was planning to pot on as needed).

All suggestions welcome though.

EDIT: Added picture

[Quetzal]

wow. mine obviously have some serious way to go.

[SnooziSuzi]

I have yet to sow the asparagus seeds I was given by a lotty neighbour but I want to dig and weed over the area for them to go into first (obviously) and to get some poo into the ground first. 

Am I too late to start the seeds this year and so should just concentrate on the bed first or can the seeds be started anytime?

[barney rubble]

I have yet to sow the asparagus seeds I was given by a lotty neighbour but I want to dig and weed over the area for them to go into first (obviously) and to get some poo into the ground first. 

Am I too late to start the seeds this year and so should just concentrate on the bed first or can the seeds be started anytime?

The packets (T & M Martha Washington) I bought said sow in mid spring - I have done but nothing has come up yet. The packet also said they take a long time to germinate. I think Kristen said theirs had germinated within days, but think they were indoors in a propagator

[mikem]

It took mine 10 days to come through in a heated propagator.

[Trillium]

Unless your weather is cold, there's no need for a propogator at this time of year. Just get the seeds started, whether in pots or directly sown, and keep watering often until you see signs of growth, then hold back. They'll still come up now as the weather is very obliging and they have time before winter sets in.