[MoreWhisky]

HI

My asparagus is now 4yr old and doing really well, just wish i made the bed bigger. Anyway my question is until i stop taking the asparagus can i take EVERY spear?

Cheers MW.

[JayG]

I think it's best to ignore the rules based on the calendar, because the weather isn't taking much notice of it these days.

Make a judgement based on how vigorously they are producing new spears, as you don't want to find you've picked the last one it's got the strength to produce this year! 

I would suggest that 6 weeks picking is a safe maximum unless cold weather has really slowed them down in which case you could go to 8, but stop by the longest day in any event.

[Salmo]

Pick every one until you decide to stop. Traditional stop time is, as JayG says, the longest day, 21st June. As they started late, if the production is robust, I shall continue until the end of June this time.

[Trillium]

At 4 years you can be greedy with picking, but do stop by July 1st as the plants must renew their strength with green growth that comes up later. We've always followed this basic rule and our plants produce well.