[bright lights]

Hello,this is my first post so please be nice to me! Am a new allotment holder so this will be my first year of blood sweat and tears(if only).I have a question,purchased 12 asparagus 1 yr old crowns and in retrospect can see i got them too early.Am storing as reccommended,on wet newspaper with wet cloth on top but need to know how long its safe to store like this? I do have the beds ready but believe its too early to put them in? Many thanks in advance!

[WG.]

WELCOME.  We are nice to everyone on here (at least on their first few posts)  

An asparagus-type person will be along soon.

[paintedlady]

Although I have some asparagus I'm no expert, but why can't they go in the ground now?  I think the sooner they are in soil the better, surely?  Once in the ground they'll have to put up with cold, damp and frosty winters. :?

[gobs]

If you are not waterlogged but you should have nice well drained ground ready for them, if not, make some and plant them. Best place for them, I think.

Some planting instructions are very peculiar and will say only put about an inch of soil on them. If you have got those, I would advise to ignore that bit and cover well up to the top of the crown. As roots can get frozen and die, if colder weather comes.

[Trillium]

Agree with Gobs (hope it doesn't go to her head   ).

As long as soil is workable, plant now. No need to wait, unless you're waiting to harvest which won't be for a while yet.
Amend the soil well, dig the hole, place some sand in a dome immediately under where the crown will sit (for good drainage), set in root and fill. I mound the soil just a little over the crown which must be covered to avoid drying out. The mounding keeps water from pooling over the crown which will rot quickly otherwise.
Be sure to allow enough space between roots as they do spread quite a bit and need area to send up those lovely shoots you want.  About 2 ft apart is good unless you can do a zigzag staggering where 1.5ft apart is okay.

[bright lights]

Many thanks to all,its easy to think youve got to do EXACTLY what the books say! Thanks again

[paintedlady]

One other piece of very useful advice - make sure the bed you intend putting them in is COMPLETELY clear of weeds, especially perenials and couch grass!  I made a bed for some asparagus last year (I can start harvesting some this year )and that is fine, but when I took on the second plot, it was sheer accident when strimming back the grass that my friend and I discovered there was asparagus growing there.  Even now I'm pondering how to go about rescueing them (if I try to dig in the heavy clay I'll no doubt totally wreck the roots, yet weedkiller is out of the question because it is only effective when EVERYTHING is growing

At this moment in time I might have to just sacrifice those and start afresh with something else.

[Trillium]

Paintedlady, I've rescued asparagus out of weeds. If you can isolate one plant, dig a large enough soil ball for it so you get as much root as possible. You can then either put the soil ball in a bucket of water or simply water it well. Once the soil is soft on the latter, you can carefully pull out all the weed roots (usually couch I find), which causes almost no disturbance then plant. If soaking in water, most of the soil and weeds will fall off and you can plant what's left as if a new crown. The roots will have soaked up enough water to handle the 'pruning' and keep growing.
Provided enough roots are left, asparagus are pretty tough.

[Sadgit]

Where is the best place to buy Asparagus? Looking for about 20 crowns and does anywhere actually sell 2 year crowns or just 1 year?

Really meant to get some last year and totally forgot.. oops

Cheers
SG

[Rob the rake]

Tucker's do 3 different varieties, Sadgit, one of which is a rather dandy purple cultivar. Only one year old crowns though.
Price is £16 for 10.

http://www.tuckers-seeds.co.uk/productlist.php?catid=1&subid=7

[naturesparadise]

hope this helps you

This perennial fern like plant produces a plentiful supply of young shoots, which are cut as succulent spears soon after they come through the soils' surface. Asparagus is a beautiful, easy to grow plant but patience is definitely required as it takes years to get your first crop, but once established it will provide asparagus for up to 20 years.
Cultivation and Planting
Cultivation and Planting
Plants can be grown from seeds, see our seed saving guide, but the most popular way to raise asparagus is to buy one year old asparagus crowns. Choose a sheltered sunny position with well drained soil for the asparagus bed, incorporating well rotted organic matter, making sure to dig out all perennial weeds. In April prepare a trench about 10 inches / 25 cms deep and 15 inches / 38 cms wide. Return some of the soil to the trench to make a ridge for the crowns to sit on. Spread the roots outwards over the ridge about 18 inches /45 cms apart and cover with 2-3 inches / 5-7.5 cms of soil. Don't fill the trenches immediately but gradually as the season progresses. This encourages the roots to grow deeply. It is essential to keep the bed weed free and hand weeding is recommended so as not to damage the roots.
Harvesting

The newly planted asparagus crowns will produce spears soon after planting but these must not be cut and must be left to grow into bushy fern like stems. In the second year a few spears may be cut but true harvesting begins in the third year. The harvesting season is from the end of April until late June. Cut the spears 2 inches / 5 cms below the ground when they are 5 inches / 13 cms tall taking care not to damage new developing shoots.

After cutting the last spears of the season the ferns must be allowed to grow. In autumn when the ferns turn yellow cut down to ground level and mulch with well rotted organic matter.

[gobs]

Where is the best place to buy Asparagus? Looking for about 20 crowns and does anywhere actually sell 2 year crowns or just 1 year?

Really meant to get some last year and totally forgot.. oops

Cheers
SG

I haven't seen 2 year olds, SG, but if you want 20, T&M form this site, 20 pack of 4 varieties, £20 plus postage and they come huge and well developed.

[Sadgit]

Where is the best place to buy Asparagus? Looking for about 20 crowns and does anywhere actually sell 2 year crowns or just 1 year?

Really meant to get some last year and totally forgot.. oops

Cheers
SG

I haven't seen 2 year olds, SG, but if you want 20, T&M form this site, 20 pack of 4 varieties, £20 plus postage and they come huge and well developed.

T&M form on here? Just been on T&M and they have "Asparagus : Spring Planting Collections - Full & Half [HALF - 20 crowns - 5 of each]" for £25 not £20

[gobs]

I bought in the autumn, so I remember it was £20 plus postage, which might well have been some pounds.

[Beetybops]

I have just been looking for some crowns to start a new asparagus bed and noticed that Abbey Parks Asparagus Farm are selling them for £1 each including P&P.  Might be worth a look.