[mjg000]

Could someone just confirm that I should just leave the spears which are coming through in my new asparagus bed?  I planted in Spring 2015 and just had fern which died down over the winter. I've fed the bed over the winter and now have some spears appearing which are, so far, about 6 inches tall.

[Lardman]

You're supposed to leave them for 3 seasons to establish themselves, so nothing this year or next. I don't think the crown would mind if you look just 1 per crown as a taster though - just make sure it's not the only one 

[Salmo]

If they were good crown and had plenty of fern on them last year I would say pick everything for 3 weeks and then let them grow ferns.

[Trikidiki]

I'm with Lardman, one spear from each crown, just to make sure they taste ok.

[mjg000]

it was late in the season that I planted.  The fern was not a dramatic flourish!!  I am just hoping that they settle in this year and get some goodness down to the roots.  Do the spears die back if left?

[JayG]

Do the spears die back if left?

Only after they've done their job of growing into ferns which feed and grow the crowns below the soil (a fully mature asparagus plant can be about 18" or more in diameter with roots going down several feet which is quite a lot bigger than the skinny spidery object you originally bought as a one or two year old crown.  )

As others have said, hard to resist harvesting one spear per plant unless they are still too feeble to be worth eating.

[mjg000]

Thanks JayG,

I think that was what I needed to know.