[corynsboy]

In December, tired of sitting on my hands, I planted some asparagus seeds.  They've sat in my greenhouse for the whole of the year and in the last week they have finally surfaced.

I planted five seeds in each 3 inch pot and I now have 15 bright green stems poking through the compost.

Spurred on by my success I have another 12 pots with just one Asparagus seed in each pot which I planted in compost in plastic coffee cups two weeks ago.  The plan is to sell these on our society's stall at the local infant school fate in July.  (We do this every year to raise money for the school.)

What do I do now?  Do I pot on the five small stems into single pots?  When can they go outside?  And finally, when should they be put in the soil to grow on.

I have four asparagus beds of my own so I have no plans to plant them on my plot, but it would be nice to sell the asparagus with some instructions for the punters at the fate. 

[Tattyanne456]

I'm no expert, but I would imagine that they'll need at least another 4years growing before they produce a plant that you can harvest.  Would anyone want to wait that long? You usually buy them as  year old strong plants with good root systems, and then you have to wait for a couple of years before cutting.

[Trillium]

If the asparagus are a few inches tall, then you can separate the bunched ones into separate pots, simply add a bit more sand to any mix you use. If the plants are going for fundraising and you've included instructions, then I'm sure people will take a chance on them for a good cause.

[lucywil]

i grew some from seed in 2008, potted them into individual pots which stayed in the garden all summer and winter, mainly because the allotment wasn't ready, i then planted them out in march last year and just let the ferns grow, which were then cut down in the autumn.

I intend to harvest a few spears this year but not many and will start harvesting properly next year.

[corynsboy]

Thanks for the tips.

I'll pot on the plants in a couple of weeks and write up the instructions to give away with each pot. Perhaps I'll spread a little bit of asparagus happiness.  Sure it will be a few years before anything can be harvested but at £1 each it will be worth a punt.

[Kristen]

I grew some Asparagus from seed last year. This is what they looked like in early June.