[woodburner]

Looking for information on asparagus I come across first Bob Flowerdew's recommendation to grow it from seed then, looking at the seed catalogues, this interesting method :arrow:

Rather than the traditional permanent Asparagus bed system of culture, the best method – and certainly the best for gluttons – is to adopt a four-season cycle sowing seed annually: first year sow the seed, thinning or planting out to 2 ft. or so apart; second season hands off (but keep the weeds at bay); third season you may ration yourself to a few shoots; the fourth season you let yourself go and cut shoots without a second thought for the poor plant which is now doomed! At the end of this fourth season, the crowns are dug up and used for forcing.

It seems that this method at least removes the worry about how much you can cut, and possibly gives more control over weeds and soil condition.

Your opinions will be greatly appreciated on both this and the more traditional method of growing from crowns.

[Trillium]

Bob always gives good information. And this method depends on whether or not you've the time to spend digging and reseeding. You'll also need extra space to keep starting new seeds.
Guess I'm basically the lazy type - put in good sized roots which will give me a modest cutting the 2nd yr, and lots the 3rd yr. I simply catch any weeds early and small and there's no problem. Mulch also helps.

[gobs]

As Trill says, definitely for those with  the acres and time to spare to be awkward, as it will take up more space than planting a few more crowns, which with some care should produce for 20 years or so.

Also, the better producers are the male crowns, as they don't want to produce babies, you can't get seed for these strains for obvious reasons, so even more plants you need, I suss for a good crop.

[woodburner]

Also, the better producers are the male crowns, as they don't want to produce babies, you can't get seed for these strains for obvious reasons, so even more plants you need, I suss for a good crop.

Actually there is an F1 hybrid that produces 100% male plants. It's really pricey though.

[cooperman]

yes - to get a reasonable ongoing crop you would virtually have to have a whole lottie strip devoted just to asparagus.......... its feasible if you run a couple of lotties but otherwise it just takes up too much valuable space for one crop.....