[Under The Hill]

My asparagus is now in its third year, a few weeks ago a couple of spears came up and I took three (there were about 8 - 12 coming through) but when I went to the plot yesterday there was nothing.  I think slugs may have eaten the few I left but no sign of anything else happening.  I am gutted!   The soil seemed a bit dry but not terribly dry.  Could it be slug damage?   Are they dead?  So fed up as I have waited patiently for two years plus and now it seems it was not worth it.  Is there anything I can do?    I suppose I should have a dig around to see what is happening with the roots?   I have been so busy with work and family life that I have neglected my allotment this year, so fed up though as all that work and cost seems to have been for nothing. 

[New shoot]

I would give it a while yet.  Mine threw a few spears a couple of weeks ago and has stopped again, but I know it is fine.  It has been in for years.

It may well be weather related.  Asparagus is actually very tough.  I dug some poor crowns out on the plot and chucked them in a compost bin with a load of other stuff.  When I emptied the bin months later, among the rotted compost, were fat healthy asparagus crowns looking exactly the same as they went in.  They went on the communal non-compostables dump after that 

[JayG]

Slugs and snails often have a chew at the emerging spears, resulting in them growing a bit (or even a lot) deformed, although they're not usually taken out completely as far as it's possible to tell.

One year I saw several spears 'picked' for me and left nearby - could be birds, mice, foxes, squirrels or even cats having an experimental chew and deciding they didn't like it much. 

Asparagus beetles are more likely to be a problem when the spears have grown beyond picking stage, which doesn't seem like the situation you have described.

As New Shoot has said, they are pretty tough plants - keep them weeded if possible and take some measures against slugs if you think they could be causing problems.

[Salmo]

Asparagus beetles can attack the asparagus as it emerges but does little damage unless it is cold and growth is slow.

Give lots of water. It may be dry deep down.

If you think slugs are the problem test for them by putting a tile or piece of board on the surface where they will take refuge.

[snow white]

If it was three weeks since you last went to the plot to pick them, they may have been picked by someone else.  Just a thought

[Under The Hill]

thanks for your replies.  I wont give up hope then. And water them some more xx

[Trikidiki]

What diameter were your spears? Unless they were really thin and something has munched them I suspect, like 'snow white' that they have been pinched. Slugs wouldn't normally consume a full size spear.

Asparagus beetles can attack the asparagus as it emerges but does little damage unless it is cold and growth is slow.

The beetles don't do any damage but their larvae will decimate the ferns if left unchecked, especially on young plants. Checking them involves killing the beetles before they lay eggs which is infinitely more pleasant  than squishing the larvae after they hatch.