Asparagus, From Crowns to Cropping
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 มิ.ย. 2024
- Asparagus, From Crowns to Cropping takes you through the whole process. No dig apart from making a hole large enough for the spreading roots of your crowns.
The big differences between my easier approach and what you see recommended usually, is :
1 You don't need to deep dig at the beginning,
2 There is no need for ridges, just grow them in normal beds. This reduces weeding and makes them easy to look after, year after year. I know from experience - asparagus plants are long lived and need little time input after the first year.
00:00 Introductory music
00:04 Which variety to choose - I recommend modern hybrids
00:46 Info on planting asparagus where there are weeds
02:31 Timing of planting
02:53 Growing asparagus from seed
03:12 What is an asparagus crown?
03:55 Showing an asparagus spear
04:38 Showing the bed I will be planting on, already with peas for shoots, and some perennial weeds - I demonstrate how to remove them with a trowel
06:20 Planting the asparagus
09:13 More on weeds especially the difficult couch grass and bindweed
09:52 Planting asparagus (time lapse), and a list of planting steps
10:52 Even more on dealing with weeds! (perennials)
12:59 The benefits of using a (copper) spade for planting
13:37 Explaining how I used soil, cardboard and compost in the bed
14:19 Compost quality
15:49 Timing of asparagus growth each season, and the period of cropping
17:09 8 weeks later - growth of asparagus (and some weeds!)
17:57 Using supports for asparagus ferns
18:41 Showing my 9 year old asparagus bed, planted Dec 2012
19:11 Harvesting asparagus from this bed
21:41 Asparagus beetle.
Filmed by Edward Dowding at Homeacres May, June and October 2021.
Zone 8 climate, southern UK.
Check out this video, filmed in 2018 and showing the 6th year of my first asparagus bed:
• Asparagus - no dig, pl...
Module 6 of my Skills for Growing course teaches more on perennials and can be purchased from my website shop: charlesdowding.co.uk/product/...
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![Planting ASPARAGUS From Start To Finish [COMPLETE GUIDE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FtDoPyIrqL0/mqdefault.jpg)
Only Charles would/could have a progression video on a multi-year crop like asparagus! These videos are so instructive. Shooting footage and not expecting to post it until a year later is a testament to the quality of your content. We appreciate it!
Thanks Aaron!!
Absolutely. The system he uses is very well though out and always conclude with finess
Charles, I do believe I could listen to you narrating in real time the growth of grass. Thank you for sharing your experiences, knowledge, and points of view.
I love this comment! it's so true, haha.
He really is such a lovely person. I am so thankful to have found this channel.
I shan't put you through that!! Thanks Garrett 🌱
@@CharlesDowding1nodig you are quite welcome. Quite a few people in the field of gardening, regenerative agg, and microbiology explain things as if you should have always known them. They unintentionally demean one in their quest for knowledge. You make learning quite approachable for those who need it to be. For that, I thank you.
@@garrettscott4094 Cheers 🥂
Love how you put weeds in their place. Yeah "we're not afraid of you!
Haha thanks
Ive never understood how asparagus grew so I’m so happy that you made this video! Thank you!!
Amazing start to a new asparagus bed. ❤❤❤ and lovely to see the established bed.
Thanks Joy
As I start my vegtable patch for the first year (No dig)the wealth of knowledge you transmit is superb and your personality makes the videos a real pleasure. Thankyou👍
Thankyou Jonathan, best of luck
I like how when you spotlight a veg you show an entire years a growth.
I also understand how difficult doing that management actually is and appreciate the effort.
Mary Washington asparagus is where it's at. No need for the modern hybrids! My great grandma had a plot that was probably Mary Washington that was probably somewhere over 50 years old before the bed all died! It was left to grow up and make seeds every year so it was constantly refreshing itself with different ages. Also the birds planted lots of asparagus in the fence rows.
How amazing and I wish we had her here! Thanks
I just bought MW asparagus and am looking to plant them soon. Its good to know that someone else has them as well. Wish me luck.
@@MM-fr9yh everyone has that variety if it's an older plot.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig is it an old American (only) variety???
What are your heritage varieties then?
University of Guelph here in Ontario, invested many years to create new Asparagus hybrids, Guelph Millennium, and Eclipse. This was to meet demand/need of North American farmers, and growers. Millennium, and Eclipse show intermediate resistance to rust, the most damaging disease in asparagus plantings. Also more cold hardy. Most importantly, almost double yield compared to Jersey types.
Mary Washington is a good choice for home growers. I live in a very cold area, so the ability of newer asparagus hybrids to cope with cold is a very important factor. Sharing so other gardeners know there are options. Freda
Such a wonderful plant, truly belongs in every garden. We have 4 beds here at the farm, the first of which I helped my father plant 45 years ago. It’s still producing a lovely harvest each May.
Thanks for sharing this Kevin, and a great memory for you!
Wow, how fantastic!!
Vor einem Jahr fragte ich nach, ob ich das so machen kann > Deine Antwort war >Ja . Dieses Jahr werde ich > und wenn es auch nur 1 Stange ist > meine erste Ernte im No-dig Garten haben. Meinen alten Nutzgarten habe ich auch nicht mehr umgegraben, sondern eine dicke Kompostschicht drauf. Deine Videos sind meine Wegweiser aus der Wildnis hier.
Lg aus der Eifel
Vielen Dank für Ihr Feedback und es tut mir leid, dass es sich wie eine Wildnis anfühlt, wo Sie sind! Sie sind die Bodenbewohner müssen sehr dankbar für Ihre freundliche Herangehensweise sein!
Viel Spaß bei der Mini-Ernte!
You take so much care with your content. I love when the finish of the video is at a different time of year from the start. I don't even like asparagus lol.
I appreciate that Dan, and how amazing!!
What a wonderfully satisfying sound - the snap of a fresh spear!
Oh this is perfect! I'm getting my asparagus crowns in a few days and I was really looking for a no dig tutorial on it, as well as strawberries! Thank you again, you always seem to be right on time
Perfect! Good luck with planting
Thank you so much! I feel confident now to plant my crowns. They will be shipping soon!
Perfect timing Charles thanks I’m expecting a delivery this week!
Want to, but can't decide where to plant it so will have to wait a while more. Same thing every year, I get cold feet on where to plant them.
Got quite a few things ironed out by this video though, thank you 🌻
Don't worry about that, you can always move them - they won't be very happy, but Self Sufficient Me did it... so, it can be done. Just put them in the soil!
Here in Germany, I find loads of cardbord in the big supermarkets. It is used in the beverage section in between the plastic bottles (where the bottles are sold from euro-pallets). The markets themselves collect it (presumably several times a day) and [as far as I understand] compact it and send it to recycling facilities. Bottom line: No one complains when I take several sheets with my purchase. And the big advantages over boxes are: It comes in defined sizes, does not need to get unfolded and is usually ink-free. No cardbord boxes needed.
Excellent idea!!!
I get my cardboard from an animal feed store, but if I had time, I could also get plenty of it from the nearby market town on the commercial waste collection day as all the clothing shops put out tons of cardboard.
My new plot has the collosal variety, luckily the old ferns were still attached, so I recognized that it was asparagus and didn't dig them up when weeding that bed. I then found the label. The old ferns were thin so I assume it was its first year planted from crowns, so got another year to go before harvest. It's so tempting to have a couple of spears. 👍
That is good, and do pick a couple!!
Sir Charles! Teach me your knowledge
We've started using your no-dig method for our beds this year and have also started our first asparagus patch. Look forward to them already! Heavy harvest my friend!
Sounds great Brock and thanks
thank you so much for all the wonderful content!
this was the first of your videos that i came across, and have enjoyed re-watching to glean all i can. i planted my own crowns in mid march (7 weeks ago), the day after seeing this for the first time. i was so excited to see 80% of the asparagus i planted have surfaced just today!
Nice feedback and that's exciting!
Thank you for all this information! I have asparagus that were planted over 20 years ago and have started giving me fewer each year so I want to replant! And this video makes it seem much easier than I was about to do! Ty
Glad it was helpful!
Great advice. I'm going to give asparagus a try this spring. 💚
Our Asparagus bed is 3 years in - this video has us looking forward to spring! Thank you for sharing your experience :)
What season do you harvest?
Our pleasure.
For Scott, late April to late June
I’ve been watching your channel for a couple of years now and I think this is the most I’ve ever seen you dig! (Pond doesn’t count!)
Thanks 👍!!
My asparagus bed is about 6 years old now. When I started it I planted a few daffodil and tulip bulbs around them, then I covered the whole bed in wood chippings that I get for free from a local tree surgeon. I let the bulbs flower and I get a lovely display in the spring, then when the flowers are dying off, I spread another layer of wood chippings onto the bed prior to the asparagus peeping through.
Sounds gorgeous!
Dear brother Charles, thank you for sharing this one. Great info and insights !
Glad you enjoyed it
My plot was 75% bindweed when I took it over. The last few bits of bindweed finally gave up halfway through the third year. No dig made it easier to get more of the root out and more easily. Its too early to say about the Mares tail, but not digging and breaking the roots may possibly be helping. However I am aware that it maybe wishful thinking! I enjoyed your video and find your video's honest, interesting and full of useful idea's. Thank you.
Thanks Kevin for great feedback. Two more years of marestail probably :)
Oh to have the space to grow asparagus! It is quite beautiful.
I had time to watch the full video now and it is well planned and edited (again)
We also enjoy your work in educating and gardening.
Respect from Africa 🇿🇦
Thankyou Justus 😀
thnx Charles. Again a high quality well thought of video. I love it 😍
Glad you liked it!
This is definitely one of our next project, and some of your tips will surely be useful. Thanks for your work from italy!
Glad it was helpful!
I am planting 3 crowns today and am planing on planting them in a large bed I use for rubarb. I will be planting it in front of the rubarb so it will get the sun. I've just watched your video again and really appreciate your content. Thank you for the help you have already given me!!
Best of luck!
Remember that rhubarb is thirsty in the summertime, when it will be grabbing some moisture from the asparagus, I hope it works for you.
Thank you very much. Such an easier way to do it.
I have let my asparagus bed get badly overgrown, will have a go at rescuing it and will probably start another bed next year. I love asparagus and absolutely refuse to buy iy out of season shipped halfway round the world. Thank you Charles, inspiring as always.
Same here. Escaped chickens scratching everything loose... and a piece of the garden too far away in the garden that got neglected way too much. I also might try rescuing some crowns... but a new order will soon arrive and will be planted much closer to our house to keep an eye on the weeds.
Gdy już się wie jak uprawiać szparagi to wtedy jest to takie proste 😀 pozdrawiam 👍💚
🥂!!
Great info on your channel for me, I'm starting my homesteading and one of my first to plant is asparagus, I've already ordered them, will definitely follow your tips . Thank you :)
Best of luck!
I used to have an asparagus bed when I had an allotment. Nothing like picking it and steaming it ten minutes later - best flavour in the World! I really miss it. Even farmers' market asparagus doesn't come close to it in flavour.
great video charles
Your eight year asparagus bed is beautiful
Love your video. I just planted asparagus crowns and your video is very informative.
Awesome! May they grow!
AWESOME VIDEO SR WATCHING YOU FROM TEXAS
Perfectly timed video! My mom gave me some crowns as a birthday gift this past month and I had no idea what to do with them 😂. Thank you!
Happy birthday!!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you
Not finished watching the video yet, but thank you Charles. I've got a couple of crowns of Gijnlim in pots at the moment (couldn't plant them in the ground last year so it was a way of keeping them alive!). I'm planning to plant them into a huge tub I've got until I've decided where their final home is going to be. This is mainly because I've got a lot of horsetail at one end of the garden and Phragmites australis rush almost everywhere else where I'm starting my market garden. The rush is a pain to get rid of, so the ground isn't exactly ideal for asparagus yet. I noticed this weekend that one of the pots has already got two spears!
Big job!!
Me animo ver tu hermoso video , gracias Charles 🇨🇱😷
💚
Thanks x
Thanks for the tips.
It's a pleasure!
The timing of this video is amazing. I have 50 asparagus crowns coming in April and plan on starting them exactly the same way you demonstrated here. I have my work cut out for me I fear, haha
Good luck and you can do it! So much asparagus!!
Always love your videos
Scrumptious!
Cant wait.
Thankyou Charles!
Want to get some asparagus started this year.
You get a thumbs up before I watch, devoted advocate.
Now.....about this snow🤔
Oh dear, wish I could send our rain and sun 🌱
Excellent Video Charles - I really was interested towards the end when you spoke about "scything the dead tops and leaving them to lie on the ground" - great stuff!
ATB
Woody
Cheers Woody 💚
For so many years I didn’t start wiht asparagus as I new it’s so long to wait.. and later for so long regret it ;)) but finnaly last year I’ve put few crowns! Maybe I will add few this year also! Thank you for great movie!
I wish you well Agnieszka!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you! :))
Looking good. Planted lots more flowers this year. Daughter saw Rainbow Chrysanthemum, so asked I grow her some. Challenge accepted 😎
😀
Guau que rico .me encantan los espárragos gracias por el video ❤️
Maravillosa Sandra
Thank you for the video. I have read that Asparagus roots can go down as far as 15 feet! I usually plant mine on a small hump in the trench to avoid stress on the crown.
Thanks for the info! Nice to hear Carol
Asparagus…..a wonderfully healthful vegetable😋
Always a pleasure to watch your video,, sir Charles,, thanks for sharing your valuable knowledge with us 👍👌🇮🇳
My pleasure Azam.
I hope that asparagus will grow in your climate!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Hooe so never tried but sure will let you know once I grow them,,
yay for asparagus....
Long term commitment! I'm trying to plan my garden in Sacramento, Calif. Long growing season, no rain, very hot summers. 35+ days over 100°F (38°C).
Colfax here. I just planted about 40 corn, some greenbeans, (2 of the three sisters. More beans later, so the corn is strong enough to hold them), last week potatoes. Im at 3k feet. Ill bet you will have a lush lovely garden in your climate! I encourage you to get what you can in the ground NOW! ;)
@@grandiesgarden175 yup! Tomatoes went in last week. Peas, corn, et cetera soon.
Thank you for another lovely video on a vegetable I love dearly! I so wish I had more space to try it. It would be nice, if you could come back to that bed at some point, to show us, how it developed :-).
Yes shall do, early summer tour
Obviously you have far more experience than me so it might be a poor suggestion or one you are familiar with but I recommend a horihori over a trowel for weed removal. Much studier and difficult to break while also being thinner and therefore disturbing less soil. Amazingly effective tool.
Its my favorite garden tool.
Thanks Scott.
I would not use a trowel except that it's copper and I family believe that copper is the best metal for soil energy, not steel as with the hori hori, great though the design is
@@CharlesDowding1nodig ahh the only side of your gardening I cannot get behind. Viktor Schauberger is too hippy for me. Don't take this as mocking though. If it works for you then that's great and wouldn't ask you to stop.
I'd hypothesise however that it's the cost of bronze tools that is the effective part. You are paying for a premium product with higher manufacturing standards and that's what let's it cut the soil easier. The energy/magnetism part is much harder to test.
Bạn trồng cây măng tây thật tuyệt vời
I am so envious of your asparagus crowns. Really hard to find decent crowns in Ireland. I eventually got asparagus spears after 5 years from what were supposed to be 2 yr old crowns at planting time, so it took nearly 7 years 😮💨
Sorry to hear that Clare, v frustrating
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 Thank you very much for the information. 😊😊😊😊😊
🍅
Good video. I grew a mix of varieties from seed last year so I'll have a mix of males & females, need to plant them out in next few weeks. ps. I'm not jealous of the bindweed. We luckily haven't got that. My main perennial weeds are rush, sorrel, buttercup & dock.
I can sympathise! I have the same (except sorrel), the rush is ... gah!!
charles talking about great tools ... here i am with the most rusted shovel i hinerited from gp still my fav over the 5 clean other i got
That is interesting and perhaps it's because it has the best shape or the nicest handle, there are so many fascinating aspects to what makes a good tool
@@CharlesDowding1nodig mostly the way it dig ... just like a butter knife x) its so rusted the shape started to look like a arrow head
i have a little asparagus experiment going at the moment here in NZ. I have set aside a little patch which is not harvested until late summer early autumn. I am no cutting the spears they are the biggest and juiciest I have ever had and is a great treat when you are fed up with zucchini and lettuce.
Enterprising!
Wow Charles. You have double the views in one hour, that I get in a life time.
Respect from Africa 🇿🇦
Oh wow!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig you must be doing something rite. I will keep steeling with my eyes.
I have a small bed of asparagus that I recently weeded, added fresh compost, and topped all with a thick layer of well-composted wood chips. Hoping to increase productivity on that bed. Here in the Southeastern USA, Bermuda grass is my nemesis. I laid cardboard before filling my raised beds, which are now 3 years old and full of Bermuda grass that is coming up from underneath the beds. I try to stay no-dig but the Bermuda was so thick in my beds that we spent many ' hours removing as much of the grass and its rhizomes as possible all the way to the bottom of the beds. I re-spread the soil in each bed, added fresh soil and compost, and will use well-composted wood chips as top compost/mulch. Hopefully our aggressiveness with the Bermuda grass won’t harm the soil in the end. I gardened in 2020 but not in 2021 due to both weather and illness, so the grass got out of hand. The plan is to stay on top if it going forward and out let it get so bad in the future.
Well done, and yes it needs persistence! Hope you are mulching nearby paths too, so it can't spread back horizontally
You should try gardening with Kaikuyu grass in Auckland NZ - your situation is like a utopia compared. 😂
I grew mine from seed last year, most survived the winter in large pots. Now in their 2nd yr & ready to be planted. I won’t be cropping them until next yr which I believe is the earliest I can do this.
Spot on Sean
BY FAR THE BEST VEGETABLE TO HAVE IN A CAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just planted my first asparagus bed from 3 year old crowns I started from seed. Super excited to see how they do! My question however, is once the spears are large enough for harvest, when do you stop harvesting for the season and allow the plants to "fern out"?
The plants will tell you, when the spears start to bolt faster and get tough to bite. Asparagus beetle shows up around then so I chop one last time after their eggs are laid and compost it.
@@K_C. makes sense. Thank you so much for the info!
As I say here, late June. To allow growth for building roots.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you! I must have missed you mentioning that.
I started asparagus from seed this yr. They grew better than I expected. I realize they will take longer to get a harvest, but the cost savings are substantial. Our climate is not ideal for asparagus, so we shall see how they do. The ferns are pretty in their own right, and I tucked a few into the flower garden.
Sounds promising Mary
Perfect timing this video, thank you! Q: I've had 50 Jersey Knights in a weedy, dug bed for 3 yrs. Obviously they're not producing harvestable size spears. I've created 6 new, no dig beds. Would they be better off if I dig & replant them in a new bed, or if I put down some cardboard and compost around them and keep on top of the weeds? (Zone 7b- extremely wet all yr excepting summer) Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge!!!!
Thanks Erin, you could do either. If the former, put compost on the card.
Maybe the soil wetness suggests raised beds.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig @Charles Dowding Thank you for your response! So, I'll follow your lead and experiment! I'll transplant 1/2 to a new bed & keep 1/2 in situ while improving the bed's soil with card, compost.
A few weeks on i have 57/60 germinated in my cd60. I'm pretty thrilled with that. I need to pot on now and i'm wondering if the deeper planting technique with the modules applies to asparagus seedlings too?
Can't believe i'm even doing this. Your videos give confidence just to try. Thanks so much.
I'm waiting for my crowns to be delivered. The bed is almost ready, cardboard, sand (from our old sand school), molehill dirt and finally spent mushroom compost. The sand and dirt layers are to lift the crowns up above ground level and provide good drainage as it's very wet here in North Devon. I made the mistake of planting rhubarb into the ground last year and it all rotted. This year I made dirt mounds and put the rhubarb on top and it's all come up fine, so I figure the asparagus ought to be ok too. 🤞
Well done Ruth!
A great video, as always! I did not know asparagus was such a special crop in regards of planting it.
I am always amazed of your garden bed edges. How do you take care that no weeds are getting into your bed? If you already uploaded a video regarding that, it would be great if somebody could share the link with me.
Thank you! We mow the grass tight and use long handled shears. My online course has a video charlesdowding.co.uk/product/online-course-1-no-dig-gardening-module-3/
Hello Charles. I have been eating asparagus from the same plants from my grandmother’s garden for over 65 years. My parents moved into her property when she died and continued the asparagus bed. I have since moved some of the plants 3 times as I have shifted house. The last two shifts they were planted in raised beds which were only filled with compost. It would be interesting to know what the variety is called.
I wish I had known about no dig gardening in my early gardening years!
Hello Aileen, this is an amazing story and thanks so much for sharing. I did not know that you could successfully transplant large asparagus, and that's very reassuring. They sound like a wonderful variety!
I didn't know you could move them either. I like that as a have a few good ones I want to move to a new bed.
@@kensearle4892
I shifted them in winter when they were dormant and hoped for the best. They are planted into a raised bed in compost which is topped up each year. There is no soil in the raised bed. I give them a light top up of blood and bone a couple of times a year. Best of luck.
That's incredible, Aileen!
How long do the asparagus live for? That's amazing 😁.
I've just got some purple crowns this year to pop in. I also have loads of the green ones growing from seed from 6 months ago so hopefully they will get good in a few years
That sounds promising. I recommend planting the purple ones maybe 15 cm closer to each other because they are less vigorous, in my experience here.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig top tip. Thank you Charles 😊
We've had asparagus grow along our railroad for over 50 years. It is not mowed and full of grass and weeds. Asparagus is hardy and does well with little to no help. Just remember to cut below the soil and not to snap above the soil. And to let some go to seed. And they will give you so much you will be giving it away to friends and family
Nice observations thanks
Some of my asparagus is a little over 30 years old, and still very productive. I haven't seen any sprouts yet, but the rhubarb is now coming up so the asparagus won't be far behind.
That is wonderful to hear, what an amazing plant it is, I hope your season is a good one
Love the copper spade. I have purchased a few precious tools from Implementations and I couldn't bare to use anything else. If only they could make a horihori knife with a serrated edge. That would be amazing! Something to get deep into the soil with minimal disturbance to lift out weeds that could also be used to slice or saw off spent plants at ground level leaving the roots to decompose underground.
That really would be something, I could do with something like that for cutting the rushes that grow in my garden as deeply as possible without disturbing the soil too much. Perhaps I'll buy a cheap bread knife or similar to do the job. (Thanks for the idea!)
Nice to hear Caroline, I shall ask about copper hori hori
Great idea, I just love copper gardening tools.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig If you could work your magic and get one of these into production that would be amazing! Also if the said company could offer a sharpening service rather than replacing that would be brilliant. Your success in getting the 60 cell plug trays adapted for the smaller plot holder is very useful, thank you very much.
With you on the copper hori hori. I have the niwaki carbon steel one. It's excellent but copper would be fabulous.
Hi Charles thanks for this, another great video! Are there any specific modern hybrid varieties you would recommend please?
No! Quite similar in my experience
Thank you Charles for sharing your experience and wisdom. I have a serious Canada thistle problem along with bind weed. I assume I can take the same philosophy you have with bind weed and apply it to my thistle problem? If I continue to heavily monitor and pull the surface roots of the thistle, it will over time (years) kill the mother root?
Yes Jenni for sure. Success comes from persistence, commitment, not leaving the new growth for more than 10 days or preferably a week, so that the parent root continually runs out of energy, without any rejuvenation
Hi Charles, really interesting video, as my asparagus bed is 3 years old now but still, last year, the stems were pretty spindly. I’m not picking them of course, but wonder if they need a bit of feeding as well as mulch to strengthen the plants? They are in sun till around 3pm in summer, so maybe that’s the problem..can’t do anything about that as we live in shady Hampshire!
Thanks, and I think you maybe have planted a variety that is not very good. Some amazingly do grow thin spears and unfortunately will probably not change. I hope I'm wrong! That's only a small difference in terms of sunlight, and would not cause it.
🖤
Also, Very interested to read about the perennial weeds & how to deal with them in an established bed! I’m battling with couch grass in a newish bed of dogwoods, using imported topsoil which must have had it in it, as have no other couch grass elsewhere. Good to hear if I keep at it, it will go, especially if I locate the ‘parent’ root? I have a bit of bindweed and ground elder which I am trying to defoliate regularly hoping that will weaken it…
Maybe a video on weeds??
I always recommend not to import soil because of this problem exactly, and also it's often not truly topsoil! However, you have it now and yes, you need to keep removing new growth, plus you could put some cardboard down now with a little compost or woodchip on top to hold it down. I've made loads of videos about weeds, see this one for example th-cam.com/video/Mmv2zGfhG8w/w-d-xo.html
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thank you…I should have searched!
Great video Mr Dowding, thank you. I have always had a few asparagus plants around the garden but have been looking to plant up a permanent bed for them. How many plants are recommended for say a family of 4? I didn't catch how many you had in the established bed. Some of my old plants could do with dividing, bought a couple of new F1 plants last year also and some seeds in pots so ready to go for it. Just organising some compost for the bed.
Thanks Ginny, maybe 10 or 12. I have 25. Best of luck
Thank you for this! I'm putting in a dedicated boxed form asparagus bed this year & this was most helpful! 😊 My bed will be a foot high cedar bed when complete so I'm wondering how deep to start the crowns. There's so much varying info on layering compost based on growth (similar to what's done with potatoes) I'm a little confused on it...I'm planting Millennium bare roots - developed by my hometown/province of Guelph Ontario Canada
Glad it was helpful and wow your hometown.
You can see the depth in this video, around 3 inches of soil/compost on top and as I've also seen the video, I simply put an inch of new compost on once a year, end of story, no earthing up
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thank you for that! It's most appreciated!
🌱
Thank you so much for this video. I have asparagus crowns on order and was wondering how to plant them. I also have asparagus plants which I sowed from seed last year can I plant them at the same time as the crowns? I left them in the 2” plant trays and they are sending out skinny spears. I thought they were dead! It was a nice surprise.
Yes Jenny plant all at same time soon is easiest, well done
Hi Charles, thanks for the video - really useful. I planted year old crowns in Oct '22. I mulched with a couple of inches of straw in Oct to protect crowns over the winter. Lifted the straw in a couple of places and it seems to have kept the soil nice and moist and weed free (so far). Should I remove the straw next month as the weather warms and the Asparagus grows ? Or leave it to fully rot down. (Its only slightly rotted over the last 4 months). I can see the benefit of leaving the straw to rot completely down but worried it will hamper the Asparagus growth,. Thx
Nice to hear and either approach is possible. If it turns out to be a cold, wet spring, then leaving the straw off might be better, because it allows the soil to warm more quickly. Or in hot, dry weather, if that happened, it would be beneficial to have the straw on. I don't know your climate, but maybe play it by ear and my gut feeling is to remove it, maybe apply a little compos
Hello Mr Dowding, could you tell where you bought you asparagus crowns from please, they look very good, thank you 😁🌱☀️
Blackmoor Nurseries in Hampshire
hello charles how nice the planting of asparagus a question on what date it is planted I send you greetings
I give you the planting season in the video and it's November to March, even April
Thank you for informative video. Please help. Where can I order the asparagus crowns? Green, white and purple colours.
Try UK Blackmoor Nurseries and order asap for spring delivery
Cut the spears just below the soil so that it regrows. If cut above the soil that spear will die off and not regrow. Towards end of season let a few go to seed so they can seed your area
I’ve got a massive Horsetail issue. The best way I’ve gotten rid of it is to tarp it off for a year. Then let chickens hit it in spring. And make sure the surrounding area is kept mowed. Takes a couple years for sure. Some people say if you keep the soil extremely fertile it’ll just go away on its own. I’m still improving mine so can’t verify that. 😜
That's good, you are well organised and all of that makes good sense. I agree, and soil being more fertile from organic matter means also better drainage which does not suit the horsetail, because it likes ground that lies wet
@@CharlesDowding1nodig yes, it’s definitely a pioneering species, one of the oldest plants on earth. I think it’s drawn to really poor soil‘s as well. Surprisingly, my ground isn’t very wet, it is largely clay though and devoid of nutrients and biomass. So much so I broke down and did some soil tests because not much would grow. It had been hayed for about 100 years without ever any inputs back in on it. Even with putting compost down for 2 years I couldn’t grow anything well.
I’m Looking forward to this growing season because I got all the nutrients up with alfalfa meal,other biomass, and compost. Most of the perennial weeds are gone to so I can finally get into proper no dig. Anyhow I’m just babbling now. Good video✌️
I need to move my asparagus. Do I have to start over the 3 years before harvesting again?
Maybe two! See how well it takes, keep it watered initially
A good tutorial, thanks. Why do you let them (on the old plants you showed) grow to ferns? Is this to get some 'energy' (via the sun and nutrients) to the roots to keep them healthy and then provide good spear growth for next year? I'm assuming if you cut every shoot off then the quality, size etc would get worse?
Absolutely right!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig i dont get why you are harvesting the lifeboat of the plants so late in year. they are clearly already green. is this some trick to keep the plants "young"? You said your are in year 5 of harvesting, so 8 years after planting, you should have incredible fresh white gold.