What about asparagus?

[TRAILRIDER]

Hello homesteading friends! I am thinking about planting a permanent asparagus patch, just enough for the two of us. Am a little confused by the male female thing. And I'm thinking about ordering 1 yr or 2 yr plants. Do you have any advice? Oh, yes, I am in KY in zone 6, have halfway decent soil, not too much clay etc. Thanks, Mary.

[pixelphotograph]

Mary Washington is mostly female. New Jersey Giant is mostly Male.
Male produce spears you can eat.
Females produce ferns.
Buy a variety like New Jersey Giant for male spears.

[DQ]

If I were to plant another I would dig down and create a deep weed barrier and have a raised bed over it. I dug mine out when I got so frustrated with the bermuda grass taking it over. can't dig out the dang rhizomes in a perennial bed. grrrrrr. in my experience they love manure. I started piling all the pasture droppings (1 horse at the time) on the bed through the winter and it went wild in the spring. if I remember correctly it is best to plant them in a trench and bury them slowly as the emmerge. I miss my asparagus. get the oldest plants you can afford unless you are really patient. don't cut any for the first 2 years. and then only if they are vigorous. If you ask around you might find someone thinning their plants and get even older ones. if you can pick get nice big thick rooted ones not stringy ones.

[William G]

the differnce is male plants produce a stalk the thickness of your thumb, were as females are the thickness of a regular pencil. as for as planting amend your soil as much as possible add fertiliser below the roots. also if you stagger the planting depth of each root crown they will produce over a period of time in stead of all at once.

[pixelphotograph]

http://www.uga.edu/vegetable/asparagus.html

heres a good link on asparagus and male and female and what to expect.

[Farmer Dave]

I'm also in KY and had an asparagus bed of Jersey Giants for around 10 years, that was some good eatin'. You must keep the weeds away. I couldn't keep up with the Burmuda grass and it ended up chocking out my entire bed.

[Thoughthound]

Trust me, you want male plants. The Jersey series from Rutgers is far superior to the older cultivars.

2 year crowns allow you to harvest a year earlier, provided they have been fed properly.

To some extent, the spacing at which you bury the crown detirmines the stem thickness. 6 inch spacing gets you thinner stems than 12 inch spacing.

There is no tenderness difference in thickness, just longer or shorter cooking time. If you can or freeze, you may want to sort spears according to girth so they cook evenly.

This site has the best prices and directions: http://www.jerseyasparagus.com/

Online they quote large amounts, but they will sell smaller amounts if you call them on the phone.

I'm not a business partner, just a market gardener who has done a lot of looking and I've been more than satisfied with their products.

Harvest diligently at 8 inches. Only 8 inches from the tip to the base will be quality eating no matter how tall it grows. Better to cut it at 8 inches and let it grow a new spear opposed to wasting energy in tall tough spears that go to the compost heap.

Asparagus emerges about a week after Daffodils bloom. Harvest for a week the second year and 6 weeks for subsequent years. Be sure of where you want to plant because established asparagus doesn't like to be transplanted and it lives from 15-30 years.

Good luck.

[TRAILRIDER]

Thank you everyone for all the good advice, and for the links also. Now I know, choose New jersey giant for all male plants, get the two year old plants, keep them well weeded, and be very patient! I think I can manage that!
I wonder if starting the plants through a landscape cloth type weed barrier would work? Or do the plants need to spread like berry bushes do? I know weeds will be a constant problem for me, maybe its because I spread horse manure and bedding on my garden every year for a few years, and the horses pass alot of weed seeds through them....or maybe its just the area I live in. But boy do we get weeds! Its a big chore to keep up with. But my asparagus patch will be relatively small...and I'm very patient and disciplined. Thanks all, Mary.

[Jim S.]

Thanks for the memories. My grandpa kept asparagus on the back of his large gardern. It tastes awesome fresh cut.