Re: Asparagus

Allan Day wrote:
> 
> On Mon 10 May, VillaRose@aol.com wrote:
> > I just saw your note on the "veggie list".  Sounds like you might be an
> > asparagus expert.  Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?  I've been
> > reading the list for awhile but don't know how to post a note there.
> >
> > I recently bought a house with a well-established asparagus bed.  It is quite
> > large - about 30'x5'.  The former owner told me it had been there 10-15
> > years.  It was left untended at least one year, maybe two.
> I would be inclined to start a new bed now but it will take 2-3 years before you get anything from it.
> >
> > My first question is: How do I know when to pick them?  I know when I've
> > waited too long by the looks of the tip of the spear - but how do I know just
> > before it starts to "open"?

I'm not necessarily a recognized "expert", and Allan's 20 years'
experience matches mine, but I've never been known to pass up a
question!

The answer to the first one though is easy: pick them when they're big
enough to eat.  My favorite size is about 8" (20cm) tall and about
1/3"-1/2" (8-13mm) in diameter, but you can eat them at any size as long
as they are still tender. 


> >
> > Second question:  I'm getting a lot of tall thin spears & the spears seem
> > very spread out.
> Starvation or over-picking
>   I am wondering if the crowns are getting too close to the
> > surface.  Is that possible?  Should I pile more soil on?  Now or after this
> > years harvest is through?

Sounds like you've guessed correctly.  But I'd use mulch, not soil. 
Sometime over the winter (or late autumn if your soil freezes hard in
the winter) pile on about 4-6" (10-15cm) of a low-nitrogen mulch like
sawdust or wood chips (soft hardwoods like cottonwood, alder, soft
maple, etc are best).  You can scatter some bonemeal and kelp meal
(maybe a pound each per square yard or 1/2 kilogram each per sq meter is
fine) and about the same amount of rock salt before you lay down the
mulch.


> >
> > Finally: How do you keep up with the weeds?
> Primarily hand-weeding
>   With such a large bed & the
> > sprouts/spears so spread out, I just can't keep up (and get anything else
> > done, anyway).  Today I decided mulch was the answer & straw seems to be the
> > preferred substance around here (Amish country) so I spread about a bale over
> > the entire bed.  What do you think... bad idea?

Straw works, although it will break down rather quickly.  I started
using mulch for weed control and found that it had the added benefit of
improving the crop.  Putting it on now won't hurt at all, but I'd add to
it in the autumn.  I've been adding mulch to my bed every second or
third season for years now and it never seems to get much higher -- less
than 1/4" (6mm) per year on average in the last 20 years.  I assume the
earthworms pull the decaying organic matter down into the bed.

Steve  (Maritime...)

> >
> > Please feel free to just post this note to the list if you don't feel like
> > answering all these questions yourself.  Or.. ignore me & I'll probably
> > figure it out myself - how to post
>  Easy, just send to veggie-list@eskimo.com instead of to me.
> > and growing asparagus! :-)
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Therese
> >
> I am no asparagus expert but I did experiment for some 20 years and was
> still learning when I had to move and left my bed behind. I can look in
> my library and see what the books say but it is probably better that I
> repeat this to the list. Anyone out there who is prepared to help this
> lady?
> I recommend as the best book source  "the New Vegetable Expert by Dr. D.G.Hessayon.
> ISBN 0 903505 46 0 Price $12.95  Published in US by Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.,387 Park Avenue South NY Tel. 10016-8810
> Allan
> --
> 
> Allan Day  Hereford  allan@crwys.demon.co.uk
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