need help growing asparagus

15 years ago

I purchased 25 asparagus crowns online. Jersey Knight is the variety, I was told by the nursery that these were better for clay soil which is what I have. I tilled the soil and planted the crowns in a 8 inch deep furrow. Next day we had a ton of rain and the furrows filled with water. More rain is in the forecast. I was sure the crowns would drown or rot so I dug them up and put them in the refrigerator.

I plan to replant them in a few days when the rain lets up. But now I am wondering whether I should do a raised bed as I do not think my bed has good drainage.

Any suggestions? I had high hopes for growing asparagus but I am not so optimistic any more.

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Comments (5)

biscgolf
15 years ago
imo digging them up was the wrong way to go... put them in the ground and let them do their thing... it's a vigorous plant and will withstand a lot of poor conditions... you can only baby things so much... in my experience asparagus (if properly planted to begin with) does not require babying...
ncdirtdigger
15 years ago
You might want to try my method. I started by digging my soil down about a spades depth and amending it with compost. I planted my seedlings (which I had been growing under lights all winter) level with the soil and let them grow the first summer. Then in winter I surrounded the bed with 2"x10" boards and added about 2 to 3" of compost on top of the crowns. I did this again the second and third winters and by then the bed was full to near the top of the 2x10's, and my plants were ready to harvest and were not subject to being in water collection troughs.
The crowns will rot if left in standing water such as you have described.
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User
15 years ago
Not that I advise it, but my aspargus has been surrounded by standing water for the last few weeks, and it flourishes. Once established, it's pretty tough.
fusion_power
15 years ago
A workable method is to get a bag of peat moss and a bag of compressed alfalfa hay and till it into an area of soil about 25 feet long and 2 feet wide. It should be tilled to a depth of about 6 inches. Plant the asparagus crowns into the amended soil and cover them with 2 or 3 inches of soil. Then open another bag of peat moss and cover them 3 inches deep for the entire 25 feet long by 2 feet wide area. The peat moss will hold in moisture, suppress weeds, and prevent rotting of the crowns. Each year after the first, add another 3 inches of organic material. Be careful of the nitrogen balance. The alfalfa hay gives a decent balance the first year, but if you put only brown organics on the bed, you can wind up with too little nitrogen in the soil.

DarJones
pvel
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the help. I am leaning towards building a 12 by 6 foot box with cedar planks and filling it with some sandy soil, peat etc. Then planting the crowns and slowly filling it up further as compost becomes available. The crowns looked no worse for my having dug them up. I hope they stay happy in my fridge till I can regroup.