By "mild" winters they mean not the deep freezing Montana-like winters.

It needs less dormancy and winter chill than some varieties, but out wimpy freezes are not going to kill it.

It does need a deep, carefully prepared bed and a few years to reach full production. It's not for impatient gardeners.

Thanks for the info. How about our intense heat? I do have a 2 foot high raised bed. It's a large bed and was wondering if I need to put a divider in the because I hear it will take over everything.

Do you think the New Jersey varieties are better here being all male hybrid? UC variety dioecious.

My research has stated (repeatedly) that your bed should run east/west facing. I've prepped a new bed and ordered New Jersey Knight from Gurney but they won't ship until late Feb. Where did you find the UC-157? I may try some just to get something started.

lazygardens, I've added several wheelbarrow loads of good garden soil that is a mix of Pioneer sandy loam and Singh Farms compost and garden soil. I bought it last year and am transitioning garden beds so have a bunch of dirt to relocate. I added lots of bunny poop, some Mykos and black strap molasses (I solarized this bed last summer trying to kill bermuda). How does that sound for bed prep? Anything else I should add? I plan to black strap it weekly until the ants come back. :-\ I had the Strapped product on-hand and wanted to use it up, it's an expensive product and was an impulse buy. :-/

I'm intrigued, what is this Black Strap Molasses treatment do? Why do you want ants? I have some in our cupboard. Don't know if it's the same kind you eat.

I'll pick up some New Jersey Knight to see how that does too. Very little room left, but what if I plant in a 27 gallon barrel? Anyone else do this with success?

That sounds like a pretty big barrel. Check out this blog:

Here is a link that might be useful: Sub-Irrigation Trough Planter

I already have a large sub-irrigated raised bed. The only problem is the salt accumulation in the valley. I have another raised bed - not sub-irrigated and this out performs the sub irrigated one by a large margin.

Some folks put a filter on the hose bib for salt control. Have you considered that?

I'd like to get a whole house filter to get the salt out, but the hose bib filters I've looked at don't remove the salt, but good to get the chlorine out.

Started looking for a whole house filter but too many choices and I need something very economical. Just interested in getting the salt out (Na, Ca, Mg), not the chlorine. Any recommendations appreciated.

hmmm, let me check with the person who recommends the filter, Vynnie the Gardner. He teaches lots of classes on gardening etc. I'll let you know what he says.

toucan, Vynnie finally answered me, he says the filter does help. Here's his response:

The filters do mitigate salts pretty well - all heavy minerals. I have great success with them. I water a few herbs along with the veggies, which act as indicators for my water quality. Lemon balm and basil will show leaf burn, and that's when I know my filters have be changed. But generally, the filters last about 3-4 months on the daily water stuff. These are my super-duper secret weapon in the veggie garden.

I usually get them at HomeDepot ($10) but they carry them only during warm season. Find them with the misting systems. I buy a batch for the year so I don't run out over winter.

You may be able to get them at some irrigation supply places (Sprinkler World, Ewing).

Hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Particle Filter

Thanks marymcp. I'm going to pick up one.

Have you gotten your asparagus yet?

I'm not sure I should have planted mine. It has been so cold. I wonder if they will even grow now. I planted mine in some big barrels. I think it was decent drainage, but with the rains we've had in the last month, I'm not sure if they've rotted, or died from cold. Certainly there is no sign of any growth yet.

I have not planted mine yet. I got the UC157 crowns about 3 weeks ago and the instructions said to plant immediately (within one week). Otherwise cover the roots with soil and keep moist. So that's what I've been doing.

I also have some Jersey Knight crowns on order and those won't arrive until early March. If you think you've lost your starters, Root Phoenix has been advertising that they have asparagus crowns at their Saturday Farmer's Market. They are on 12th St north of Bethany.

This post was edited by marymcp on Mon, Feb 11, 13 at 9:46

MaryMcP, are you happy with both of the varieties you planted? I planted both last year, but will be at least another year before we get any veggies from it. However, adding another bed and can't decide which variety to use and gotta tell ya, I have no idea what's what out there and where, but they are growing like weeds. Well, they did until it the freezing weather came. We are in zone 7b.

I got very sick early last year and gave up the garden. I could not keep up with all the work required and the asparagus bed looked ugly most of the year. I buried it. Sorry I'm no help Kelli

I'm not sure of the variety I grew, but it grew like weeds. If I didn't keep maintaining it all summer long, it looked like a bunch of weeds too. I eventually took them out but if I had a huge yard with an "off" hidden section, I'd definitely grow them again. They were very easy here and I even moved most of them at one point with no loss in stem size. They were kind of a pain to eventually remove because if I left even a small bit of crown in the ground, there was a new plant there in a few months.

where can I get UC157 or other California hybrid crowns? All I can find are Mary Washington and Jersey varieties for sale but I can't for the life of me find anyone offering the more heat tolerant varieties. Can only find seed not crowns.

This is an old thread, but as with zpc I’m trying to find UC157