Asparagus

amanda starts with ...
Ok - I know it's not a fruit tree.. but I have grown the "Fat Bastard" variety from Diggers. I haven't grown b4 - is it ok to mulch the plants? (they r 4 months old) Thanks...

Jantina says...
Hi Amanda, you're in luck living by the sea, asparagus loves to be mulched by seaweed or anything else if you can't get that. Just in case you want any more plants or for anyone else who is reading this you can buy asparagus seed form www.newgipps.com.au (New Gippsland Seeds and Bulbs) If you get the one labelled UC 157 Hybrid they're all Fat Bastards and easy as beans to grow. I've grown them for lots of people and they are all amazed at how quickly they are growing big fat spears.

culebra says...
This asparagus variety's name is rather unappetising IMO!

Jantina says...
Hi Amanda, other than delicious I don't know how to answer that. Everyone who eats it says it's very good. Ours is growing in a raised bed (about 5 inches)of volcanic soil over sandy/terra rossa soil. I don't water in the spring but we have fairly good rainfall here and we mulch with lucerne and a bit of chook poo.We have about 32 plants and it's so productive I'm forever giving away bunches.I've learned how to use the camera now so next step is to photograph all the food plants (and I may just stick in a photo of my flower garden too) but like you I am not keen to put in photos of naked trees. By the way asparagus is extremely tough once established.

Jantina says...
Well I figure that people have been very kind to me on many occasions (not to mention patient). Furthermore everyone here tends to barter after a fashion, for instance at work if you have a surplus of any vegetable or fruit or flowering plants or bulbs you bring them to work put them on the table and everyone knows to help themselves, avoids waste and everyone wins.Our personal friends operate on the same principle.Whoops sounds like I'm moralizing here, sorry.

amanda says...
Hi All, some of my "Fat Bastard" asparagus plants are producing berries - I thought they were all male plants?

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Grubs says...
I know asparagus like to be mulched like crazy - how do you go about this without digging them up or burying them under the topsoil/mulch? i.e if the bed is inplace for 10-20 years - then the soil level will get higher and higher... do you dig them up and replant every now and then...or just scratch a bit of mulch around the crowns without overdoing it?

Jantina says...
Hi Amanda,that's interesting about the male plants. To be perfectly honest I think there is a fair bit about Diggers that is dodgey, I only buy from them as a last resort. For instance they sell carob trees but they are only seedlings and they don't tell people that you need a male and a female to get pods (there is a hermaphrodite grafted tree available elsewhere)and you won't know if your seedling is male or female for many years.
So novices buy these trees all anticipating lovely carob pods and get zip!So that's my little grizzle about them!
Anyway with asparagus I still think the way to go is with the hybrid seed from New Gippsland Seeds. The same fat spears in record time for a tiny fraction of the price.
The thickness of my mulch varies with the time of the year because I put it on in the autumn when I cut it all back to the ground, then it's about 6 inches thick and by the time spring comes around it's rotted down to about 2 inches. Seaweed and compost are the "a la carte" feed for asparagus but I use whatever I can get and add a bit of old chook poo if I think it is justified.
Grubs these plants are tough as old boots, they will keep coming up no worries.

Jantina says...
Indeed Amanda they are the best , and I have bought plants from a lot of places and the only ones who were close got their plants form Daleys to resell.

Tiggerbow says...
Hi All,
I have asparagus that is 1 year old. I have let all of the spears grow to ferns and they are amazingly healthy. I cut down the ferns a couple of weeks ago and put down a thick layer of compost on the top. The spears are now growing again !. Did I cut them down to early? or do I need to mulch more thickly?. Should I let the spears grow to ferns again or just cut the spears?
Thanks in anticipation

Tiggerbow says...
Hey Amanda,
I will wait to hear from Jantina too.
I am thinking i might just let them grow again and die off naturally. They look really yummy - nice and fat.
I got mine from bunnings and they are the Mary Washington type.

Thanks gals!

amanda says...
Thanks John Mc!

John Mc says...
Hey Amanda,
Winter is the ideal time to dig them up and move them. Just wait till all the ferns have died down and have been cut off. Saying that, Ive collected Asparagus from the wild at other times of the year. It just gets set back a touch otherwise.

snottiegobble says...
Amanda, winter is the best time & you can split them up while they are dormant. I would do that & put them in large pots ready to go.
Did anyone know that Asparagus is an excellent cancer fighter because it normalises cells? Funny thing is it doesnt have to be fresh,a can full everyday is also recomended!

au0rey says...
I heard that for 1 year old plants you need to wait up to 4 years? And depending on your plants' age when you bought them. FIrst year or second I think dont harvest them. I havent got asparagus growing in my garden yet but i did read up about them.

amanda says...
I can't seem to get to my spears quick enough before they race into a fern!? If I put a "tube" around them I am guessing that might slow the spear down long enough?

Also - does anyone know what a rhubarb "forcing pot" used for?

Neicey says...
Thanks guys, for the info, I wont wait with baited breath anytime soon by the sound of it, and Amanda, you have the problem that I want, good luck to ya

krazykangaroo says...
Hi Jan, The seeds are easy to grow. Just plant them in spring either in your ready bed or in a flat or punnet. They will come up in a couple of weeks.

If you haven't bought your seeds yet I suggest you try an argenteuil variety (actually they are all the same variety but the names are a bit different in different catalogues). It is a heirloom with fat spear and very productive. I love mine.

make sure your asparagus bed is deep and keep it weed free.

Mike says...
My tropical asparagus has sprouted and reached 12cm so I will be reading this forum with interest.Cairns is way colder than Bangkok so I anticipate they should have no problems with heat.

Evo says...
Amanda, go nuts and cut them all. Just be sure to give the plant a generous rest later in the season so some lovely big ferns can grow. You'll know when you have slightly exhausted the plant as the spears start to look a bit thin as Aaron suggests.

amanda says...
Mike - you may want to cull the female plants later - the seeds are a real pest - I have seedlings popping up everywhere now :-(

amanda says...
Hi Aaron. I don't know about male/female being on the one plant? U sure it was only one seedling that it came from? Maybe a female plant sends up non-flowering stems too?

I usually wait until spring to re-generate the the compost/mulch...it's likely just wasted nutrients in the winter anyway. Once I have done that - they start sprouting within the week.
They just get rain during their dormancy. Very tough plants.

It's possible a heap of fert's could rot the crown over winter...I don't think I would do that myself.

Aaron says...
Amanda, thanks for the suggestion on the timing for the top-up! True about rotting the crown.

I bought the 2 year old crowns from Melb thru Garden Express. It was only one crown, that I can see, that I planted in the ground.

Maybe your statement about non-flowering stems could be true! Anyway I just snip them away before the flowers open.

Hope to visit your large garden in Geraldton, Amanda. That is if I'm ever up that area!


Gus, thanks for the info. I have actually managed to germinate 2 seeds (Purple type) during spring and they are onto their 2nd shoot/fern. The first shoot/fern wilted away after a month. Hopefully they will survive till next spring! Fingers crossed!

Thanks for the feedback! Cheers

Aaron says...
Trying again

Brendan says...
Hi Aaron, a good size for pics is around 80 to 120kb jpeg.

Just google how to reduce jpegs, (don't buy a program). If you have no luck, I'll let you know how I do it for free :-)

Aaron says...
This is my patch!

Picture taken last week!

Cheers

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Gem says...
Interesting reading. I got two tiny asparagus seedlings posted to me from Diggers Club just two years ago. One Fat Bastard and one purple variety. They grew well, thick and to about one and a half metres.

They did not die back as I had read. So I figured it was because it does not get really cold here. So about last August, I cut them back, even though they were green. I harvested enough spears for a serving every day or two for several weeks from the two plants.

Then, I was away for a couple of weeks, but I figured it was time to let them grow anyway. But there was no thinning of the spears as others describe. Some were thinner than others naturally, but still a good size. The plants soon came back lush and thick. Now, they are about two metres tall. So thick, a bird had a nest hidden in them. Some of the stalks are several centimetres thick at the base.

I knew nothing about growing them, but read and used manure, and just kept learning. An adventure. Both get flowers and seeds. I am looking forward to the crop this year. I might chop one plant first, and get that crop, when it is ready to spell, chop the other plant down, so I get an extended season.

Since getting them, I have had people tell me that they won't possibly grow in North Queensland, but they grow so well. Also, I have read where they grow commercial crops at Bowen, Kunnanurra, and in the NT. Perhaps they are good here, because it is fairly dry, although I can water them when I wish, so they are practically pest free. The soil is fairly heavy and clay so does not sound ideal, but still they grow.

vlct says...
my asparagus has formed little orange buds. is this a female and if so does the crown need too be dug up? its from seed and in its 2nd year, first sign .
thanks

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vlct says...
thanks jantina, sorry about that pic.
is the main reason you remove the female is because they choke the males.
so just leave them you reckon ?
ta

Lindy Shelly says...
Hi, Amanda, a few weeks ago I cooked white asparagus has a bitter aftertaste. From that day I decided that I never had plants asparagus. But one of my best friends tastes me a fresh roasted green asparagus with olive oil, cherry tomatoes and black olives. From that day I just loved asparagus. Many peoples have doubt about asparagus taste, how to cook asparagus? Guys, I got a great link where I can find a lot of knowledge about asparagus. Now my asparagus 2 yrs old now and ready for harvesting. If you want to collect some knowledge about asparagus you can check: https://foodgear.org/what-does-asparagus-taste-like/, this link.

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