I have to disagree with you about not wanting any female asparagus plants. Yes, harvest is less. But birds spread the seeds and you end up with surprise patches. And bird started patches do way better. At the gift that keeps on giving.
That's fair enough, I want to contain my patch and keep it limited to this area. Once the drowns get established I don't want to damage other plants to thin and remove them. But if you are good with that method I agree the wild isolated plants will probably do much better!
@@jacquesinthegarden That makes sense. I just wanted to put that out there for people that have a decent amount of land and like the thought of having multiple patches. There's no right or wrong way to garden. If definitely makes sense for gardens that are limited with space and setup a specific way. Great video.
I started my asparagus from seed this year. It died back when I transplanted it out in spring, but keeps producing tiny ferns so I know the seedlings survived well enough. Looking forward to three/four years time.
yea i get you about the aspargus plants being female i think the problem is we are always getting rid of our male or female plants and in nature they are suppose to be together. i get it its may cause more work but i may pull the female ones and put them in their own bed to gather seeds, i dont ever want to get rid of seed makers in my garden. Love the video i learned so much from this video now that i know i have all male asparagus. you explained it so well now I know whats happening.
I planted in 2020 and decided to transplant so this spring because I don't like where I had them before.... so hard! But I got them out. And they are growing well again
Interesting, I have asparagus, that I grew from crowns and they have lots of seeds, they produce all the time, it's been 2 years, ap should I tear them put. I thought you were to wait until they die to cut them backm
If you are getting rid of them anyway you may as well just get them out while you know they are females. It's of course optional to do this but for me I want to contain them here with the spacing I decided on rather than having a bunch of to seed
This is a well founded suspicion in the case of asparagus it is known to benefit and form a relationship with the type of mycorrhizal innoculate here. Things like brassicas won't gain any benefit from being inoculated
I would have used the female plant to propagate babies... Move it to an unused part of the yard & let 'er rip. Then you would have replacements for your bed or to even expand your patch at some future date. But that's just me...
Planted 1yr. crowns from HDepot, last spring here in south Florida 10a. I’ve been harvesting market size spears since march. Only one of six crowns survived but has provided about 6-8 spears, all about the thickness of my index finger. I’ve allowed two to grow in order to fuel the plant. This year I added 8 additional Mary Washing and 10 Jersey Knight Giant crowns.🤞🏿
I really like asparagus, and we have a big vegetable garden and orchard with a lot of space, but somehow I'm afraid to try growing it. Maybe ... it's not so complicated?
@@thatsalt1560, it's really easy to grow. All those videos showing how you need to dig a trench, and place each crown on a hill are over complicated in my experience. I planted mine the same way he did, and my yields are fantastic. My bed is going on year 4 now. Some I grew from seed, and I did buy some crowns. I would make sure you plant in a dedicated asparagus bed, as he mentioned, they last a very long time. Happy Gardening!
Seriously. Splurge and order from a reputable dealer...i just got mine from renee garden..ahe has a channel..but my god those crowns looked fabulous and what u got at a box store is at least 1/4 of the size if these!!!
I'm in South Florida zone 10b. I just planted a small raised bed with Mary Washington 2 year old crowns, and couldn't believe how fast they sprouted. They are growing several inches a day, I was shocked! Now to see how well they survive where I am. If these do well I plan to start a larger bed. Glad to hear from a 10a Florida gardener as it gives me hope.
Asparagus and Rhubarb are my gonna be the first things I plant when I buy a house. They both last decades and take several years before you can harvest. I've never actually had rhubarb, but It sounds exactly like something I'd adore baking with. Even if I don't like it I can always harvest and give away, it still functions as an eyecatching ornamental as well.
I have my asparagus and rhubarb in pots, some from before I got my own place. I get plenty enough for my uses, across what is now about a half dozen varieties 😊 If you have space for a couple of pots, it's worth getting some today!
Thank you for this video! I’m growing asparagus for the first time from crowns and only one out of the three I planted has made it, a purple one called Jersey Knight. I replanted my Mary Washington with a second set of crowns, I am really hoping they grow. I’m going to check the flowers on the Jersey Knight, thanks for sharing how to tell the difference!!
I initially planted seeds for our asparagus. The first year was disappointing. The second year was a little better. So i bought 20 three year old starts and planted them. It's a weed! My wife and I are eating asparagus 5 nights a week for four or five months a year now.
I think I have a couple female asparagus. Now that I know you can be successful growing asparagus from seed, I'm going to save the berries this year and plant them in my new patch and see what happens. Thanks for the info!
I dont know about crowns being pre selected for male plants...if so, they have done a poor job around here! I've probably planted 20 crowns here and over 100 from seeds. I have about half a dozen females from crowns. I plant in deep wood chips, mulch with deer bones, poke weed, cuckleburr leaves, chicken compost, sticks, and more wood chips. I mark the females and take every spear they put up until they don't put anything else up.
This was fantastic as this Spring I planted asparagus for the first time. I'll be checking tomorrow to see if my 8 crowns are m or f. Also my Son had asked if I could plant white asparagus, well now I can tell him I did 😂. For sure going to add purple next Spring.
I had to dig up an asparagus patch and re-used the soil in another spot - and found a surprise purple asparagus spear today! It was so good raw, it even had a little natural salty flavor. I have to find a new spot for asparagus because the ferns are a preferred ladybug habitat!
I learnrd that my former neighbors either love me or hate me. I planted asparagus along the fence line but then moved shortly afterwards so never got any spears just tall plants.
Lol..i ordered 30 crowns..all had seeds..i got ripped off..i ordered from renee seedd this year and actually planting some today ..THE CROWNS LOOK LIKE THEY ARE HUGE 5 YEAR PLANTS...REALLY NICE...I HAVE HIGH HOPES...
In April 2017 I bought some 2 year old asparagus crowns and planted them, and I had no idea about this male/female thing. I let mine make berries (I thought they all just do that!). It's been over 6 more years since then and I get a small amount of asparagus from the two crowns that survived (the remaining 8 all died or were killed by our landscapers who thought they were weeds lol). Not a single "new" asparagus plant has popped up btw in those 6 years of my ignorance, so maybe those berries aren't very effective :D
Hi Jacque I have seen you use this method in this video a few times today or tonight and I am wondering if this technique could be used in Australia Queensland for other vegetables,herbs or fruit plants? From Tammy Marie Daveson
I picked up some purple asparagus at my first farmers market visit of the summer this week and didn’t know what to do with it, I’ll take a look for raw recipes on your recommendation!
i planted two year asparagus crowns with my strawberries this year, and now i think i want to move them to their own bed. they are shading the strawberries too much. do you think i can move them without damaging next year's harvest? or are they too mature?
How well does asparagus do in containers/buckets? (zone 8b, western WA) Right now all of my gardening is in containers and I would love to grow asparagus but hearing about how deeply they root I am not sure it is worth a two to three year experiment to find out. BTW - I love your content!
I haven't tried them in containers but they make a LOT of roots and their roots can go very deep so I am not sure how successful it can be in containers.
You want to think about it like any other plant, for example you don't want 20 tomatoes growing in a single square foot. Also since these are seeds there is a 50-50 chance any new one would be a female leading to more seeds and more crowding.
Well today I learnt how to identify if I have a male or female asparagus plant before waiting to see if fruit forms on the fronds. I grow my asparagus in large pots (minimum 40cm diameter), and haven't had any issues so far. I've gotten a modest number of spears - would have been more except I don't always get out in the garden often enough to harvest at a good time. I've grown two different varieties from seed - Connover's Colossal and Purple Passion. Hoping to grow another variety from seed later this year (in southern hemisphere, that'll be during our spring) called Fat Bastard. I don't mind playing the long game with asparagus!
The are papers written that prove female asparagus is just as good quality/quantity or even more than male asparagus is. I just finished reading some of them. The purpose of using only males was most bebificial to Commercial growers as females and their seedlings were considered weeds and it cost too much to 'maintain' them. Commercialy yes, use male but the home gardeners best bet is to use both and thin, transplant/give away your new asparagus plants and let someone else enjoy the bounty too!
That's good to know, a lot of information is very commercial focused (like chill hours ) and it can be hard to discern the differences. I will be more accepting of all asparagus in the future
Thank you Jacques, I like how you keep things real. No fancy raised beds, just in the soil planting. Since I’m a new subscriber I’m not sure if you have raised beds which are very handy, but some people can’t afford to buy them let alone fill them. I for one am one of those, in the dirt is free and that’s how I like it! Thank you again Jacques 🌸💚🙃
I like to keep it wild and love to get into the true soil but I am starting to appreciate raised beds as my garden expands! The fluffy soil and lack of bending over so often is becoming appealing haha
I am in Missouri zone 6a and I am so glad I watched this video! I have so many asparagus and now I know a lot of them are female! I’ve shown on my videos the wildness of them. They get get crazy huge. 😍
Thank you for the asparagus lesson. I learned quite a few new things. I haven’t planted my seeds yet because everyone always makes asparagus seem so complicated and labor intensive. After watching this I know better now. Those seeds will be getting wet shortly. Cheers Jacques ✊
The internet pretty much unanimously says 18" spacing for raised bed asparagus. I was planning to use an Epic 8 in 1 bed, but after adding up the inches, it seems like I can only get 6 plants in a bed that size. 8 if I crowd in two more at angles. Plus, you can't just buy 6 plants anywhere...suggestions?
Most articles can be pretty generic to lean on the safe side but for example Johnny's recommends 8-14" for green and 6-8" for purple. But they also do say to space 3 feet in row. The way I think of it is the closer the spacing the smaller the physical fruit or vegetable you eat is, for example closely planted planted cauliflower makes smaller heads. Also, if you plant close than you will need to provide more water and more nutrients as the competition increases so there are trade offs but it isn't a deal breaker.
@@jacquesinthegarden So how would you space an 8 in 1 for asparagus? I really don't want to dedicate another entire bed to asparagus. Also, it's just me, so can 1 bed produce enough? I'm already going to have to buy more than I want, just to get one variety...
Its a chard plant that did very well and produced giant leaves so I am allowing it to go to seed to save some seed and continue the line as I have since lost the tag!
I have to move an asparagus in the food forest, so was good to see it before doing. Although we want it to survive so will wait for a few months for it to sleep. With the strawberries, we have an alpine or wild type strawberry. Not sure what its call in the States. They do amazing in shaded areas and fruit excessively lol.
@@jacquesinthegarden oh good, was worried they might be called something different. As can happen between countries. Our alpines did really well this year, but nothing from our normal ones, weather has been weird.
