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  • bwframe

    Loneranger
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
    113
    Btown Rural
    I've got asparagus seeds I'm going to try and plant this year. I have absolutely no experience growing them. Any tips?

    I started mine planting numerous seeds recovered from berries growing on existing plants. I planted in a couple of six packs. They took a long time to germinate.
    IIRC, I might have kept adding seeds, thinking failure?

    It would have been better to start them earlier in the year, but I'd still give it a shot. When you transplant they like compost and frequent water.

    In case you didn't already know, it will take at least three years before you should harvest any spears.


    .
     

    wcd

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Dec 2, 2011
    6,274
    113
    Off the Grid In Tennessee
    I started mine planting numerous seeds recovered from berries growing on existing plants. I planted in a couple of six packs. They took a long time to germinate.
    IIRC, I might have kept adding seeds, thinking failure?

    It would have been better to start them earlier in the year, but I'd still give it a shot. When you transplant they like compost and frequent water.

    In case you didn't already know, it will take at least three years before you should harvest any spears.


    .
    Yes we were able to get one plant from 3 packages of seeds. I started the last attempt in December. We used compost to start them kept it moist the one plant is doing well.


    But like you said 3 years is a bit to wait. So this year we picked up several 3 year old plants to get things off the ground.
     

    bashMOH

    Hawaiian Pizza
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Dec 22, 2022
    115
    43
    Daviess county
    I started mine planting numerous seeds recovered from berries growing on existing plants. I planted in a couple of six packs. They took a long time to germinate.
    IIRC, I might have kept adding seeds, thinking failure?

    It would have been better to start them earlier in the year, but I'd still give it a shot. When you transplant they like compost and frequent water.

    In case you didn't already know, it will take at least three years before you should harvest any spears.


    .
    Yeah. Back of the pack and previous knowledge I knew it was one of those that takes a while. I like throwing things in the ground and seeing what works. I'll look into it a bit more, but I'll probably end up planting some now, some in the fall, and some in the spring of next. I threw some old store bought potatoes in the earth in December and have one plant to show for it.
     

    BigBoxaJunk

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Feb 9, 2013
    7,314
    113
    East-ish
    My asparagus patch is made up of plants started from seed, some from purchased root crowns, and some root crowns from my old bed that I dug up and divided. As bwframe said, my plants from seed took a few years to get big enough to harvest. One other thing is that, when you plant seeds, you'll end up with the normal 50% of the plants being female. Some people don't care about that, but after having a patch for many years, it can get choked up with plants if there are a lot of seeds falling off every year. Even the "all male" root crowns that I bought from a local nursery turned out to include a couple of females. I didn't want to just dig up and waste all the female plants at once, so I'm phasing them out a couple each year.

    Another thing I did with my asparagus bed was to put a short run of wire fence around it. I had a length of 2-feet tall green garden fencing and I split that into two strips that were one-foot tall. I put that around the perimeter of the raised bed, nailing the bottom to the inside of the 2X6s and using some pieces of old pvc pipe to hold it up. The fence helps to keep in a thick layer of leaf mulch so it doesn't blow away. That helps hold moisture and really helps keep weeds down.
     

    Jaybird1980

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Jan 22, 2016
    11,929
    113
    North Central
    Yeah. Back of the pack and previous knowledge I knew it was one of those that takes a while. I like throwing things in the ground and seeing what works. I'll look into it a bit more, but I'll probably end up planting some now, some in the fall, and some in the spring of next. I threw some old store bought potatoes in the earth in December and have one plant to show for it.
    Start the seeds indoors. Asparagus is like peppers, they need really warm soil to germinate, like 70°+. Putting them in the ground now would be a waist.
     

    bashMOH

    Hawaiian Pizza
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Dec 22, 2022
    115
    43
    Daviess county
    Start the seeds indoors. Asparagus is like peppers, they need really warm soil to germinate, like 70°+. Putting them in the ground now would be a waist.
    Just read the back again and saw that. I can wait a bit. I planted out some swiss chard, broccoli, and spaghetti squash. "Saved" the seeds from a squash we bought a while back, so I'm not out any more than time if they don't germinate. I noticed that the kale that survived the winter is starting to flower. Anyone have any experience saving seeds from them? I assume you just wait until the flowers wilt or dry out a bit and then cut the head/collect the seed. Lol if you can't tell, I'm fairly new to gardening on my own. I've watched lots of videos, but there is no teacher like experience
     

    stocknup

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    30   0   0
    Mar 28, 2011
    1,059
    113
    Monrovia area
    Brought all our veggie plants back inside. Freeze warning up here thru Monday morning
    Covered most of ours as well just to be on the safe side . I have saved and re-used these covers for a few years where I plant early crops .
    They are great for warming up the soil and you can open the side flap on warmer days .
    Getting ready to cover our blueberries , apple trees and grapes later today .

    IMG_3306.JPG IMG_3307.JPG IMG_3308.JPG
     

    hooky

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Mar 4, 2011
    7,032
    113
    Central Indiana
    We use neem oil and it didn't seem to do much on these asparagus beetles.

    I was tempted to use sevin last year on them but decided against it. I thought cleaning it up good before winter would work because they wouldn't have a place to winter over. I'm sure the mild winter didn't help, but they are already present.

    Maybe I'll dust it now that everything is cut back again. :dunno:
    I'm really only worried about killing the pollinators, so if I was in your boat I would dust them now. It's not like you're letting them go to seed.
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
    113
    Btown Rural
    Trying to make use of food that might otherwise dry up and or go to compost. Chive blossoms and elephant garlic lower yellowing leaves will season bone broth quite nicely...
     

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    snapping turtle

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Dec 5, 2009
    6,462
    113
    Madison county
    Finally able to till the garden and get the plants out of the greenhouse and in the ground today.
    I am planting as I read the forum. 6pm and the sun has forced me into the shade for a water/late coffee break.

    Watermelons cantaloupe Brussel sprouts radish onions green beans butter beans lettuce raspberries blueberries grapes winter squash summer squash cherry tomatoes grape tomatoes indeterminate tomatoes and determinate tomatoes and potatoes zucchini all in this week.

    Now to keep out the deer. Might have to start living outside.
     

    tim87tr

    Freedom lover
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Jul 3, 2010
    1,407
    113
    Eastern IL
    I am planting as I read the forum. 6pm and the sun has forced me into the shade for a water/late coffee break.

    Watermelons cantaloupe Brussel sprouts radish onions green beans butter beans lettuce raspberries blueberries grapes winter squash summer squash cherry tomatoes grape tomatoes indeterminate tomatoes and determinate tomatoes and potatoes zucchini all in this week.

    Now to keep out the deer. Might have to start living outside.
    I have plastic fence around the garden. Sounds like you have a very nice garden. We have a garden, plants and landscaping in a wooded area around the house. Even some " deer resistant" plants were eaten, along with some beautiful rose bushes.

    You probably already know or are planning defenses. I put up some old Christmas lights on metal loop stakes to ward off the deer plant eating demons. It has worked. We will move larger items around such as the trash can or wheelbarrow to confuse and scare the deer off. Putting up some green plastic fencing here and there seems to work.

    The deer bed down and even birth in the bush honeysuckle near the house. My wife enjoys that but would eat the deer if I hunted them. Everything else that is a problem is trapped or rimfired.
     

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    snapping turtle

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Dec 5, 2009
    6,462
    113
    Madison county
    I have plastic fence around the garden. Sounds like you have a very nice garden. We have a garden, plants and landscaping in a wooded area around the house. Even some " deer resistant" plants were eaten, along with some beautiful rose bushes.

    You probably already know or are planning defenses. I put up some old Christmas lights on metal loop stakes to ward off the deer plant eating demons. It has worked. We will move larger items around such as the trash can or wheelbarrow to confuse and scare the deer off. Putting up some green plastic fencing here and there seems to work.

    The deer bed down and even birth in the bush honeysuckle near the house. My wife enjoys that but would eat the deer if I hunted them. Everything else that is a problem is trapped or rimfired.
    I have a pickup truck parked in the garden at the moment. The fire pit is close so I have been burning logs
     
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