When do asparagus spears appear

Discard any old, woody parts. Replant the new sections straight away see Sow and plant , above , with the buds visible at the soil surface. Asparagus are usually grown from dormant roots, called crowns, available in garden centres and online.

There are several varieties to choose from, producing different flavours, colours or sizes of shoots, and sometimes only male plants. Asparagus is usually planted as one-year-old, dormant plants called crowns. These are widely available in garden centres and from online suppliers in spring. They should be planted straight away, ideally in March. Plant them a dedicated asparagus bed, rather than mixing them with other crops.

Most soil types are suitable, as long as they are well drained. On heavy soils, consider creating raised beds. Then dig a trench 30cm 1ft wide and 20cm 8in deep.

Fork garden compost or well-rotted manure into the base of the trench and cover with a 5cm 2in layer of the excavated soil. Make a ridge of soil, 10cm 4in high, along the centre of the trench. Spread the roots out evenly, but handle carefully as they break easily.

Mix organic matter into the excavated trench soil, gently return this enriched soil back into the trench, leaving the bud tips just visible. Space rows 45cm 18in apart and stagger the plants between adjacent rows. Water in, then mulch with a 5cm 2in layer of well-rotted manure or garden compost to help supress weeds which can be a problem. Asparagus is generally easy to grow and crops reliably every spring. However, there are a few pests that can damage plants and lead to reduced harvests, the principal culprits being slugs, snails and asparagus beetles.

Frost can also damage young shoots in spring, and plants are prone to rotting in damp soil. These feed on the young seedlings and you'll see the tell tale slime trail on the soil around your crop, as well as on the leaves. There are many ways to control slugs and snails, including beer traps, sawdust or eggshell barriers, copper tape and biocontrols.

Adult beetles and their larvae strip the outer bark and leaves from the stem. Damaged areas become yellow-brown and dessicated. The black beetles are mm long with a red thorax and six yellow blotches on the wing cases. Destroy overwintering beetles by burning old stems at the end of the season. From late spring, search and destroy the pests by hand. Remove any damaged growth and protect the bed with a double layer of horticultural fleece if frost is forecast. Resist the temptation to harvest newly planted asparagus for the first two years, to let plants get well established.

In the third year, harvest spears from mid-April for six weeks. If they have not received an inch of rain in the last week, soak the soil with water. Asparagus growing in sandy soil should be watered more than once per week in the absence of rain, and heavy clay soils may not need to be watered as often.

Additionally, soils covered in mulch will retain more water. An inch of water will wet a sandy soil to a depth of ten inches, and wet a heavy clay soil to six inches. Weeds compete with asparagus for soil nutrients, water, and light, so managing weeds will help support a more bountiful yield of spears.

Removing weeds by hand is still one of the most effective methods, especially in smaller asparagus beds. Additional methods include well-timed hoeing, flame-weeding, cover crops, and careful use of select herbicides.

Perennial weeds like Canada thistle and quack grass thrive in asparagus because it is a perennial crop that is rarely cultivated or tilled. In larger asparagus gardens with multiple rows, managing weeds between the rows is relatively easy compared to managing weeds in the asparagus rows themselves. Cultivation hoeing and tilling : Cultivation is an effective weed management tool for vegetable gardens in general, but be cautious when using it in asparagus.

Cultivating too deep, or at the wrong time in the season, can damage the crowns and emerging spears. There are two times when asparagus beds can be cultivated: Before the spears come up in the spring, and after all of the spears are harvested but before ferns come up in late June. At both times, the cultivation must be very shallow, less than 2 inches deep.

Cultivating in the spring allows for the addition of fertilizer to the soil, but can also stimulate the growth of weed seeds that were previously buried. Therefore, gardeners should only cultivate in the spring if it is truly necessary for removing the weeds in their patch, and if they need to add fertilizer.

Do not cultivate the asparagus rows during the harvest season, when new spears are coming up every day. In larger patches with multiple asparagus rows, cultivation can be used at any time between the rows. Cultivation is most effective on small, young weed seedlings and is not likely to control perennial weeds or large, established annual weeds. Cover crops: In larger patches, perennial cover crops groundcover plants can be planted between asparagus rows.

Healthy, dense cover crops can help outcompete weeds, without disturbing the soil through cultivation. Use a perennial cover crop mix including species like fescues, perennial ryegrass, and clover that are hardy in Minnesota. Flaming propane weeding : Flame weeders, also called propane weeders, emit heat and flames from propane-powered torches.

Instead, it is meant to kill the weeds by heating them to high temperatures. Small scale flame weeds for home gardens are available. Hand-removal : In small asparagus patches such as home gardens, hand weeding can actually be one of the most effective and efficient ways to remove weeds.

Hand removal is necessary to manage large annual weeds and perennial weeds. Hand removal is also the safest way to keep weeds out of the rows during the harvest season May-June. Hand-removal can also be used to eliminate any weeds that escape through cover crops and mulches.

Hand-removal is the most efficient way to eliminate stubborn perennial weeds like Canada thistles and quackgrass in asparagus. Flaming and mowing are not effective tools for managing Canada thistles in asparagus, because the plants will continue to reproduce even if the tops are removed or burned. Mulching : Straw and leaves can be used for mulch in asparagus beds to help smother weeds.

However, these mulches also keep the soil cooler and wetter, potentially delaying or reducing asparagus spear emergence in the spring. Therefore, push the mulch away from the rows in the early spring to allow the soil to warm and encourage spear growth. In larger patches with multiple rows, the aisles between the rows can be mulched using wood chips, straw, or landscape fabric. Good weed management is critical for establishing high yielding, healthy new asparagus beds.

As described previously, most new asparagus patches are established by planting one-year-old crowns into deep furrows. The newly planted crowns have very small root systems, so just a few weeds around each plant can cause the plants to grow slowly and produce fewer spears later on. Home gardeners can use glyphosate i. Roundup in and around asparagus at certain times in the season. They can be used in the early spring before spears have started emerging, or after all spears have been harvested in late June and no ferns are present.

Do not use herbicides when spears or ferns are present, as this will damage the plants. Read the label of the herbicide carefully before applying it to ensure that it is permitted for use in asparagus, and follow all label instructions for application. The most common insect pests on asparagus in Minnesota are the common and spotted asparagus beetles. They damage asparagus by feeding on the spears, resulting in browning and scarring. In spring, spears will start to emerge from the soil.

The first spring, a year after planting the crowns, do not harvest any spears. Allow the spears to become ferns and build the strength of the crowns. The second spring after planting crowns, if the plants were strong and healthy during the previous growing season, begin to harvest when the spears are six to eight inches long.

In the first year of harvest, only pick asparagus for two weeks. After that, allow the spears to develop into ferns. In the following years, harvest asparagus up to July 1. Some gardeners will not harvest during the second year at all, preferring to allow the plants to build more strength before finally beginning to harvest in the third year. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Home Yard and garden Find plants Vegetables Growing asparagus.

A quick guide to asparagus An asparagus plant can last 15 years. Salt may help asparagus resist crown and root rot diseases caused by Fusarium fungi. If you live close to the sea you could use a mulch of seaweed. Or alternatively, calcified seaweed. Cover a small part of the asparagus bed with mushroom compost and then monitor the plants in that area to see how they respond.

Mushroom compost can—but no always—contain high levels of soluble salts and other nutrients that can be a bit too rich for germinating seeds and young plants. An established asparagus bed will likely do just fine, but treat only a portion to see if there is any adverse effect. I recently bought a container-started asparagus that is apparently loving life—after we got it home it grew multiple slender stalks very quickly.

The tallest one is easily four feet tall and growing. Should I be trimming these back or staking them up and just letting them do their thing this year?

Let the asparagus grow until the first freeze, then trim it back to the ground. In the first couple of years, do not harvest. Allow the plant to grow naturally. I have a mature asparagus bed, about 22 years old.

How will I know when to dig up this bed and start anew? If your asparagus bed is still producing the number of spears you need and the spears are of sufficient size then there is no need to dig up and replant the bed. If you have noticed that the yield is declining and the spears are growing thinner, then it may be time to replant. If you have room, start a new asparagus bed in another location; it will be ready for production in 2 or 3 years and by then your current bed may be ready to retire.

An asparagus bed can produce for more than 20 years as long as you feed the soil on a regular basis—adding plenty of aged compost or a good commercial planting mix.

I was physically unable to prepare my bed for winter this last winter. I am in a realitivly mild area with just a few freezes. So, with no mulch put down, I have a bed of thick weeds and crabgrass! Hand weeding will kill me! Can I spray the bed before the asparagus starts coming up? Will the asparagus, still underground, be ok?? Spraying asparagus beds for weeds with an herbicide is not the best course.

Trimming the weeds down to an inch or so above the bed with a line trimmer would be an alternative to hand weeding. Annual weeds will naturally die and disappear if not allowed to flower and drop seed. Always cut weed tops before they flower and drop seed. Perennial weeds are a much more difficult problem since they store food and energy in their roots. You will want to pull perennial weeds by hand or treat them individually with an organic herbicide.

Our patch is over 71 years old and some of the dirt has washed away and I feel it needs more dirt on top. When is the best time to add dirt? We have put salt on it for years is this bad or good?

That must be a record! Add aged compost or an organic planting mix across the top of the planting bed any time during the year. Spring after harvest is a good time to spread compost or planting mix around asparagus before they grow tall.

Another good time is at the end of the season if you cut plants back before winter. Aged compost and organic planting mix are excellent adds to asparagus beds. I just started mine this year at my home. Looking forward to getting asparagus in a couple of years. I put in raised beds two years ago. The spears are just coming up for this season but the dirt has settled dramatically.

Can I still add soil, as I did when they were first planted? Thank you. The soil in raised beds will settle over the course of the season and as plants draw nutrients from the soil. Add 2 to 4 inches of commercial organic planting mix or loamy aged compost to your raised beds twice a year. Lightly mix the new soil in with the old soil.

The only time you will need to completely replace all of the soil in a raised bed is if or when you find a soil-borne disease that affects your plants. I planted 2-year crowns into a raised bed last year, let them flower, then I trimmed them down for the winter. They have shooted this spring and begun to flower. Should I repeat and NOT harvest or harvest this year?

Asparagus crowns should grow to full strength in 3 to 4 years. Since your plants are in their third-year harvest a few spears this year but let the other grow on; their ferny stops will help roots store more energy for a full harvest next year.

Asparagus plants can produce for 15 years or more so you have many full harvests ahead. Asparagus crowns may take several weeks to establish themselves below ground. If the crowns roots were healthy and plump not dry when you planted them then it will be a matter of time before the roots become established and then can push new growth to the surface. Keep your soil evenly moist, not wet and never dry.

If the weather is hot where you are, you may want to place a floating row over the planting bed to protect the soil and crown from solar heat. I wish to divide my mature crowns to enlarge my bed by another row or two. I note that you suggest doing this in early Spring, It will be difficult to do this before new sprouts emerge as they do this very soon after the frost leaves the ground, Can the crowns be dug up and divided while the new shoots are emerging or must I try to get this done in the short period before the sprouts emerge?

Asparagus crown division can be done as soon as the soil can be worked in spring. If the soil does not freeze where you live, you can divide crowns in winter. You can also divide crowns in autumn after the top growth dies back. If you divide in autumn, be sure to add several inches of aged compost or mulch over the planting bed to protect the crowns from freezing temperatures in winter.

I live in Arizona and my asparagus never seem to turn brown or die back. My plants are about 4 to 5 feet tall. How do I know when to cut them back so I can add more soil in my raised bed? You can cut them back to the ground in mid-fall or early winter just as though they were experiencing the change of season from warm season to cold season.

Once cut back you can more soil or mulch over the top of the bed. My asparagus bed is around 20 years old. I am in Oklahoma. Every summer small annoying trees invade my asparagus plants.

Once the ferns are getting tall, the trees get out of control. They are larger than the asparagus ferns. Would it hurt the asparagus if I would try burning the ferns and trees in late winter when they were dormant? The crowns of your asparagus plants are not far below the surface. Burning the asparagus ferns and trees would likely damage the asparagus crowns and could destroy in full or part your future harvests.

The trees you spot in your asparagus bed are probably suckers growing from the roots of a nearby tree. Can you identify a nearby tree with similar leaves? If so, dig down 18 to 24 inches on the side of the raised bed where the tree is growing; you will likely find roots growing from the tree to the moisture in your raised bed.

Slice these roots and insert a root guard of sheet plastic or sheet metal down into the soil as a barrier. Then carefully remove the tree suckers in the asparagus bed. If there are no trees nearby then the trees may be growing from seeds dropped by birds. Dig down and remove as much of the tree roots as you can. Thank you so much for responding and for the information. Unfortunately, it us a large asparagus patch and numerous trees that digging up the roots would be almost impossible.