Soure online for asparagus starts?

My friend wants to start an asparagus patch. What is the best online source and how many should she get?

Thank You

I don't know about online sources, but I bought mine at Walmart 5 years ago and they are producing extremely well. I bought 2 bundles of 12 for the two of us. Mine were 2 years old, and I could only harvest a little that first year, but after that all stocks can be harvested for 6 weeks or so.

Wow . . . you harvested the first year . . . that's encouraging. Well we have Walmart here and we'll have to check.

If you still want to go on line - Parks Seeds, Burpee, Jung's Seeds plus a lot of local nurseries will carry bundles of 12 usually. Just remember it'll be a couple of years before you harvest a really nice crop. Peace

The package or label should say whether the roots are 1 or 2 year old roots and they are sold dormant. I think I remember only harvest for about 3-4 weeks from 2 year old plants.

I'm doing a CSA garden this year and 3 years ago, I started 225 asparagus plants from seed for the CSA. I did pick a few stocks from that bunch the first year and they were really good and tender, but read they need to develop good roots and really settle in and that is done by allowing the stocks to grow.

My original bed of 24 plants is 5 or 6 years old. The stocks get 5' - 6' feet high and probably 2' across, the roots are a good 15" or more deep, so be sure to plant in an appropriate area.

Thanks for the tips; they have a farm so space is endless. So maybe they should plant them 2 feet apart.

Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Mine just started coming up yesterday.

Yes, 2' apart would be good. "Appropriate area" as in a permanent location that won't need to be changed in a year or two down the line...not that I know anyone that would do that. LOL I've read that asparagus is a heavy feeder, but I really haven't added anything. I do mulch with grass (hay) clippings (which according to my soil test is doing wonders) and the bunnies come to visit at night. They don't eat the asparagus, though. Think they just like to hide in it.

I found a source in Washington state 25$ for 25 crowns. Very prompt delivery and good quality plants, all but two sprouted - they appear to be one year old roots

http://www.asparagus4you.com/rootsorders.html

Frank

I bought them at Walmart, 2 year starts, $5 for 8.

It is settled; they bought online and when I can find out where and how they liked them, I will post back here.

Mine are in their 4th season - I lost some to the cold weather this past winter, so will have to buy more plants (sigh)

I've been picking daily for about a week now.

Honeybee, I'd give it awhile. In the original patch, I had a couple of plants that came up the 3rd, some just started sprouting in the last few days, and some that haven't even started yet.

Yum!

msrobin - thanks for the encouragement :)

If the asparagus doesn't show by the end of May, I'll plant the spaces with some turtle beans - they mature really fast.

Walmart's or Lowes's is good too. Can never grown enough aparagus. :)

I put in my W/M roots last year. They've done okay, but I have a question. Some come up and become ferns, and some produce little yellow flowers and then red berries. Should I cut down the ones that flower? Because I did not get much of a harvest this year. Aren't the flowering ones female? I think I read somewhere that you should eliminate them.

They will all become ferns when not picked. And I think you are right about the ones with red berries are females and probably don't produce quite as much as all males would. But ones with the red berries are seeds and I've been collecting them and starting new plants every winter. Our main bed just for the two of us is 21 plants. It supplies more than enough for us and we eat it 2 times a week. In the balance of things, I don't see a problem with having both male and females. They're all good. :)

Thanks!

Bridiglily, I missed part of your questions....

I keep pushing the Walmart plants, but I'm kind of just joking about it. The plants are alright and I have no complaints. The one thing I do notice, is some of my stalks are pencil thin, and a lot are marker size. They all are equally tender and tasty. When I serve or freeze them, I just divide them by size. I would love to buy all of my quality plants through wonderful online companies and I drool everytime I go through the online catalogues. But realistically, if I buy my starter plants locally, save my seeds and start more plants every year, then I am building a good stock of healthy happy plants.

This is what I know. It takes plants approximately 3-4 years from seed to produce nice stalks. Only cut or break the stalks during your harvesting period (6-8 weeks). At the end of that period, stop and just let the stalks grow naturally. Late fall or early spring, cut the old stalks/stems down to allow for spring growth of harvestable asparagus. I prefer spring cutbacks as the old growth provides shelter for birds and wildlife over the winter. The growth of the stalks/stems over the summer has something to do with building a healthier root system for future growth.

I read that if you start seeds indoors in Jan/Feb, then plant out in the garden in the spring, that you are actually gaining a year on your asparagus plant age. I noticed earlier today, that some of my actual 2 year old plants in the market garden are producing large stalks comparable in size to the stalks off of my 8 year old plants.

I don't know all the why's yet, because I hadn't gardened for years and have forgotten so much, so I was just making notes of absolutely neccessary info for each crop. However, asparagus is one of my favorite subjects because there have been some interesting research on it in recent years and I'm finishing up some of my own test trials this summer.

Hope this helps answer your questions.

msrobin - thanks for your post. I had some of the same questions, and you have answered them.

I usually let the seeds fall where they may - this year I have several baby asparagus plants coming up - in previous years there have been very few and they don't seem to survive the winter.

Any suggestions as to why they fail to survive?

Thanks

Glad I could help. No idea why they don't survive, unless the birds are eating them. Trust me, they do, because we have several asparagus plants growing in flower beds. I have a lot of volunteers from where the seeds fall. But I'll also cut 2-3 big stocks at the end of the summer that are loaded with berries and pull them off. I drop the berries in a large bowl or low box to dry. You have to stir them around every few days so they dry properly. When they are totally dry, I'll work them through a strainer to get rid of the red skins leaving just the black seeds. I usually soak my seeds a few hours or overnight before I plant and this last time they still took over a month to germinate.

I've been doing this for about 3 years, since I decided we were going to do the market garden. Our original patch is 21+ store-bought plants. Then I grew 225 plants from saved seed and planted them 2 years ago. This year I started another 150+ plants. It's kind of like that baseball movie...build it and they will come. It was just really important to me that we had lots of asparagus available when we got our customer built and there was no way I could justify buying all those plants when I could start my own from my own seeds.

msrobin - it probably is the birds eating the seeds - I had wondered if they might. I'm going to keep your notes and try getting to the seeds before the birds do. I would like to extend my asparagus bed next year.

Can you start seeds indoors under lights? When is a good time of year to start them. I'm one zone higher than you.

Thanks for taking the time to share this info - sorry to be so long replying :(

Yes, you can start your seed under lights. If you start them in January, then plant them outside late April or early May, according to a couple of University studies, you are actually planting out 1 year old plants, so you gain a year in growth. Can't miss the seeds, they are bright red. As I said, I cut down a whole stock or two that are covered in berries in the fall. Guaranteed there will be a couple of hundred of them, but they are easy to pull off. Let the berries dry over the winter. When you are close to wanting to plant them, seperate the seeds from the chafe. I soak the seeds overnight before planting.

Glad I was able to help.

Thanks msrobin. I'll be sure to save the seeds this year. What kind of germination rate should I expect? I don't want to set 100's of seeds if 20 or so would do.

I never really paid any attention to germination rate, but it seems to me it was pretty high, maybe 90-95%. I would start 36 seeds to get at least 30. Our original patch is 21 plants and it's just about enough for the two of us. IMHO, 30 would be better. That would give you enough for a couple of meals a week and to make a up a couple of meal size bags for the freezer each week. It freezes really well. If I remember correctly, the second year you can harvest about 4 weeks, after that 6-8 weeks depending on how well it's doing.

Okay - that gives me something to aim for. I originally set 25 crowns, but am down to nine. I will have to make a new bed, because the current one gets blasted from the North wind in winter. The crowns nearest that side of the garden are all gone.

This year I have managed to gather enough to freeze some, too. This is their fourth season. I have already let some mature, and this morning, I noticed at least one of them looked at though it will give me seeds (not all of them do - they are supposed to be all male!) It was still rather dark when I was in the asparagus patch this morning; I had forgotten to pick yesterday's spears!

I only have 3 female plants in the original patch, and they provide plenty of seeds. Good thing there are only 3, or I might feel obligated to plant more seeds.

Thanks, msrobin, you have been very helpful, and I appreciate the time you have taken to answer my questions.

My pleasure.