I have left the 6 inches of mulch on my asparagus bed and now the plants are showing signs of sprouting. Should I leave the mulch on (leaves from last fall) or remove them?
Thanks,
Ken
Re mulch on asparagus bed.
Hey Ken,
you can leave the mulch. Many people would continue to add an inch or so a week to blanch (make them white) the spears. I just let the mulch rot down over the season and remulch in the fall with 6-8 in of chopped leaves. I like green asparagus!
Bill
I am trying to grow them in Hawaii...planting my second 100 roots tomorrow. In this area where there is no freeze or frost and LOTS of rain...is it so important to plant them as deeply as instructions give? Previous roots I have planted only 5-6 inches. My bad?
The reason that most instructions tell you to bury asparagus so deeply is because asparagus like to be in a weed free environment.....burying the roots deeply allows you to hoe up weeds well from around them without disturbing your roots. They like 10-20-10 and a good mulch of manure also, and are heavy drinkers...
I'm curious about growing asparagus in such a warm environment as yours without a dormancy period....I know here it ferns up...we cut the ferns off and mulch good over the winter and then it comes back up in the spring.
AH....that explains it! I generally just pull them or spray them.... the mulch around them helps, too!!!
No luck here with asparagus, though I keep trying. The ferny growth is beautiful, but the few spears that form are too scrawny to harvest. I think maybe more winter chill is needed. Have had slightly better results with UC57 - developed for warmer areas - but still not what I'd consider success. Will be trying a wild type from Taos next.
Darkmoondreamer... DM wouldn't cut the ferny foliage. She would let it go to seed to fill in the large patch.
Sorry - moved to new thread
This message was edited Apr 15, 2009 7:03 PM
I thought asparagus loves a lot of Nitrogen... I know they love coffee grounds!!!! I have 100 roots arriving tomorrow....YIPPEE!!!