Comments on: Garden for Dollars, Grow Asparagus

By: kring

kring — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:47:35 +0000

can you grow asparagus under an oak tree?

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:50:06 +0000

Good information! We planted a 4X8 bed with asparagus and will get our first harvest this year. We can’t wait. I’m putting in a lot of raspberries this year. They definitely are worth giving some garden space to. I have a few raspberries in my yard already and loved going out to pick my breakfast.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:53:04 +0000

Asparagus can need support, especially when young, in high winds, but having it topple over isn’t a huge deal, so long as you’re not growing it for an ornamental reason.

By: Horace

Horace — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:07:17 +0000

Great article! That sounds like a cool way to cook asparagus. I’ll be sure to try it out!

By: FM2YO

FM2YO — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:47:57 +0000

My husband loves asparagus, I hate the stuff, but he wants to try to grow it. I guess he will be cooking outside, but….. Anyway, how well does it stand up to wind and rain? We live on the coast of Oregon, so it gets a bit wet and windy here. Now would be a good time to tell me that it won’t do well here and that will be that. He will have to find another source? Tee Hee!

Thank you for sharing your time and information. You are appreciated.

By: Gardening Seeds

Gardening Seeds — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:51:52 +0000

Thank you very much for the information I really appreciate it!!

By: Administrator

Administrator — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:10:30 +0000

I’ve heard that too, but whatever. How do you measure how much fertilizer a plant needs? Do you see at which point it doesn’t grow better and then that amount of fertilizer is it’s max and what you should use?

All my garden soil is good, fertilized with bloodmeal and bonemeal, and ammended with compost and mycorrhizal. I hardly do anything special, EXCEPT…

1. In ornamental beds with a lot of flowers, I use more bone meal (or bulb booster stuff). Same in places with fruiting plants.

2. Where I’m trying to create good green growth I put down more blood meal or high nitrogen fertilizer. This is for non-fruiting trees, grass (lawn and ornamental) anything that doesn’t flower or fruit (or that I don’t want to), lettuces, and yes, that includes asparagus.

That is a good rule of thumb to remember. If you want something to produce more vegetative growth (stems, trunks, branches, leaves) use nitrogen or blood meal. If you want things to produce more flowers or fruit, use more bone meal or phosphorus.

I wonder about the efficacy of overplanting Asparagus with beans/peas or another legume. If your asparagus is wide enough apart it may work, and after the asparagus is done being harvested in the Spring you could still harvest the beans/peas. Of course the benefit is that legumes add nitrogen to the soil, so, in the end, your legumes would be fertilizing your asparagus (assuming the crowding and competition didn’t take away more than it gave).

Might be worth trying if someone wants to do a expirement. Plant two plots side by side equally spaced asparagus in each, but in one plot put in a legume crop between the asparagus. Run it for a couple years (or get innoculated bean seeds so you can be sure they have the right bacteria) and see which asparagus plot performs better. (make sure to eliminate all other variables though, equal sun, equal water, equal extra fertilizer, equal starting soil).

By: Rochelle

Rochelle — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:28:39 +0000

I’m wondering if you could go a little further into the planting phase of your article. I’ve heard that the asparagus plant is a heavy feader. Any suggestions on what to add to the soil each year? Or was I hearing wrong?

By: charles

charles — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:35:53 +0000

I am an up and comming gardener, and I wanted to thank you for your excellent blog. It really helps to inspire me when I read some of your articles.

By: Dominique Depaz

Dominique Depaz — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:20:46 +0000

Great article.

I agree that growing your own vegetables is fun, healthier and tastier than store bought produce. Unfortunately, I don’t think the weather in central Florida is conducive to growing asparagus. Our window is very narrow (2 months in the fall and the spring). Our insect pressure is enormous in the summer and fungus diseases become unmanageable. But may be I am wrong. Do you know if asparagus can grow in our humid climate?