Asparagus

[Aruvqan]

I have a possibly dumb question about asparagus.

I know that it is cultivated for harvest by cutting it off at the base after it sprouts when it gets to the size you want. Can you only cut it once per season, or is it cut several times before you let it finish growing?

My husband wants to plant it next year and I am trying to figure out how many plantings of it we will need. Of course I could just get a whole bunch and let them go feral in the woods and make him tramp around looking for it <evil grin>

[viktoria]

They will not "go feral in the woods". (Good thought!) Asparagus requores sun.

The crown of the plant keeps sending up new shoots as you snap (no need to cut) them off. When the shoots get to be as thin as a pencil, you need to leave them grow or you will weaken the plants.

The only dumb questions are the ones you do not ask.

Viktoria

[Chris_W]

Thanks for the answer Viktoria. I wasn't sure how to know when you've cut too much.

About the "feral in the woods" thing, we have them coming up wild in the strangest places, and even have a couple patches that came up in the middle of our pine forest. One of them grows about 6 feet tall trying to reach for the sun! Sure, it only puts up a few spears, and I wouldn't cut them, but it is still growing

[viktoria]

If you were to try to harvest asparagus from your plant in the pines, Chris, you would soon find it in a decline, methinks.

Viktoria

[kHT]

I agree with what Viktoria stated, we grew them in TX, I can't grow it out here.

[thy]

You are all talking about green aspargus I guess. the white ones need more work

Karma you could grow them in TX and not in Washington or.. what ever NV state you live in... weird
Here we have them in Spain and far up in Norway

Not a bad idea to go for the size, we go for a date.. Midsummer, but some years they are bigger than a pencil at that time

Pia