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Post by wally on Apr 2, 2015 23:53:33 GMT
just came in from picking 1/2 lb of asparagus, our first of the year. Iam sure looking forward for dinner tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2015 0:01:35 GMT
Lucky you! Nothing like fresh picked asparagus. I'm going to have to plant some. It doesn't grow wild near me.
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Post by paquebot on Apr 3, 2015 1:04:23 GMT
Came home with a pound from Aldi today. That's as close to fresh asparagus as we'll be for awhile. This will be the first year for the 20 planted in 2013, 10 green and 10 purple.
Martin
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2015 1:29:17 GMT
Oh, I have such a taste for asparagus with hollandaise. And butter. Or maybe cheese sauce. Perhaps just a squirt of lemon....
As soon as we get that goat shed scraped out from winter bedding, those asparagus beds are getting overhauled!
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Post by Callie on Apr 4, 2015 13:35:24 GMT
Which reminds me to get out and take out the dead stalks from last year and watch for the spears to come up. My asparagus gets about 6 feet tall. It's a mess. I don't see other asparagus getting this tall (farmers grow it here as a commercial crop). Am I missing something? Not harvesting enough spears?
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Post by wally on Apr 4, 2015 14:03:51 GMT
callie, mine also grow to about 6 ft, i let those stems grow out, and harvest the shorter spears. by early summer the fern part just takes over. in late fall after the ferns turn brown i cut them off at ground level. Its my understanding that the ferns are what feed the the roots to carry themselves through the winter.
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 4, 2015 17:40:03 GMT
I'm so looking forward to fresh asparagus!
I pick them when they get about 6"-8" every.single.day. By about mid-June, I'm tired of them every.single.day and let them fern out.
I usually let the ferns die and cut them off in the autumn. The fall of 2013 I didn't get around to cutting the ferns down. Last year in early April, I burned the ferns off and had asparagus about a week later .... a full 2-1/2 weeks earlier than my neighbor!
Last fall, I purposely left my ferns stand. As soon as the wind dies down this evening, I'll be burning the ferns and see if last year was a fluke or if it really helps with early asparagus.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 5:07:41 GMT
Came home with a pound from Aldi today. That's as close to fresh asparagus as we'll be for awhile. This will be the first year for the 20 planted in 2013, 10 green and 10 purple. Martin Sir Martin ( ye will recognize me from that) Asparagus is worth the wait ...picking this morn ... It's one of the reasons that I'm backing off from boards ... lots to catch up on and figure out But we'll see ... Thanks for the invite
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Apr 9, 2015 5:49:52 GMT
Just checked mine today - no sign of spears coming on yet.
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asparagus
Apr 9, 2015 19:03:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 19:03:56 GMT
I haven't planted any, plan to, but hasn't happened yet. But there is a patch of wild asparagus across the street from me, I will be checking it often.
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asparagus
Apr 9, 2015 19:18:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 19:18:31 GMT
I'm so jealous! The weather hasn't been warm enough here yet for anything to spring to life. It'll be at least another month before I can even hope to start picking.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2015 21:48:05 GMT
I have asparagus on the kitchen table too! Unfortunately it is waiting to be planted LOL. Sure looking forward to future harvest!
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Post by farmgal on Apr 15, 2015 4:29:21 GMT
Mmm mine are in year 4. They are doing great! Should be coming up soon. I ordered the all male variety. Not as much weed seeds to bog up the beds. Nourse nursery has the best deals. Good quality. Thank you to whom ever told me that years ago. Lol.
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Post by pammysue on Apr 15, 2015 12:55:45 GMT
The end of this week I should be able to pick my first asparagus of the year.
For the last few years we've waited until spring to burn off the old stalks, maybe that's why we've got asparagus growing a couple weeks before anyone else. Thanks Cyndi for the thought, could very well be something to burning it off and coming up sooner. We used to just cut it off in the spring of the year, one time my husband said something about just burning it off so that's what we've done ever since.
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Post by Weed on Apr 17, 2015 1:04:58 GMT
First and only spear popped up today. Seems a bit early but I have no idea whether they're early or late coming so I'm marking the date here/now for next years reference. I usually cut them down to the ground around Nov/Dec to avoid pests from overwintering inside the hollow stalks but this year didn't get around to dealing with them (roofing torch) until around Feb. After burning them off, I spread 2 full buckets (600 sq/ft bed) of ash/char from the wood stove to bring the pH up closer to 7 and shallow tilled the upper 2-3" pretty thoroughly and mulched with a few inches of shredded leaves. Roots are now 5yo and I plan to pick till near the end of June.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2015 3:05:03 GMT
We don't eat a lot of asparagus, we only like it fresh. Maybe 3 sprigs each, twice a week. We have 2 plants in the greenhouse and 3 outside, for a longer harvest. We like it pencil thin, steamed, seasoned with butter and a little of our herb mix. DS eats more than we do.
Today we browned some turkey sausage and onion, added yukon gold, new potatoes, asparagus, slivered carrots, peppers and celery....James
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Post by farmchix on Apr 17, 2015 11:25:01 GMT
Mmmmmm....I love me some asparagus....especially fresh! Enjoy!
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 18, 2015 18:10:04 GMT
I started picking a couple days ago ... not enough coming up yet to feed 3 people so ...... they never made it out of the garden!!
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 18, 2015 19:23:31 GMT
Oh, I have such a taste for asparagus with hollandaise. And butter. Or maybe cheese sauce. Perhaps just a squirt of lemon.... As soon as we get that goat shed scraped out from winter bedding, those asparagus beds are getting overhauled! Mine need overhauling too! I'm only getting small spears. Mine are 5th year but did well until this year.... Maybe I'm antsy though and I'll still get bigger ones. Is it too late to add manure once they've started bearing? The bed that is more shaded early in Spring isn't up at all. A lot of other garden plants came up earlier than normal so I could be wondering over nothing. I started with several varieties and I guess some are female. I love the little red berries on those ferns though and they hold here until Christmas (when we do freeze hard all night and day it's like Dec,Jan) so I bunch 'em up and set them by the front porch as decor!
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 18, 2015 19:50:25 GMT
@redfish ... the thicker stalks are still nice and tender if you pick them when only 4"-5" tall. They are very heavy feeders. If you put them in 4-5 years ago, most likely they are due for a nice side trenching of high nitrogen compost. hobbitlady ... it is never too late to add well composted manure! Like I mentioned to Redfish, I prefer a trench to the side of the established asparagus when adding manure or compost (or fish guts ... my asparagus loves fish guts!)
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 18, 2015 20:42:35 GMT
Do you remember what variety you planted?? Martha Washington will put out thicker stalks. I like the Jersey Knight variety. It is supposed to be an all male variety and I get thin to medium sized stalks
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 18, 2015 21:36:54 GMT
I don't know if I could tell a male from female asparagus .... mine fern out when I let them grow tall ... guess I never checked to see if any flowered ... don't recall that they do.
What is the difference between a male & female As-Pa-RAG-Us any way??
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 18, 2015 21:37:45 GMT
(And yes, now you will always be pronouncing is As-Pa-RAG-Us ... because it is just much more fun that way!!!)
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 18, 2015 21:47:55 GMT
Okay ... I get berries on my plants ... I harvest them and replant them for future plants ... If I recollect correctly, my Jerseys have about a 1 in 5-10 or so that producde berries.
I don't recall ever seeing flowers though ... fronds that open up ... now I'm going to have to remember to look this summer! Thanks for that
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 18, 2015 22:15:42 GMT
So are you practicing saying "As-pa-RAG-us' ? C'mon ... it's fun!
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 18, 2015 23:32:37 GMT
So are you practicing saying "As-pa-RAG-us' ? C'mon ... it's fun! I did....it got me laughing ! Have the berries you planted started new plants for you? How many years to the table? andddd OH how I wish I still lived where the fishing was good! I had 10 years living near a "dream" lake though so I've got many memories. I'd love to feed them fish guts...except,hummmm....I think my cats would dig them up. Oh well,I have chicken manure which the cats disdain. That's of Great interest to the dogs, but they know better than to dig in my beds.
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Post by Weed on Apr 19, 2015 0:42:28 GMT
I don't know if I could tell a male from female asparagus .... mine fern out when I let them grow tall ... guess I never checked to see if any flowered ... don't recall that they do. What is the difference between a male & female As-Pa-RAG-Us any way?? Re:female plants - I've got plenty of them too, even though my crowns were supposedly all males. Main difference (besides the red berrie seed) is the male plants have a slightly higher yield. Ive read that large asparagus growers cull the females, but in the home garden, that's going in the wrong direction in my opinion. I wound up with several varieties over the years, Mary or Martha? Washington's, Jersey Giant and Jersey Knight, but the only difference I can tell are that some taste really good and the rest taste great! They're so mixed up and interplanted from self seeding, I have no idea what I'm eatin these days! . How long seed to table?, no clue but they develop into good sized ferns very fast in my patch. I live 10 minutes up the road from www.walkerplants.com/products/asparagus.htm , as a walk-in customer -100 big 3yo crowns can be had for $20 last I checked.
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 19, 2015 2:51:35 GMT
as-pa-RAG-us is much more fun to say that asparagoose ... that is, if you want folks to look at you with that "What the heck are you talking about" look ...
Seed to table? Like @weedkicker, not a clue. We had standing aspaRAGus on the place when we bought it 13 years ago. I transplanted it in hubby's special browsing garden. I bought the Jersey 4 years ago (75 crowns but I've given away a lot). They keep us in at least 1-3 lb of aspaRAGus daily from late April to early June when I throw up my hands and say ENOUGH!
I do harvest and plant the berries each year ... and I let the fronds grow tall & over winter, then burn them off in early April which seems to promote an early harvest.
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Post by Woodpecker on Apr 19, 2015 14:35:33 GMT
I just got 8 crowns of Mary Washingtons since I've tried Jersey knight twice I decided to switch it up. I wish I had known they love fish guts, I caught a lot of fish last summer. Hopefully I will be doing it again this summer. Any planting tips? I've already failed twice I really don't want to fail again.
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Post by farmchix on Apr 19, 2015 14:59:39 GMT
as-pa-RAG-us is much more fun to say that asparagoose ... that is, if you want folks to look at you with that "What the heck are you talking about" look ... Seed to table? Like @weedkicker, not a clue. We had standing aspaRAGus on the place when we bought it 13 years ago. I transplanted it in hubby's special browsing garden. I bought the Jersey 4 years ago (75 crowns but I've given away a lot). They keep us in at least 1-3 lb of aspaRAGus daily from late April to early June when I throw up my hands and say ENOUGH! I do harvest and plant the berries each year ... and I let the fronds grow tall & over winter, then burn them off in early April which seems to promote an early harvest. Asparagus envy here! I love asparagus! Grilled after having been marinated in olive oil and garlic. Now, that's living! Great info on harvesting berries and burning off.
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