Panhandle Plantings
Asparagus Tips –Choices and Commitment
by Holmes County Master Gardener, Val Ford
I’ll begin by begging the assumption that you’ve prepared your asparagus bed and it’s ready for the next step – planting. Here it comes -- Crowns? Seeds? Male? Female? Patience? These are the questions you’re going to have to answer by the end of this article – and you thought it was merely a matter of what variety to choose.
Let’ start with the variety of asparagus to order. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System recommends “Mary Washington”, “UC157” and “Jersey Giant” for the Lower Alabama area (we’re close enough!). “Purple Passion” is another one that will do well here, as are “Jersey Knight” and “Jersey King.” Of this group, “UC157” is probably the one that will tolerate neglect the best (it’s bred specifically for temperate climates).
Now, you must enter the realm of personal analysis. Do you demand instant gratification or are you willing to work and wait for your reward? “Why?” you ask. Because it’s going to determine the approach you take to establishing your asparagus patch.
There are two means of approaching this – seeds and crowns. If you’re the patient type and more curious about the process of establishing an asparagus patch than in pure vegetable production, seed may be for you. An asparagus seed remains viable for three to five years. It takes approximately a week for germination to occur with soil temperatures in the 75°+ range (I start them in very small pots and transplant to continually larger pots until ready for the garden). Small spears will appear and “fern,” accompanied by rapid root growth.
The “ferns” will die-off and be replaced by more new spear growth and “ferning.” You need to nurture these seedlings until the roots and crown are large enough to transplant into the permanent bed, where you’ll need to continue to watch over them for the first year. Keep in mind there’s NO picking the spears the first or second years of growth – and only minimal harvesting the third year (but we’ll address this in a later column). Each and every spear that’s produced for two to three years must be allowed to “fern” to support the growth of the developing crown.
For those of you requiring a bit easier go of it – you can purchase one-year and two-year crowns for transplanting. These are planted directly into the asparagus bed and allowed to “spear” and “fern” for 2 years or 1 year respectively. The key to this whole thing is that a crown must be allowed to establish for a minimum of 3-years before harvesting can begin.
OK, some of you are positively chomping at the bit. For you, three-year crowns are available (However, the only place I know that carries them is Gurney’s Seed and Nursery Company). When you plant these, you’re allowed a MINIMAL harvest of spears toward the end of the first season (You’ll have to wait for that later column for further information), but 85 percent of all spear growth should be left to “fern” that first year.
Now to the dilemma of male versus female. It’s most often recommended that the home gardener plant all-male varieties because they provide heavier spear production, not having to put any energy into reproduction. Personally, I’d recommend that you find a male-female variety so that you have constant reproduction (with no lack of spear production, based on my experience!).
Florida’s environment takes its toll on asparagus crowns. The heat and humidity of summer are tough on it; when combined with the lack of a true dormant period in winter, it leads to an early death (five to ten years instead of the expected 15 to 20). What female plants will do for you is produce seed that will provide for on-going generations of new plants (provided you keep your bed in tip-top shape) with no interruption in production.
Thus ends our second lesson. By the time next month comes around, you should be well on your way to the “care-and-feeding” phase of asparagus. WARNING: this is definitely the most time-consuming part of home asparagus production. But if your heart’s in it, it’s all worth it!
Val Ford is a Holmes County Master Gardener. If you have a gardening question or problem, contact your local Extension Office or e-mail Val at FLSnowflake7592@aol.com
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