growing asparagus

[Thyme]

Hi all I am going to try growing asparagus for the first time. I have 59 pots of plants that I just got on clearance. What kind of soil do they like, what can i grow next to them , what should not be planted next to them.Any info & tips would be greatly appreciated. The name on the tag is martha washington. We are zone 5 .The plant tags have no other info. Do i mulch them for winter protection? We are in the middle of a corn field get all the wind . thanks

[bee_pipes]

How old are the plants? Tytpically you buy asparagus in the form of one year old roots, called crowns. They have a central structure with roots radiating out in all directions. For planting the crowns you dig a trench - a foot deep or more - and lay the crowns in the bottom of the trench. Cover with an inch or two of compost and soil. At the end of the year add another two inches or so of compost and soil. Eventually you'll have the trench filled in. We planted one year old roots and it was about the third year by the time we could harvest enough. That was two years ago. Every year the spears get bigger, thicker and more numerous. You don't want to pick the plants to death because they need some of the spears to flower and feed the roots. After the asparagus has run, just stop picking it and let the remaining spears go to flower.

Since it is a perennial you want to pick a location that gets good sun where the bed can be left. You won't be moving it again.

You may need to mulch for zone 5 for winter.

Regards,
Pat

[Thyme]

These are 2-3 years old. I got them from a greenhouse. They have last years brown dead stalks & this years green stalks that have already flowered & went ferny looking.They have them in 6 x6 in. pots.The stalks are as big around as a wooden pencil.

[NCLee]

Thyme, you may want to hold them in the pots until this fall. Not isn't a good time to transplant perennials in most parts of the country.

Between now and planting time, prepare your bed. Here's a good link on how-to to get you started. http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/asparagus1.html Also do a google search - asparagus beds for more info. As this is a one-time job. Once established, your bed will last for years and years. And, if done right, will give you a great harvest for those years.

Hope this helps.
Lee

[Thyme]

Thanks for the replys. Am going to wait to plant till fall. The area these are going into has never been planted before , it is just grass & waiting to plant will give me time to make sure all the weed seeds & grass are killed off.We lay an old solar pool cover on the ground where we want to plant . Leave it for 4 weeks, that seems to kill all weed seeds.Am also going to check on a different greenhouse to see if they have there plants for 75% off to & get a different variety.

[DM]

There is a LOT of asparagus grown here, i mean there's 40 acre fields of nothing but asparagus! It's grown in sandy soil, that's well drained, and i've never seen a grower dig a trench and fill it slowly each year?

I dug holes and planted (burried) mine in those holes, and it's been doing just fine ever since.

DM