How I Prune My Asparagus Every Year For HUGE Harvests
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- Опубликовано: 26 июн 2024
- Asparagus has become one of our most sought after spring time treats but to get the biggest harvest you have to know when, how, and why to prune your asparagus! When it comes to end of season perennial plant care it can be quite scary to cut down a plant trusting that it will grow back. But here you have to trust the process and know that this delicious plant will come back year after year, maybe over 20 years!
IN THIS VIDEO
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Asparagus Patch Overview
01:54 - Bamboo Stakes
02:29 - When To Prune
04:39 - Pruning
06:33 - Composting Asparagus Pruning
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I usually take any plant cuttings, especially those that contain bugs, and toss them in with the chickens. And whatever the chickens leave after 2 days I’ll toss in compost. That way they take care of the bugs for me and they get a snack too.
I feel so dumb for totally forgetting I could have tossed it to the chickens, I somehow still forget that option!
I love describing foliage as a solar panel, collecting energy for the plant (the bank). That is EXACTLY how life works!
I live in the Caribbean in Antigua and have three asparagus plants growing in a raised bed. This is their first season. I pray they get nice and big like yours.
I bet they will :)
I did not know asparagus grows in the Caribbean. Did you grow from seeds @juliaroberts1621?
@@pauloscri5489 no. I bought 1 year old seedlings. They are doing great so far.
@@pauloscri5489 No. I bought the crowns.
Hello sir! Next spring I will start cutting on my crowns, and my yearlings will be placed with them. I can't wait, great timing. Thank you!❤
I use electric hedge trimmers to take down my plants in the winter, takes very little time. Then a cover of mulch for winter. In some years they will begin to sprout as early as February. My plants are nine years old and have to be harvested twice a day once they start growing large spears. 4-6" a day is not uncommon.
Hi Jacque, I am also growing asparagus by seedlings. I can't get over the thickness of some of the spears. My bed is going into it's second summer. I haven't harvested any yet. I'm going to assess it spring 2023. Maybe I might get a spear or two then. Blessings from Australia ♥️
Thank you so much for this video. I was hoping you would talk about this. I just started a bed late spring and wasn't sure when I should cut it back. Can't wait to see how it grows next year.
Nice video Mr. Jacque, comfortably well spoken, informative, easy to watch, and enjoyable. I knew an elderly lady that used to put wood ashes and old cow manure on here bed every fall/winter best I remember it grew very well. What if you just cut the tops off at ground level leave standing till brown then burn it, it should burn fast killing any bugs and the ash would fall and fertilize. Burning it while it stands keeps the crown from getting hot.
I appreciate it! I think that burning method would work but to me it seems like more work than composting but It could be worth a try! Also, being very urban my neighbors might not appreciate it haha
This is so timely for me. Thanks for the wonderful education. Now I know it’s ok to cut it to the ground and cover with compost. I’m in 9A and we grow year-round so I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing and after watching your video, I was doing it wrong. LOL
Be lazy like me in the fall raise my mower deck up mow away bed is about 20 years old does great sprouts about the size of large carrots
Thanks for the video. You do a very good job of explaining what you do and why you do it. Keep on keeping on.
as always lots of useful information thanks
That asparagus looks like a hobbit lives inside.
I'm in zone 5 (NH) and don't find we need to leave the ferns for winter snow protection. instead I prune like you do, then mulch heavily with leaves or similar.
Oh that is good to know, I saw some people recommend that practice and I don't know better!
This video was awesome 😊 what a fun plant to grow
Thank you for great tips! I live in a cold zone 3 and it was very helpful to know i do not need to prune my asparagus patch. Alsoi started with seedlings. Goot to know i can eat them sooner!
Ia loving asparagus! I have a patch growing here in bay are but no where near as large! Yours looks amazing!!
I especially appreciate the adding of compost step.
Thanks for the video!
Great tips, Thank you
Ahhhhh!!! The cloud of aphids… RIP Jacques 😂
Awesome. Next year will be my 1st year that I harevest mine! Grown from seed!!
Wow Lovely Garden
LIKE it ❤️
My friend, thank you for good sharing 😊
Great tips
Hi Jacques!
You should spray the plant with soapy water first before cutting so aphids won't spread to other plants.
I just found your channel and subscribed. I am growing in the Los Angeles basin area of California (10b) and I just had to thin out a patch of asparagus that looked a lot like yours (almost 3 years old). It was so dense bugs were also inside. It is mid August so I am reluctant to cut the whole plant down. I am not sure what time of year this was, but it looks like you are also in a warm climate. I am hoping I can wait now until the plant turns brown (fall or winter) before I cut it all back. Thank You, most videos I have seen on asparagus seem to be in a cold climate.
Thanks!
I'd be burning the aphids infected cuttings. In fact, I even thought of taking the creme Brulee flamer and torching the aphids before cutting the bush, to prevent spreading plus where they had dropped onto the ground, avoiding the live plant areas.
Beautiful plants by your compost bin
Good information Jacque! Are they too thick or stringy to use gas hedge clippers?
They can be a pretty stringy and thick, I think It could work with a hedge clipper though.
busy in the garden
I have my asparagus in the center of a raised bed Greenhouse.
I plant tomatoes and cucumbers around it, they grow high enough so when the asparagus flops over the other plants are above it.
Been working out for 2 years, This year's supposed to be the harvest year so only a few more months to go.
Question about the aphid dust: Is the aphid dust black in color? I had asparagus that the tops became very thick. When I tried to separate them in the middle there was a black area, and lots of little white specs, but nothing was moving. Your video is the ONLY place where someone showed photos of something similar to what I was seeing. I thought maybe mine was a fungus or mold, but now I am thinking that I must have had aphids, never noticed it in the center of the fronds, maybe they died off and it left this black powder with white specs. What did you do to get rid of the black dust? It's middle of Summer here, normally would not chop back until October or November. Should I just cut down to the ground now all parts of plants that had this black powder? Thank you so much, I am so happy to have found your video!
How many plants, or how much area do you have dedicated to asparagus? I'm trying to decide how much to plant for 4 people
Perfect! I need help on this: I planted my asparagus from seed this spring (zone 10a) and have beautiful plants maybe 3-4 feet tall/long. They are still vibrant green with no aphids and I've been wondering when to cut them down. Did you cut yours back the first year?
I'm also in 10a and on the 3rd year with my asparagus. My first year I wasn't sure if my plants would die back, so I read how it's handled in Hawaii. They said to go ahead and cut back your plants mid winter, even if they are still green. I've found that my plants do die back eventually. But if they don't this year, I'll probably cut them off in January or February and then amend the soil as Jacques demonstrated.
@@theadegroot1691 Perfect, thanks! I'm excited that Jacques said he got proper shoots the 2nd year...fingers crossed.
Yes I did cut them back last year as well, I would cut them down regardless of how they looked by the time you get into February just to make harvesting possible.
Why can’t you spray the afids. Like with 8. Thanks jim80
I've never seen asparagus without asparagus beetle. Last year, I made the mistake of chopping/ dropping the fronds back over the beds. Early spring spears already had the little devils all over them. We had a freeze in April, and I haven't seen one since. I'm sure they'll be back later, but I've never seen them so early before.
The first few years we grew it, we never saw a beetle. Then they showed up big time. Fully removing the spent foliage and smashing beetles through the season has really lessened the pressure, for sure.
Hi Jacques, You said that if we get heavy snow to not cut it before winter, so are we cutting it as soon as the snow is melting?
thanks a million!
The advice I saw was that leaving the growth allows the snow to act as insulation so I think once you get past any chance of snow you should be able to cut it back and mulch over it.
Ok, totally off topic, but... I just found this channel and am loving it!!
I have a totally off topic question though to any in this awesome community, we got a cat who adores the outside lands, so we had to close up the dog door. Well, now I have a horrible gopher prob. They're attacking everything! Avos, citrus, herbs, even a 40+ year old lemon verbena that they'd never gone after. I've tried traps 😖, not helping, and it's so bad I need to find something! Otherwise my partner might go the poison route!! Please, any ideas?
-helpless gopher digger needing help
Was there any afids? You didn't mention it 😁
Hello 👋 Masha Allah
Vast fields of these grow wild on and by a bridge by my house. It is very common to see people harvesting them every spring. I like to grow them as a house plant which is much harder then it sounds. The crop version of this plant requires a lot of water and light compared to the dwarf houseplant version and is a lot more fickle about drainage. A south window and some good quality grow lamps are required. That said, they do make a good conversation piece if well looked after.
I come to videos like these for insight on how to make these plants do better then they currently are. These are one of the most difficult plants I have ever grown indoors in pots.
Oh wow that is interesting, It would be a cool houseplant!
@@jacquesinthegarden It is. Though it is more cool to have the finished product then it is to get to the finished product. It is tough to do, and the crop species of Asparagus tends to be unruly and asymmetrical. A lot of work needs to be done to get it to the point where it is a show piece. Though once there, it does have a unique vibe not found in any other plant, save it's much smaller houseplant counterpart.
Did you bury the newer ferns? I couldn't see them at the end
Partially yes, they should be fine either way since they are so tiny.
Ahhh!
😁👍
god i hate cutting down all the fronds. so time consuming. ive even tried chain saw,angle grinder with cut off blade etc lol but still not efficient. any tips would be welcome.
Jacques,
Just curious--are the asparagus fronds also edible? 🤔
Seems like yes but not really worth it. Especially since you want it to die back
Because possible Beatles I'm burning 🔥 my clippings.
Want to grow some, but still trying to figure out where in my garden I can place a patch. How do you tell the difference between a male and female plant?
I show an example in the video linked at the end but basically a female makes berries and the males don't.
I don’t know if I have asparagus or an asparagus fern. Do both produce asparagus spears? I have spears growing now (in late fall, zone 6a) after cutting back all the foliage to the ground (the foliage had red berries on them).
Asparagus fern sort of winds around and creeps more and also has thorns all along the stems. The red berries are female asparagus plants and are full of the asparagus seeds!
My asparagus has never died down. Because it’s pretty much green all the time, when it’s a good time to cut them down?
What are your thoughts on Ruth Stout's method of never cutting them back?
I don't recall Ruth ever writting that.
@@eb1684 It's in her book, No Work Garden.
@@csherma22 Yes! You are right. On page 116 (I have a copy) she says "....just leave the stalks where they are. Like everything else, they will die when their time comes, so let them rest in
peace. They will help mulch the bed, too."
Ruth Stout is one of the most enjoyable writers I ever read.
I think its totally valid, I would still clean it up before next harvest otherwise it will get really crowded and messy at the base.
58. 11
I am curious: Were this NOT the end of the season, how would you handle the aphids? I have had aphid issues before, usually handle with neem or the like, but this last summer I had MASSIVE aphid problems and I couldn't even keep on top of them when I was out there almost daily. I have always heard letting them go would attract beneficial insects to help, but I never saw that happen. I am hesitant to just douse everything I own with pest control stuff, even organics like neem.
For a problem this bad I think it was because the plants were stressed due to lack of water. For perennial plants that can handle being cut back I would probably still just go ahead and cut them back like this. Water can get you pretty far in terms of removal and eventually lady bugs will colonize and eat them but sometimes it is not recoverable. I found in the past that things like neem didn't solve the problem but balance, not fertilizing as much, and keeping things properly watered all do a lot to keep aphids away
Buy ladybirds/ladybugs
I think I had those beatles in my sweat basil. Does that make sense?
They can be on a wide variety of plants!
Sad. Mine has yet to get anywhere. I get two or three small spears. I’m in zone 4b tho so that might be part of the issue
Yeah my long growing season Is I think what allows me to harvest so early
if you had aspargus beetles, believe me, you would know it. they can strip your plants in a matter of days. One day you have beautiful new growth, the next day you have bare stalks and branches.
so why did you put infested folliage in your compost? also when you tossed the asparagus over the fence didnt you just spread the aphids all over your garden?? Im a new gardener and im asking so i dont make any mistakes? Thanks for sharing
Yes you are right
Don’t do that
Hey Jacques, I'm also growing asparagus from seed and it has been extremely vigorous. Unfortunately I need to move the raised bed. How and when should I go about moving the asparagus? Zone 8a
You should be able to dig it out while its dormant and transplant the crowns as you would if you bought crowns instead.
Looks like you need ladybug's
Hey Jacques, why isn't Kevin helping you... U always help him out
The reality is that he is way way way more busy day to day than I am. So we do garden together and he comes over but when it comes to making videos together we get a lot more done together while working at his place. I have a lot more time to take things piece by piece.
Why not give the asparagus to your chicken flock for some added protein and some fresh greens?
Honestly would have been a good idea! I sometimes forget I have that option still !
Planted 3 plants in a small row of 10 cm wide. Think I made a mistake there
I would definitely recommend giving them more space
Going to give it a try for a year, have no other place for them
YUCK YCUK that’s so many Aphids 😂
Sounds like a pain.. I just bought some.. we shall see. I’m a good gardener…
I am concerned about the aphids. I have never had them on mine. Aphids mean something is wrong.
I think it is because I allowed the bed to dry out to much and they became water stressed towards the end of the year.
@@jacquesinthegarden According to Burpee Seeds, asparagus prefers drier soil and should not be watered too much. It is in their 2019 catalog (Maybe 2018).
Ants can carry aphids to the plant
UGH seeing all those aphids makes me itchy. Also, maybe wear a mask so you're not inhaling them 🤢
: Holds up a plant that's about 2 feet taller than him. "This might be 6 feet in height".
😂 may have added a foot or so to my height
I have a question.. why do people harvest the way they do? IE: they cut cabbage and what not at the base instead of ripping out the entire root? Wouldn't it be easier to just rip out the entire plant also you can plant something else in it's place? I just find it foolish to just something at the base and leave the root in place in the garden.. to me that's a waste of space now because something is still in the same spot.. I'll never understand that...
It’s to preserve soil structure and the roots will just rot in place
Dito to Mike’s comment also the decomposed material is organic matter that feeds the soil. I left the root of my beans in place and planted garlic in the same container.
The rot and add nutrition to the soil and hold it in place. You can plant the next crop right next to the old stem. You just have to think about how you are going to do your rotation, what would be most appropriate to go in next. If you are in a very cold climate and will just be covering with mulch or a cover crop in the winter, you will see even more breakdown of the old plants by spring.
meh.. i think I'll just keep ripping out the entire plants as i have been doing only because it works for me - (my raised bed is only 8x4x1, so i want to make as much use of it as i can and removing the roots works for me as i go.. also, i strictly use Mel's mix).. but ty for the responses.. i just curious as to why people were doing it that way is all. ty again for the answers. :)
Try it sometime you may find that throwing a skim coat of compost or potting soil over your old roots and planting direct sown crops into that improves your yield and disease resistance and water retention and weed pressure .After a few seasons the soil will take on a life of its own. But I do feel you, it’s tough growing in one small bed. Some conventional practices won’t work for you if your growing space is only 32sq ft even if they have larger scale benefits
That's ONE asparagus plant??
It is about 8!
"Continuously providing" that statement is so misleading when describing Asparagus. Asparagus provides such a short harvest of two or three weeks, and low yield per square foot that I gave up on it a long time ago due to space. That and you can buy the same quality at a farmers market during the harvest period. If I had the room maybe.
It might depend on the region because I was able to harvest asparagus for well over a month
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No.
Go AWAY
SHEESH!