I live in NW Louisiana. This past summer I went 63 days with no rain and 45 days of 100+ heat. My asparagus grew to be 6 feet tall as 3 year old plants. I fertilize well, planted them protected from evening sun and watered when I remembered. I have plants native to my area that didn’t do as well as these asparagus did. Really impressed.
My asparagus bed (6 yo) is a terrace in my veg garden. I'm zone 4b (zone 3 is north of I-394, I am 4 miles south of i-394). I use grass clippings for mulch, they do break down rapidly and the nutrients are feeding the asparagus. My first taste was the second week in May, we've had a long rough winter. My small bed 4'X10' supplies me and the neighbors. Asparagus and Rhubarb...... wouldn't be spring without them. (Rhubarb plants are 35 yo)
Great advice! I established my asparagus bed sixteen years ago and follow a regimen exactly as you've described. It has produced faithfully since I put it in.
That's awesome! 16 years, wow. It's funny to think that when you were planting your asparagus, I was in my second year of college and you're still eating off of the planting 😅
I do the same but cut mine back before they go brown as I was told that the energy goes to the roots then and strengthens them. Some of mine are larger than my thumb.
@@edmonddebourbon8543How would the energy go to the roots if you cut the leaves before they become brown? They grow brown because they are pulling all activity and energy into the roots. Or what am i missing in yout strategy?
We are near Kingston On. We do that too but I have dug up a roadside patch that was delish and replanted in the garden. Got 10 huge crowns. Doing amazing. I add rock salt in the winter because salting of the roads is why they love the roadside.
Thank you for inspiring and sharing. Just want to share an experience with all asparagus lovers. When you water your asparagus, you can water with oregano water. It gives the asparagus more vigor and protects against fungal attacks and grey mould. You add the spice organo 3 teaspoons to a liter of water and let it stand for 4 days. Then you can water. Water with plain water for three waterings and then with oregano. You will get nice asparagus.
Just used some home made Solomon's Gold fertilizer and the first of my 3 year old leaf mold. I will also use some of the compost coming out of my new chicken coop. I highly recommend interplanting strawberries with your asparagus. They grow together well and you get another yield from the same space. This is a great video. Very well organized and informative. Thanks!
I've heard they make good companions. However, I'd avoid that in a raised bed situation. The reason why is because strawberry plants die off in about 2-3 seasons, and they have a ton of runners, so strawberry patches require active management. I prefer not digging up my raised beds as often as strawberries require. If you're going in an earth bed or as a perimeter crop, I think it's probably a good use of space. Squeezing this all into a 4'x6' raised bed wouldn't work in my situation.
Here in South Texas we rarely get enough cold weather to kill back the ferns. So I cut them back in the late winter still green. We still get a good harvest.
Great info! Growing asparagus has always been a mystery to me. You were more thorough in your explanations than anyone else I have seen. Just subscribed.
Thanks! Asparagus take some patience up front, but once they establish, you get food for a long time. They're like a fruit tree. An upfront investment pays dividends for decades.
I let my asparagus bed winter over here the piedmont of NC. I cut the ferns back add 10-10-10 fertilizer and 2 inches of peat moss. Has worked great for me.
Dale will abandon his food for a walk. As much as he is food-obsessed, walks are his favorite thing on Earth. The same old 1.2 mile walk we've taken him on 300 times - the same old boring loop - he goes absolutely crazy for. It's just amazing to see real, pure joy.
I learned a hard lesson whenI tried to grow asparagus, I harvested them the first season and they never grew back. I want to grow them again and with this new knowledge I feel confident I’ll be successful!
I'm in South Florida zone 10b, and I'm growing Mary Washington asparagus, and it's doing quite well. There is another variety that does well down here too. I always thought they were a better cold climate plant, but was encouraged to try them after speaking to some other zone 10 Florida gardener's. Glad I did.
Hi, great topic and video. My asparagus seeded again and this year i have lots of baby ferns from asparagus. I did not know that i needed to stop harvesting twrds summer, thank you
Dale is so precious! Great video. Makes sense to me now, why I waited forever for my asparagus to come up last year. I mulched it heavily, and had to wait till April for it to start. Same zone (8a)
Dale is a good boy. We lucked out with him. Yes, the downside of mulch is that the soil stays cooler longer, and asparagus begin growing based on soil temperatures. Last year, my bed was fresh with no mulch, so the topsoil heated up quickly. This year, I want to delay it just a little because we got a few late frosts that turned the initial spears into mush. You can use mulch to time things, but too much means a delayed harvest.
You are my favorite gardening YT-er because you actually answer questions 🙂 I have some asparagus crowns, but our beds are not ready yet ( stump removal process is in the way). Can I just plant them this year and then transplant them in their permanent spot next year? How much sun/ shade do they tolerate?
I have started asparagus from seed and then transplanted them several years later. Haven't moved established crowns, but they sell the dry root in the store, so they must be somewhat hardy.
Great tutorial! I hope to add asparagus to out edible landscape in the next year so.🙂 Y'all have trained Dale well! Hopefully y'all had a beautiful walk.🙂
*Definitely* do so. They are cheap, easy to grow, produce for 20+ years and have few pest and disease problems. They make good border plants around a perimeter if you don't have the space. If you need a source, check my Amazon Storefront under BARE ROOT PLANTS. I buy mine from Hand Picked Nursery. He's a semi-local-to-me military vet here in North Carolina. The roots are enormous, so he's a good guy to support.
Been watching your videos lately. Very informative. Even though I have been gardening for a long time I still have some things I haven't grown before and this is where I find your information helpful. I have been waiting for your fig cuttings. Please let me know when they go on sale. We are almost neighbors so your growing zone is the same as mine. I live in Holly Ridge. I have 3 1/2 acres that I am turning into Gardens and Greenhouses. Might even be getting into Hydroponics. Would really be interested in collaborating with you since we're neighbors. Thanks, Bob
Just in time for me!!!! Thank you so much for this video. I grow asparagus for 4-5 years maybe longer and they are fabulous, never pay too much attention to them,(well I use wood chips in the garden) this year, tomorrow I will take care of it.
Glad to hear it was timely! Asparagus is so easy and low maintenance overall. This should be the only thing you have to do to them pretty much all year aside from harvest the spears. For an hour's worth of work a season, you get all that food for so long!
Was planning on using compost and worm casting extract along with a few doses of comfrey tea during the summer. I also will cover plant strawberries this spring after I fill the remainder of the bed with this winters compost. Looking forward to next year when I can actually have flavorful asparagus again. Enjoy your enthusiasm in your videos.
I've heard strawberries make good companions to asparagus, but when you say "bed," do you mean an earth bed or a raised bed? I'd caution you against planting too much in a raised bed. Strawberry plants send a lot of runners and also die off quickly, so you'll need to actively manage your strawberries. That may be too much to jam into a raised bed. If it's an earth bed situation, that gives you a lot more flexibility.
I was advised to cut down the stalks before they seed. This did produce more new growth supposedly invigorating the crowns. It's mid May. Should I now let them go to seed and dry before cutting back? The info you gave sure completed the picture for me. My plants are 4 yrs old. They persevered in spite of my neglect! I thank you for the lessons.
Hey, neighbor! You're only about 40 mins from me! Have you ever been to Dale's? I laughed out loud since Dale is my dog, so every time I see anything with the name Dale's I crack up.
Lol. Our asparagus patch pre-dates me, and I've been here on this property (Western CT, zone 6.5) for 40 years! I've never fertilized the crowns, never mulched them, and my pruning of the ferns is done with my zero turn mower while cleaning up hardwood leaves in late October, well after killing frosts. This season ('23) we had the best harvest ever, and by Memorial Day weekend I've stopped harvesting and letting the many sprouts go to fern. Maybe this Fall I'll try your method - but I don't want to spoil them! 😁
The mulch layer is to protect the crown from being frozen during cold winter months, you can rake the mulch layer away in the spring after chances of frost have passed.
Definitely give it a go! It produces for decades and can be planted just about anywhere space allows and makes a great "border crop." If you need help finding varieties, I have them linked in my Amazon Storefront under BARE ROOT PLANTS. I suggest buying from Hand Picked Nursery. The crowns are enormous, and he's a local-to-me military veteran.
I ordered from the vendor in your Amazon link... 10 Mary Washington and 10 purple pacific. They almost immediately took off with multiple spears each. Preparing for a cold week that could have our lowest temperatures all winter after a very warm month.
That's great to hear! Thank you for ordering through my link; I appreciate it. The asparagus should tolerate the cold just fine. Most varieties are Zone 3 hardy, which is practically Arctic!
I live in Vermont,1 started plants from seed last year. I bought more crowns this year to fill one raised bed. The ones from seed sprouted first.waiting for the other ones. I have 2 years to wait for my first harvest
Mom may need to try some home grown asparagus! There are people that don't like grocery store tomatoes (for good reason) that love home grown summer tomatoes. There's a pretty big difference between what's in the store and what's grown at home.
I live in the tropics so I get year round harvest from my asparagus patch, harvesting for a month and then letting it grow for 2 to 3 months before the next harvest. My question is when should I apply fertilizer? Before or after harvest? I appreciate you informative videos 🙂
Yes, you can. It will break down more slowly than most mulches, so it won't be as effective at adding organic matter to your beds, so keep that mind. If you need to add organic matter, add a layer of compost underneath the mulch.
This video was one of the best I have viewed. One question: I have asparagus plants coming up all over my yard. How to get rid of the ones that are in the way?
Question: I recently learned that rhubarb should be pulled, not cut, to prevent infection/disease/rot. Then I accidentally pulled an entire spear of asparagus when harvesting (so the green spear and 2 inches of white spear that was previously underground). I started to wonder if there was any correlation between harvesting the two plants and if pulling spears is ok, or is cutting/snapping proffered for crown/root health?
I planted my crowns on May 4th this year. Just now my asparagus has come out. I live in Georgia, zone 8 a. Do I need to fertilize them. Thank you for your time!!!!
Another wonderful video, thank you! Do you cover the ground after you fertilize and munch it? or do you leave it open and let the rain and snow from the winter cover it? I saw the blue tarp coving the bed next to it. This is the first winter for my asparagus, don't know what to do. I am in WA state.
I love Dale’s outdoor bed! We’ve been wanting to get something like this for Tonks for the summer. Do you leave it outside or only bring it out when needed? Great video, and thank you for explaining considerations we might want to have if we live further north. I’ve ordered crowns and am trying to decide where to put them. We recently learned we have several deer that like to sleep in our yard and eat our bushes, so our garden plan needs to change to include fencing now. I like that you’re showing us what you do through the year too, so we get an idea of chores that need to be done as prep for a good gardening year.
We leave Dale's outdoor bed outside all year. It has no problem handling the winters here. However, the sun beat up the cover. It used to have a roof, but our nuclear sunshine here eventually ate through it after two summers. Basically, it's good for about 2 years if you leave it outside 365 days a year. I'm sure you can extend its life a lot if you bring it inside during the winter and move it into the shadiest areas during summer, but...I literally have no shade AT ALL in my yard in June and July. The yard is south-facing, and the sun here is so high in June and July that there are no shadows anymore. If you're interested in this bed, I do have it linked in my Amazon Storefront under "Dale's Favorite Things." I put some of his favorite toys and other items in there that he absolutely loves. A lot of gardening is trial and error. Things pop up over time. I was pest free the first season, but then eventually some rabbits found my yard, and now birds are starting to learn my location. As you get discovered as a food oasis in a desert, more and more critters will come after you. I had terrible ants when I first moved in, and I defeated them, but now for the first time I have a couple moles! It's never a dull moment 😬
I have the asparagus bed mulched with strawberries- this weekend I’ll be feeding them and spreading compost and straw mulch. No harvesting this is only the first spring since planting them last year. But my ferns grew similar in size to yours.
I've heard asparagus and strawberries make good companions. Fitting, since they're both the first two things to come to life in the spring. I'm going to try and sneak a few spears this season - only a few. I really want to try them.
I enjoy your videos and have found them very useful. Thank you. You seem to grow practically every type of food there is. Just curious how you are able to grow all of these in a backyard (and front yard). Are you rotating crops depending on season, or do you have dedicated areas for each crop? I think it would be a really useful video to show how and when you use the same bed or space for different crops in different seasons, as well as how you prepare the bed for each type of crop, how you know when to plant, how you plan it out, etc. Many of us are land constrained and trying to figure out how to maximize the space we do have available. Thanks.
I have made videos on this in the past, but they get buried over time. Some things, like sweet potatoes, herbs, asparagus, etc. will be grown in the same place year-over-year. Disease-prone plants like tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and peppers are rotated with lettuce, broccoli, peas, and root crops, but rotation isn't as necessary for small backyard gardens like it is in commercial monocropping operations. A true backyard garden is a polyculture, because you're growing many things in a small square footage. Even if you isolate one crop per bed, it's still a polyculture. Basically, you should have a journal, mark what you grow where, and plan ahead. I try to lay things out in the fall for the next season, and I make spreadsheets on what I am going to grow the next year in December.
Thank you for all of that information, I will use that starting this Spring. What do you advise if you turn out to have female plants among the rest of the asparagus plants. We planted 25 crowns in the spring of 2020 and last year I realized that 3 of them were female plants.
Some people recommend cutting them out, but I haven't decided yet. I only had one plant that had berries on them, so they must be strongly male dominated. I would let them grow for a couple seasons and see how things go. If you are getting good production, you may not have to do anything. If you feel it's hindering your production, you may want to remove them and replace them, or remove them and allow the male's to spread more and take over.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thank you for your suggestions. I will let them stay - That would be better than replacing them with younger plants that won't be ready for use for 2 or 3 years.
Not saying this is the wrong way but I was taught and many do it the way I do. When ferns are brown in fall cut 1" below ground level, cover with about 2" of compost and then a layer of mulch. This way it will feed the soil over winter and come spring you have already have a jump start on the breaking down of nutrients. My bed is 22 years old and still producing well. Will be digging up 1/3 of the bed this fall and planting new crowns and splitting what is dug up.
However do you keep the soil lose in your bedding. I do everything in your video and the ground is so compacted so.e spears come up crooked trying to poke thru. I've lightly hoped the ground in early spring before the spears emerge. It doesn't do much. Any suggestions? Maybe a boatload of worms? It's a raised bed 15" deep filled with topsoil humus mix 4 years ago. When asparagus was planted.
Great video! I bought three purple passion crowns on Etsy back in June 2022 I’m zone 9 a for reference (know they may not grow well) trying it anyways, so far so good, all three are super large fluffy soft ferns and happy. I’m not sure what to do for winters here it may or may not freeze. Anyone here successful at asparagus in northeast fl? I just love asparagus so much I had to try it here.
All energy early season go out from the crowns. Crowns have all the nutrients they need stored from last years ferns. Any excess early feeding, only risk making the harvest woody/thready. Energy start turning back to the crowns when the first ferns start developing. That is when you should feed your plants. Not before. Please adjust for your next video. B.t.w. I always give a like to your videos!👏
It rarely ever freezes or gets frost in sw florida, zone 10a, mine are really not going brown. A couple little ferns turned brown but it's still a good 99% green and it's Jan. 10, 2025. I'm clueless when to wack them down.
Brilliant disposal of fronds by burning! My crowns are year 1 too and I didn't look forward to packing them off to the landfill but didn't want them in my area in case of asp beetle. Thanks for another great idea! Thanks too for sharing how you prep your bed for the upcoming year. My question is how many times do you plan to fertilize your asp bed this year? Thank you and Dale! :)
Thank you! These galvanized trash cans are excellent. They're only about $35 with the lid, so you can store your leftover cuttings, pruned, leaves, weeds and other things until it's full, then set it on fire and have yourself a nice pile of ash for your garden while killing all weeds and pests and not filling up your trash cans. I will probably amend the bed with a few handfuls of the organic granules every 4-6 weeks. Also, I will monitor the bed and make sure there is enough compost and mulch to keep the weed pressure to a minimum. Once all the asparagus spears break ground, I will add another 1-2 inches of mulch. It's too early to add that much mulch, because it'll keep my soil too cool and delay the spears waking up.
Thank you so much for making this video, I just got done watching your other one when you planted these… question, I’m in central indiana zone 5 and I’m thinking of making a special deep bed this fall for asparagus but I’m wondering if I should wait until early spring to actually plant them or if planting in the fall is actually helpful 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ thank you!
I planted my asparagus in October here in zone 6. Worked great for me. patch is now over 20 years old. It should work for you. You'll get jump on your harvest instead of waiting until spring.
I have rain barrels for my drip irrigation, but that only holds 120 gallons. Anything I hand-water, or when by barrels run dry, is just regular town water from the spigot.
End of May in Minnesota. Last year‘s stocks were cut off at 1 foot off the ground after they died. Should I prune them now down to next to the ground like you did in this video? Or should I leave them be?
I live in coastal MS (8b/a). My asparagus ferns have never died back. Even though we've had a couple of very cold nights and some severe freezes the past few years. What should I do with mine? Thanks!
Thanks so much! I never pruned my asparagus (first year) after it went dormant but now the first spear has come through (so exciting!) - would you recommend pruning the dead fern now so more spears can come through? Thanks again! 🌱 Ps - It's winter here in Perth, Western Australia 🍄
Asparagus are classed as lollies not ferns. My asparagus grow all year round and get more than 2 meters high. I wait till the mid winter to use my hedge trimmer to cut them off at ground level. A week later they start sprouting. Yum. By spring they are about finished and I let them grow again.
I'm in California and I have not pruned my 1st year asparagus because they are still mostly green even though it is the middle of January. What should I do? Do I prune them anyway, or will they eventually turn all brown and dry like yours?
This was really good, BUT I have a problem you didn't discuss. After my husband put in our asparagus bed 25 years ago, he did not weed it, and over many years, weeds have become a big problem. For at least 10 years, I've been weeding the bed in the spring, and that has helped a lot, but I always wonder about what I'm doing. Is there a way to remove well-established weeds? I've been wanting to know more, but no one ever addresses this concern. Can you help?
I find asparagus spread about on my farm, along fence rows and creeks. Can I transplant them to my garden? If so when is a good time of year? I'm in zone 6b
Are they wild asparagus? Asparagus is native to North America. If they are simply crowns that you have planted that have spread or seeded themselves to spread, sure, you can relocate them. If they are wild asparagus plants, I don't know much about them and how edible they are.
Are you in a location where frosts and freezes don't occur and they stay green all year? If that is the case, that may be the one time you want to remove them while still green, because the spears are going to start breaking ground soon.
@@TheMillennialGardener I'm in 10a Southern California coastal. We get a few frosts. this week it's expected to be a low in the upper 30's *F . I will chop them down this week probably as I have seen a few new spears popping up and immediately ferning out.
So i planted my 2 year old crowns last year. Used fertilizer and bone meal in the trench when i planted. I never used anything else all year. I cut them back in November when they ferned and became brown. I did not mulch over winter. Come now April i have alot of asparagus coming up and i do not plan to harvest again. I will let them go to fern and cut back after they brown. My question is...can i mulch them now with straw? Should i add any fertilizer? Again they are growing beautifully and big with only the mushroom mulch soil and the fertilizer and bone meal they were planted in.
With first year asparagus, let it grow completely undisturbed all year, except for regular fertilizing with organic granulated fertilizer like shown in this video. Don't touch it until frost or freeze kills the ferns. After the ferns are browned, you can then cut them down as shown in this video. This asparagus is only 1 year old, so you can follow what I did exactly.
@@jobird354 Ah, I gotcha! It may take a few frosts or freezes to knock the asparagus back. For me, they were still green after the first couple lights frosts. Be patient and wait for the ferns to become brown and lose all their green. Then, you can cut them down.
asparagus roots do you know they go down in eart 4 to 5 feet ? in ordewr to let them trive dig 5 feet then put leather cut off tick cardboard in small pieces mixed with soil , my father made such a bed in 1974 i am steel eating from the original root from italy
Do you recommend a mulch layer after planting the asparagus once the crowns are several inches tall? You didn't mention that in your planting video from last year unless you count the compost layer you added. I usually mulch all of my beds to keep weeds suppressed.
I recommend mulch 365 days a year. Always mulch your asparagus. Not only does it keep weeds out of your beds, but it provides even moisture and a constant stream of slowly decaying organic matter, while attracting worms and all sorts of beneficial microbes. Mulch is your friend.
Saw a video. The gardener said to break the spears off at the crown. He said if you just cut it off close to the soil level. The crown thinks there is still a spear, and will not replace it with another spear.
Are you talking about the old, dead growth? If so, I don't see the need to do so. That 1" portion sticking up is dead growth, and now it's buried 2 inches underneath compost and mulch.
Yes if you cut it just below the soil that stem will regrow. Never snap the above the soil as it kills that stalk. I've over 50 years with asparagus and it's a big no no to snap them off. People are giving poor information. Just remember to let a few go to seed each year to reseed the area and you will be giving it away eventually cuz it will be crazy thick.
Yes. The crowns you get are going to be a couple years old when you order them. The reason why you must do it this way is because no matter how old the crowns are that you buy, they still take 2-3 seasons to sit and establish. What you're waiting for is for the crowns to establish and the roots to take hold and grow, so you must always follow the same procedure and not take a significant harvest of your asparagus until the 3rd season.
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I live in NW Louisiana. This past summer I went 63 days with no rain and 45 days of 100+ heat. My asparagus grew to be 6 feet tall as 3 year old plants. I fertilize well, planted them protected from evening sun and watered when I remembered. I have plants native to my area that didn’t do as well as these asparagus did. Really impressed.
My asparagus bed (6 yo) is a terrace in my veg garden. I'm zone 4b (zone 3 is north of I-394, I am 4 miles south of i-394). I use grass clippings for mulch, they do break down rapidly and the nutrients are feeding the asparagus. My first taste was the second week in May, we've had a long rough winter. My small bed 4'X10' supplies me and the neighbors. Asparagus and Rhubarb...... wouldn't be spring without them. (Rhubarb plants are 35 yo)
Great advice! I established my asparagus bed sixteen years ago and follow a regimen exactly as you've described. It has produced faithfully since I put it in.
That's awesome! 16 years, wow. It's funny to think that when you were planting your asparagus, I was in my second year of college and you're still eating off of the planting 😅
@@TheMillennialGardener It's a little-known fact that I'm 309 years old but asparagus has kept me youthful in appearance (if not pretty).
I do the same but cut mine back before they go brown as I was told that the energy goes to the roots then and strengthens them. Some of mine are larger than my thumb.
@@edmonddebourbon8543How would the energy go to the roots if you cut the leaves before they become brown? They grow brown because they are pulling all activity and energy into the roots. Or what am i missing in yout strategy?
I know this is an old video. But, 16 years! That’s amazing.
I enjoyed your video very much. When I lived in Ontario Canada, we used to cut wild asparagus growing along back roads. What a difference in flavour.
Wild asparagus...pretty cool!
We are near Kingston On.
We do that too but I have dug up a roadside patch that was delish and replanted in the garden. Got 10 huge crowns.
Doing amazing.
I add rock salt in the winter because salting of the roads is why they love the roadside.
We bought a house last year with a neglected (health reasons) but established asparagus bed. This is a very helpful video. Thanks
Thank you for inspiring and sharing. Just want to share an experience with all asparagus lovers. When you water your asparagus, you can water with oregano water. It gives the asparagus more vigor and protects against fungal attacks and grey mould. You add the spice organo 3 teaspoons to a liter of water and let it stand for 4 days. Then you can water. Water with plain water for three waterings and then with oregano. You will get nice asparagus.
Thank you! I had no idea about an over wintered beetle. Great idea to 🔥 it.
I'm not sure how common they are, but better safe than sorry in this case.
Aaaaargh. My doggo is also called Dale. And the end of this video got him very excited.
My asparagus started popping up 2 weeks ago. This is year 3 so I’m finally getting some asparagus.
Very nice! Are you pretty far south? If you're seeing spears already, you must be south of me.
Just used some home made Solomon's Gold fertilizer and the first of my 3 year old leaf mold. I will also use some of the compost coming out of my new chicken coop. I highly recommend interplanting strawberries with your asparagus. They grow together well and you get another yield from the same space. This is a great video. Very well organized and informative. Thanks!
I've heard they make good companions. However, I'd avoid that in a raised bed situation. The reason why is because strawberry plants die off in about 2-3 seasons, and they have a ton of runners, so strawberry patches require active management. I prefer not digging up my raised beds as often as strawberries require. If you're going in an earth bed or as a perimeter crop, I think it's probably a good use of space. Squeezing this all into a 4'x6' raised bed wouldn't work in my situation.
@@TheMillennialGardener I have my asparagus in the ground not a bed so I haven't run up against that. Interesting.
@@jlazelle1 if you're in-ground, you probably won't have a problem. In a raised bed, things get tight quickly.
I use raw black wool as mulch, it's brilliant
Here in South Texas we rarely get enough cold weather to kill back the ferns. So I cut them back in the late winter still green. We still get a good harvest.
Great info! Growing asparagus has always been a mystery to me. You were more thorough in your explanations than anyone else I have seen. Just subscribed.
Very informational and valuable as well.One most be patient establishing
Thanks! Asparagus take some patience up front, but once they establish, you get food for a long time. They're like a fruit tree. An upfront investment pays dividends for decades.
I let my asparagus bed winter over here the piedmont of NC. I cut the ferns back add 10-10-10 fertilizer and 2 inches of peat moss. Has worked great for me.
It's the magic word 🤣😂.. "let's go for a walk" I love it!!
Dale will abandon his food for a walk. As much as he is food-obsessed, walks are his favorite thing on Earth. The same old 1.2 mile walk we've taken him on 300 times - the same old boring loop - he goes absolutely crazy for. It's just amazing to see real, pure joy.
@@TheMillennialGardener that's fuuny! Lol.. But I can understand, I got two little ones whom do the same. Walk time is magic I tell ya... Yup!
I learned a hard lesson whenI tried to grow asparagus, I harvested them the first season and they never grew back. I want to grow them again and with this new knowledge I feel confident I’ll be successful!
My ferns always grow high then get bent and breaks. Does that mean my root is dead?
Mine are doing the same
I'm in South Florida zone 10b, and I'm growing Mary Washington asparagus, and it's doing quite well. There is another variety that does well down here too. I always thought they were a better cold climate plant, but was encouraged to try them after speaking to some other zone 10 Florida gardener's. Glad I did.
Hi, great topic and video.
My asparagus seeded again and this year i have lots of baby ferns from asparagus. I did not know that i needed to stop harvesting twrds summer, thank you
Dale is so precious!
Great video. Makes sense to me now, why I waited forever for my asparagus to come up last year. I mulched it heavily, and had to wait till April for it to start. Same zone (8a)
Dale is a good boy. We lucked out with him. Yes, the downside of mulch is that the soil stays cooler longer, and asparagus begin growing based on soil temperatures. Last year, my bed was fresh with no mulch, so the topsoil heated up quickly. This year, I want to delay it just a little because we got a few late frosts that turned the initial spears into mush. You can use mulch to time things, but too much means a delayed harvest.
You are my favorite gardening YT-er because you actually answer questions 🙂 I have some asparagus crowns, but our beds are not ready yet ( stump removal process is in the way). Can I just plant them this year and then transplant them in their permanent spot next year? How much sun/ shade do they tolerate?
Here in France they grow wild in nature in the Gard zone, where the ancient city of Nimes is. Warm, full sun, dryish zone.
I have started asparagus from seed and then transplanted them several years later. Haven't moved established crowns, but they sell the dry root in the store, so they must be somewhat hardy.
Also we have some in partial shade (filtered shade under trees in raised beds) to full sun.
Thanks for video! Growing asparagus in San Diego 2nd year. Subscribed!
Thanks for information
Great tutorial! I hope to add asparagus to out edible landscape in the next year so.🙂
Y'all have trained Dale well! Hopefully y'all had a beautiful walk.🙂
*Definitely* do so. They are cheap, easy to grow, produce for 20+ years and have few pest and disease problems. They make good border plants around a perimeter if you don't have the space. If you need a source, check my Amazon Storefront under BARE ROOT PLANTS. I buy mine from Hand Picked Nursery. He's a semi-local-to-me military vet here in North Carolina. The roots are enormous, so he's a good guy to support.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks!🙂
Been watching your videos lately. Very informative. Even though I have been gardening for a long time I still have some things I haven't grown before and this is where I find your information helpful. I have been waiting for your fig cuttings. Please let me know when they go on sale. We are almost neighbors so your growing zone is the same as mine. I live in Holly Ridge. I have 3 1/2 acres that I am turning into Gardens and Greenhouses. Might even be getting into Hydroponics. Would really be interested in collaborating with you since we're neighbors. Thanks, Bob
very concise and informative, good job
Just in time for me!!!! Thank you so much for this video. I grow asparagus for 4-5 years maybe longer and they are fabulous, never pay too much attention to them,(well I use wood chips in the garden) this year, tomorrow I will take care of it.
Glad to hear it was timely! Asparagus is so easy and low maintenance overall. This should be the only thing you have to do to them pretty much all year aside from harvest the spears. For an hour's worth of work a season, you get all that food for so long!
Great video, I just planted some crowns and based it on your previous video. Can’t wait to do this pruning next year.
Awesome! Best of luck! Asparagus is awesome - so easy to grow and produces for so long. They're the vegetable equivalent to a fruit tree!
Good thing I watched this. I didn't know most of this info. Thank you.
You're welcome!
Thanks for the very informative video. exactly what i was looking for!
Thanks for sharing this information 👍 and it’s always nice to see Dale 😊
You're welcome! Thank you for watching!
great video but all 3 of my dogs got excited when you mentioned "go for a walk" LOL
Hello from zone 4.👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼
Hi!👋
Was planning on using compost and worm casting extract along with a few doses of comfrey tea during the summer. I also will cover plant strawberries this spring after I fill the remainder of the bed with this winters compost.
Looking forward to next year when I can actually have flavorful asparagus again.
Enjoy your enthusiasm in your videos.
I've heard strawberries make good companions to asparagus, but when you say "bed," do you mean an earth bed or a raised bed? I'd caution you against planting too much in a raised bed. Strawberry plants send a lot of runners and also die off quickly, so you'll need to actively manage your strawberries. That may be too much to jam into a raised bed. If it's an earth bed situation, that gives you a lot more flexibility.
Awesome video, strait to the important teaching points!!! Just subscribed!
Such a great explanation. Very clear, simple and helpful. Thank you!
You're very welcome!
Excellent information, thank you so very much for the video.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
I was advised to cut down the stalks before they seed. This did produce more new growth supposedly invigorating the crowns. It's mid May. Should I now let them go to seed and dry before cutting back?
The info you gave sure completed the picture for me. My plants are 4 yrs old. They persevered in spite of my neglect! I thank you for the lessons.
Just started watching you, love'n it
THANX
I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you for watching!
Thank you for that info. I really appreciate it. Hello from the big city of Lake Waccamaw!
Hey, neighbor! You're only about 40 mins from me! Have you ever been to Dale's? I laughed out loud since Dale is my dog, so every time I see anything with the name Dale's I crack up.
That was just excellent 👌 clear and concise information 👌. Thanks😊
Really good information thanks
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
I learn so much from your videos, thanks so much for providing details.
I'm glad to hear that! Thanks so much for watching.
Lol. Our asparagus patch pre-dates me, and I've been here on this property (Western CT, zone 6.5) for 40 years! I've never fertilized the crowns, never mulched them, and my pruning of the ferns is done with my zero turn mower while cleaning up hardwood leaves in late October, well after killing frosts. This season ('23) we had the best harvest ever, and by Memorial Day weekend I've stopped harvesting and letting the many sprouts go to fern.
Maybe this Fall I'll try your method - but I don't want to spoil them! 😁
Biochar is amazing for the soil!
I’ve been wanting to see a video like this! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
Yes I found this video is great
Thank you! I appreciate you watching!
The mulch layer is to protect the crown from being frozen during cold winter months, you can rake the mulch layer away in the spring after chances of frost have passed.
Thanks for the info I'll have to try some
Definitely give it a go! It produces for decades and can be planted just about anywhere space allows and makes a great "border crop." If you need help finding varieties, I have them linked in my Amazon Storefront under BARE ROOT PLANTS. I suggest buying from Hand Picked Nursery. The crowns are enormous, and he's a local-to-me military veteran.
@@TheMillennialGardener border crop that sounds interesting. I will purchase from your storefront thanks again
@@pondholloworchards I appreciate it!
Oh phew! It’s Jan 30, York, SC, I haven’t done this yet 😬 thank you for this video!
You're welcome!
This will be very useful for me, planted 16 plants a month ago 😀
Outstanding! They grow quickly, but be sure not to harvest them that first year. Let them root well.
I ordered from the vendor in your Amazon link... 10 Mary Washington and 10 purple pacific. They almost immediately took off with multiple spears each. Preparing for a cold week that could have our lowest temperatures all winter after a very warm month.
That's great to hear! Thank you for ordering through my link; I appreciate it. The asparagus should tolerate the cold just fine. Most varieties are Zone 3 hardy, which is practically Arctic!
Great video 🎉
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks
I live in Vermont,1 started plants from seed last year. I bought more crowns this year to fill one raised bed. The ones from seed sprouted first.waiting for the other ones. I have 2 years to wait for my first harvest
Asparagus roots go very deep, they need a very deep bed or at least hav no barrier at the bottom. i had 100 plants in Wisconsin and gave tons away!
Dad loves Asparagus but mom does not. 😂 Great advice here and I see Dale got in on the action!!! 😊😊
Mom may need to try some home grown asparagus! There are people that don't like grocery store tomatoes (for good reason) that love home grown summer tomatoes. There's a pretty big difference between what's in the store and what's grown at home.
I live in the tropics so I get year round harvest from my asparagus patch, harvesting for a month and then letting it grow for 2 to 3 months before the next harvest. My question is when should I apply fertilizer? Before or after harvest? I appreciate you informative videos 🙂
Can I use cypress mulch in my asparagus bed thank you love your channel
Yes, you can. It will break down more slowly than most mulches, so it won't be as effective at adding organic matter to your beds, so keep that mind. If you need to add organic matter, add a layer of compost underneath the mulch.
This video was one of the best I have viewed. One question: I have asparagus plants coming up all over my yard. How to get rid of the ones that are in the way?
Thanks! The only way to get rid of asparagus is to dig it up. The roots are huge and can grow several feet deep.
Yep. Those beetles live in my asparagus so we need to share. Lucky thing is wasp, dragonflies and spiders like to eat asparagus beetles.
Question: I recently learned that rhubarb should be pulled, not cut, to prevent infection/disease/rot. Then I accidentally pulled an entire spear of asparagus when harvesting (so the green spear and 2 inches of white spear that was previously underground). I started to wonder if there was any correlation between harvesting the two plants and if pulling spears is ok, or is cutting/snapping proffered for crown/root health?
I planted my crowns on May 4th this year. Just now my asparagus has come out. I live in Georgia, zone 8 a. Do I need to fertilize them. Thank you for your time!!!!
Another wonderful video, thank you! Do you cover the ground after you fertilize and munch it? or do you leave it open and let the rain and snow from the winter cover it? I saw the blue tarp coving the bed next to it. This is the first winter for my asparagus, don't know what to do. I am in WA state.
Love it!
Thank you!
Excellent video. Quick question. I have a problem with Bermuda Grass invading my asparagus patch. Who wins...Asparagus or Bermuda Grass?
I love Dale’s outdoor bed! We’ve been wanting to get something like this for Tonks for the summer. Do you leave it outside or only bring it out when needed? Great video, and thank you for explaining considerations we might want to have if we live further north. I’ve ordered crowns and am trying to decide where to put them. We recently learned we have several deer that like to sleep in our yard and eat our bushes, so our garden plan needs to change to include fencing now. I like that you’re showing us what you do through the year too, so we get an idea of chores that need to be done as prep for a good gardening year.
We leave Dale's outdoor bed outside all year. It has no problem handling the winters here. However, the sun beat up the cover. It used to have a roof, but our nuclear sunshine here eventually ate through it after two summers. Basically, it's good for about 2 years if you leave it outside 365 days a year. I'm sure you can extend its life a lot if you bring it inside during the winter and move it into the shadiest areas during summer, but...I literally have no shade AT ALL in my yard in June and July. The yard is south-facing, and the sun here is so high in June and July that there are no shadows anymore. If you're interested in this bed, I do have it linked in my Amazon Storefront under "Dale's Favorite Things." I put some of his favorite toys and other items in there that he absolutely loves.
A lot of gardening is trial and error. Things pop up over time. I was pest free the first season, but then eventually some rabbits found my yard, and now birds are starting to learn my location. As you get discovered as a food oasis in a desert, more and more critters will come after you. I had terrible ants when I first moved in, and I defeated them, but now for the first time I have a couple moles! It's never a dull moment 😬
I have the asparagus bed mulched with strawberries- this weekend I’ll be feeding them and spreading compost and straw mulch. No harvesting this is only the first spring since planting them last year. But my ferns grew similar in size to yours.
I've heard asparagus and strawberries make good companions. Fitting, since they're both the first two things to come to life in the spring. I'm going to try and sneak a few spears this season - only a few. I really want to try them.
I also add generous bone meal every year
I enjoy your videos and have found them very useful. Thank you.
You seem to grow practically every type of food there is. Just curious how you are able to grow all of these in a backyard (and front yard). Are you rotating crops depending on season, or do you have dedicated areas for each crop? I think it would be a really useful video to show how and when you use the same bed or space for different crops in different seasons, as well as how you prepare the bed for each type of crop, how you know when to plant, how you plan it out, etc. Many of us are land constrained and trying to figure out how to maximize the space we do have available. Thanks.
I have made videos on this in the past, but they get buried over time. Some things, like sweet potatoes, herbs, asparagus, etc. will be grown in the same place year-over-year. Disease-prone plants like tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and peppers are rotated with lettuce, broccoli, peas, and root crops, but rotation isn't as necessary for small backyard gardens like it is in commercial monocropping operations. A true backyard garden is a polyculture, because you're growing many things in a small square footage. Even if you isolate one crop per bed, it's still a polyculture.
Basically, you should have a journal, mark what you grow where, and plan ahead. I try to lay things out in the fall for the next season, and I make spreadsheets on what I am going to grow the next year in December.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks for the detailed reply! Appreciate it. I will look for those older videos.
@@TheMillennialGardener j
Hi how often do you water the Asparaguses?
Did you ever add other plants in your asparagus bed? Like strawberries? How do you fertilize with other plants
Thank you for all of that information, I will use that starting this Spring.
What do you advise if you turn out to have female plants among the rest of the asparagus plants. We planted 25 crowns in the spring of 2020 and last year I realized that 3 of them were female plants.
Some people recommend cutting them out, but I haven't decided yet. I only had one plant that had berries on them, so they must be strongly male dominated. I would let them grow for a couple seasons and see how things go. If you are getting good production, you may not have to do anything. If you feel it's hindering your production, you may want to remove them and replace them, or remove them and allow the male's to spread more and take over.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thank you for your suggestions. I will let them stay - That would be better than replacing them with younger plants that won't be ready for use for 2 or 3 years.
Not saying this is the wrong way but I was taught and many do it the way I do.
When ferns are brown in fall cut 1" below ground level, cover with about 2" of compost and then a layer of mulch. This way it will feed the soil over winter and come spring you have already have a jump start on the breaking down of nutrients.
My bed is 22 years old and still producing well. Will be digging up 1/3 of the bed this fall and planting new crowns and splitting what is dug up.
However do you keep the soil lose in your bedding. I do everything in your video and the ground is so compacted so.e spears come up crooked trying to poke thru. I've lightly hoped the ground in early spring before the spears emerge. It doesn't do much. Any suggestions? Maybe a boatload of worms? It's a raised bed 15" deep filled with topsoil humus mix 4 years ago. When asparagus was planted.
Great video! I bought three purple passion crowns on Etsy back in June 2022 I’m zone 9 a for reference (know they may not grow well) trying it anyways, so far so good, all three are super large fluffy soft ferns and happy. I’m not sure what to do for winters here it may or may not freeze. Anyone here successful at asparagus in northeast fl? I just love asparagus so much I had to try it here.
All energy early season go out from the crowns.
Crowns have all the nutrients they need stored from last years ferns.
Any excess early feeding, only risk making the harvest woody/thready.
Energy start turning back to the crowns when the first ferns start developing.
That is when you should feed your plants. Not before.
Please adjust for your next video.
B.t.w. I always give a like to your videos!👏
It rarely ever freezes or gets frost in sw florida, zone 10a, mine are really not going brown. A couple little ferns turned brown but it's still a good 99% green and it's Jan. 10, 2025. I'm clueless when to wack them down.
How big and deep a raised bed do I need for 30 plants and how far apart?
Brilliant disposal of fronds by burning! My crowns are year 1 too and I didn't look forward to packing them off to the landfill but didn't want them in my area in case of asp beetle. Thanks for another great idea! Thanks too for sharing how you prep your bed for the upcoming year. My question is how many times do you plan to fertilize your asp bed this year? Thank you and Dale! :)
Thank you! These galvanized trash cans are excellent. They're only about $35 with the lid, so you can store your leftover cuttings, pruned, leaves, weeds and other things until it's full, then set it on fire and have yourself a nice pile of ash for your garden while killing all weeds and pests and not filling up your trash cans.
I will probably amend the bed with a few handfuls of the organic granules every 4-6 weeks. Also, I will monitor the bed and make sure there is enough compost and mulch to keep the weed pressure to a minimum. Once all the asparagus spears break ground, I will add another 1-2 inches of mulch. It's too early to add that much mulch, because it'll keep my soil too cool and delay the spears waking up.
Thank you so much for making this video, I just got done watching your other one when you planted these… question, I’m in central indiana zone 5 and I’m thinking of making a special deep bed this fall for asparagus but I’m wondering if I should wait until early spring to actually plant them or if planting in the fall is actually helpful 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ thank you!
I planted my asparagus in October here in zone 6. Worked great for me. patch is now over 20 years old. It should work for you. You'll get jump on your harvest instead of waiting until spring.
The Millennial Gardener, do you use water from the faucet, or do you use some kind of filter? Thank you for everything!
I have rain barrels for my drip irrigation, but that only holds 120 gallons. Anything I hand-water, or when by barrels run dry, is just regular town water from the spigot.
Thank you 🙏
End of May in Minnesota. Last year‘s stocks were cut off at 1 foot off the ground after they died. Should I prune them now down to next to the ground like you did in this video? Or should I leave them be?
I live in coastal MS (8b/a). My asparagus ferns have never died back. Even though we've had a couple of very cold nights and some severe freezes the past few years. What should I do with mine? Thanks!
Thanks so much! I never pruned my asparagus (first year) after it went dormant but now the first spear has come through (so exciting!) - would you recommend pruning the dead fern now so more spears can come through? Thanks again! 🌱
Ps - It's winter here in Perth, Western Australia 🍄
Asparagus are classed as lollies not ferns. My asparagus grow all year round and get more than 2 meters high. I wait till the mid winter to use my hedge trimmer to cut them off at ground level. A week later they start sprouting. Yum. By spring they are about finished and I let them grow again.
Thanks for watching.
I've read you should cut the female shoots during the growing season. True?
I'm in California and I have not pruned my 1st year asparagus because they are still mostly green even though it is the middle of January. What should I do? Do I prune them anyway, or will they eventually turn all brown and dry like yours?
This was really good, BUT I have a problem you didn't discuss. After my husband put in our asparagus bed 25 years ago, he did not weed it, and over many years, weeds have become a big problem. For at least 10 years, I've been weeding the bed in the spring, and that has helped a lot, but I always wonder about what I'm doing. Is there a way to remove well-established weeds? I've been wanting to know more, but no one ever addresses this concern. Can you help?
I find asparagus spread about on my farm, along fence rows and creeks. Can I transplant them to my garden? If so when is a good time of year? I'm in zone 6b
Are they wild asparagus? Asparagus is native to North America. If they are simply crowns that you have planted that have spread or seeded themselves to spread, sure, you can relocate them. If they are wild asparagus plants, I don't know much about them and how edible they are.
@@TheMillennialGardener Wild asparagus here in Canada is delicious, well worth transplanting.
If my ferns still have not gone dormant this winter should I just leave them?
Are you in a location where frosts and freezes don't occur and they stay green all year? If that is the case, that may be the one time you want to remove them while still green, because the spears are going to start breaking ground soon.
@@TheMillennialGardener I'm in 10a Southern California coastal. We get a few frosts. this week it's expected to be a low in the upper 30's *F . I will chop them down this week probably as I have seen a few new spears popping up and immediately ferning out.
So i planted my 2 year old crowns last year. Used fertilizer and bone meal in the trench when i planted. I never used anything else all year. I cut them back in November when they ferned and became brown. I did not mulch over winter. Come now April i have alot of asparagus coming up and i do not plan to harvest again. I will let them go to fern and cut back after they brown. My question is...can i mulch them now with straw? Should i add any fertilizer? Again they are growing beautifully and big with only the mushroom mulch soil and the fertilizer and bone meal they were planted in.
An old fatmhand told me that they used rock salt on the asparagus patches to keep the weeds down. Apparently it is salt tolerant
I've planted asparagus this year. Haven't harvested but do I still remove this year's growth when it does down?
With first year asparagus, let it grow completely undisturbed all year, except for regular fertilizing with organic granulated fertilizer like shown in this video. Don't touch it until frost or freeze kills the ferns. After the ferns are browned, you can then cut them down as shown in this video. This asparagus is only 1 year old, so you can follow what I did exactly.
@@TheMillennialGardenerI understand. thank you. I'm in southern hemisphere. We're in summer coming into autumn. So will cut after winter frosts.
@@jobird354 Ah, I gotcha! It may take a few frosts or freezes to knock the asparagus back. For me, they were still green after the first couple lights frosts. Be patient and wait for the ferns to become brown and lose all their green. Then, you can cut them down.
asparagus roots do you know they go down in eart 4 to 5 feet ? in ordewr to let them trive dig 5 feet then put leather cut off tick cardboard in small pieces mixed with soil , my father made such a bed in 1974 i am steel eating from the original root from italy
Do you recommend a mulch layer after planting the asparagus once the crowns are several inches tall? You didn't mention that in your planting video from last year unless you count the compost layer you added. I usually mulch all of my beds to keep weeds suppressed.
I recommend mulch 365 days a year. Always mulch your asparagus. Not only does it keep weeds out of your beds, but it provides even moisture and a constant stream of slowly decaying organic matter, while attracting worms and all sorts of beneficial microbes. Mulch is your friend.
Saw a video. The gardener said to break the spears off at the crown. He said if you just cut it off close to the soil level. The crown thinks there is still a spear, and will not replace it with another spear.
Are you talking about the old, dead growth? If so, I don't see the need to do so. That 1" portion sticking up is dead growth, and now it's buried 2 inches underneath compost and mulch.
He was doing it when he was harvesting to eat. Not in the fall when you get the bed ready for winter. Sorry I did not make myself clear.
Yes if you cut it just below the soil that stem will regrow. Never snap the above the soil as it kills that stalk. I've over 50 years with asparagus and it's a big no no to snap them off. People are giving poor information. Just remember to let a few go to seed each year to reseed the area and you will be giving it away eventually cuz it will be crazy thick.
I was wondering I bought 3 year old crowns because of my age. Does this still apply
Yes. The crowns you get are going to be a couple years old when you order them. The reason why you must do it this way is because no matter how old the crowns are that you buy, they still take 2-3 seasons to sit and establish. What you're waiting for is for the crowns to establish and the roots to take hold and grow, so you must always follow the same procedure and not take a significant harvest of your asparagus until the 3rd season.