Asparagas patch - how thick to let it fill in?

[Tormahto]

Never mulch pepper plants. Been there, done that.

I'm curious as well. Here in semi-arid Colorado, I line the rows between peppers with pine straw when the temps get above 90˚on a regular basis. No problems yet.

Semi-arid and above 90 on a regular basis, there's your answer why it works for you. Even with mulch, your soil stays warm enough. And perhaps pine straw is not as effective at keeping the soil cool as with finely shredded leaves. As the season progresses, this mulch turns into a fairly heavy mat, dry at the top, but still just a bit moist at the bottom.

Here, it's humid, and low 80s is typical summer weather, although we do get heat spells. I've found that organic mulch, in my garden, keeps the soil too cool for peppers, at times. Black plastic "mulch" is fine, and I almost always use it for melons.

[JRinPA]

Bugs were getting bad so a couple days back I chopped down all of the pencil size or smaller that I had let grow, and got all the bugs I could find off. Then hit the few ferns I wanted to let grow with Sevin. There is so much Asparagus in those patches that I don't know what to with it. The dogs are getting some.

[Tormahto]

Bugs were getting bad so a couple days back I chopped down all of the pencil size or smaller that I had let grow, and got all the bugs I could find off. Then hit the few ferns I wanted to let grow with Sevin. There is so much Asparagus in those patches that I don't know what to with it. The dogs are getting some.

I picked off my first two asparagus beetles yesterday. There's no sign of egg laying, yet.

In my experimental bed, I have green speared plants and purple speared plants, with one weird plant seeming to be a combination of green and purple colors. The spears are about 50% thicker than last year, likely about the maximum thickness that they will get. Next year I think it will be transplanting them to a permanent location. And, I just started a new round of sowing seeds.

[JRinPA]

I didn't pick yesterday, so today it was...I guess 20 spears total, I don't know the weight. Some fats ones were about 18" and mostly edible, not woody.Two days ago I had picked everything over 5-6". Some are skinny, some are nice and fat. I'm not sure what came from where, though.

[Tormahto]

I didn't pick yesterday, so today it was...I guess 20 spears total, I don't know the weight. Some fats ones were about 18" and mostly edible, not woody.Two days ago I had picked everything over 5-6". Some are skinny, some are nice and fat. I'm not sure what came from where, though.

With all of that asparagus, I assume you know the trick to avoid woody spears?

[JRinPA]

I'm sure you will let me know, punchline optional..cause there are some jokes there.

I picked yesterday around noon, everything over 6". So this pic is today between downpours, 24 hours or so of growth. I didn't count them, big bunch though, I again picked most everything over 6".

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[worth1]

Looks good

[Tormahto]

I'm sure you will let me know, punchline optional..cause there are some jokes there.

I picked yesterday around noon, everything over 6". So this pic is today between downpours, 24 hours or so of growth. I didn't count them, big bunch though, I again picked most everything over 6".

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I didn't realize my poor choice of words.

Starting at the thick end, bend the spear, using both hands so that you are bending a bit more than an inch up from that end. Keep moving your hands so that the gap between them moves toward the tip, bending each time you move your hands about an inch. When you reach the spot where there is no more fiber, the spear will cleanly snap in half. Once you do it a couple of times, you'll know how far to bend, and it becomes very natural to repeat the process. Eventually, it will only take a few seconds on each spear. If there is a long length of woody spear, I grasp with my thumbs pointing at each other, the thumbs tucked in close to each forefinger, bending at the small gap between them.

And, I'm talking exclusively about asparagus, here.

[worth1]

I can't get good asparagus here.
It's super skinny and tough.
At least it was the last time.

[JRinPA]

I keep on saying I should pickle some, I really ought to, only 5 weeks or so left to pick it I guess.

Tormato that is how I was taught to break it off, basically if you do it right it breaks where you want it to. But dang didn't you say last month that you try to break it an inch below grade? To keep the bugs down? I started snapping them off lower on the long ones. Gives me more for the dogs anyway, I'll give them the steamed ends chopped up a bit, as long as not too woody.

Worth, it seems like it would be too hot down there for asparagus, rhubarb, any of the perennials that like a cold winter to rest. I know you said before that it does grow. But off season, the supermarkets here have Mexico stuff, so, I know it can be grown. It is usually skinny though.

Basically I put this bed in for my mom, she loved the stuff, we got a few good years out of it for her at least. She had a patch that died out probably late 80s. My dad's mother had a huge patch at the farm. Just walk out the back lane and it was cultivated on both sides. That got ruined when they zoned it for open space for a tax break. People well off enough to own horses rode everywhere across the old lady's land, not just on the trails, and rutted both sides of the walking trail and ruined the well groomed asparagus patches.

I like it, but I don't do anything fancy with it. My dad loved the stuff, but he would slather mayo on it. I remember a story about him eating out with someone or at dinner party somewhere, and was told that asparagus should always be served with mayonnaise. So for me as a kid, that is how he ate it, always with mayo on the plate. And it looked so gross...that I didn't appreciate it asparagus when I was kid. I didn't ever use mayo either, until I started grilling burgers myself. And then tomato sandwiches. But I hated mayo, it just grossed me out, from my dad with steamed asparagus with mayo.

The dogs love it and will eat it right from the bed if I don't holler at them. Actually been taking more than that, selective deafness and all.

[worth1]

@JRinPA
Where at in Mexico is the question.
Even as far south as they are they have some really cool climates..
Plus they grow hard neck garlic farther north in Mexico than I live.
I can't grow it here.

[JRinPA]

Yeah it just says Product of Mexico, as far as I know. Got to come a long way...one day in the fridge changes the taste. So it can't be nearly as good as fresh. The first couple weeks, I usually eat a right in the yard.

[worth1]

I fermented some good asparagus one time it was delicious.
That statement says it was delicious one time.
Not good results.
Now here it is again and what I meant.
I fermented some asparagus one time, 'It was delicious.
Two tablespoons of canning salt per one quart of water.
You can add fresh dill also.

[Tormahto]

I keep on saying I should pickle some, I really ought to, only 5 weeks or so left to pick it I guess.

Tormato that is how I was taught to break it off, basically if you do it right it breaks where you want it to. But dang didn't you say last month that you try to break it an inch below grade? To keep the bugs down? I started snapping them off lower on the long ones. Gives me more for the dogs anyway, I'll give them the steamed ends chopped up a bit, as long as not too woody.

Worth, it seems like it would be too hot down there for asparagus, rhubarb, any of the perennials that like a cold winter to rest. I know you said before that it does grow. But off season, the supermarkets here have Mexico stuff, so, I know it can be grown. It is usually skinny though.

Basically I put this bed in for my mom, she loved the stuff, we got a few good years out of it for her at least. She had a patch that died out probably late 80s. My dad's mother had a huge patch at the farm. Just walk out the back lane and it was cultivated on both sides. That got ruined when they zoned it for open space for a tax break. People well off enough to own horses rode everywhere across the old lady's land, not just on the trails, and rutted both sides of the walking trail and ruined the well groomed asparagus patches.

I like it, but I don't do anything fancy with it. My dad loved the stuff, but he would slather mayo on it. I remember a story about him eating out with someone or at dinner party somewhere, and was told that asparagus should always be served with mayonnaise. So for me as a kid, that is how he ate it, always with mayo on the plate. And it looked so gross...that I didn't appreciate it asparagus when I was kid. I didn't ever use mayo either, until I started grilling burgers myself. And then tomato sandwiches. But I hated mayo, it just grossed me out, from my dad with steamed asparagus with mayo.

The dogs love it and will eat it right from the bed if I don't holler at them. Actually been taking more than that, selective deafness and all.

Cut, not break off, just below grade, maybe about 1/4", or a bit more, just enough for the soil to cover over the cut spear.

[JRinPA]

hmmm getting complicated

[karstopography]

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My daughter had several Mary Washington asparagus crowns left over so I took them and plugged them into open areas of one of my flower beds. They came up. Plan is to see what happens. If they make it until next spring, then great.

[Tormahto]

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My daughter had several Mary Washington asparagus crowns left over so I took them and plugged them into open areas of one of my flower beds. They came up. Plan is to see what happens. If they make it until next spring, then great.

They look like 2nd year crowns. The 3rd year they should get somewhat thicker stems, year 4 (for me) means full thickness stems.

I'd recommend heavy mulching (about 4 inches) of perhaps half of the crowns, to see if it would make a difference for you. For many years, I did nothing with my asparagus beds, just letting them grow on bare ground. The harvest lasted much less than a month, from late April until early-mid May, with no new spears appearing. When I started mulching, many new spears came up in late May to mid-late June. I have to believe that the crowns were much more robust due to that mulching.