I am not sure which would be the proper catigory so I chose Hortboard. I have several asparagus clumps ( is clumps the right word ) growing in a grassy area. I cut the tips until about mid June then allow any other growth from that time on to grow and eventually go to seed. For a few years a new clump of asparagus will grow with very healthy stocks then after a few seasons the stocks become progressively thinner until the plant stops growing after a few years. I have tried clipping the grass around the plants to reduce the compitition for the suns rays plus I tried using a bit of steer manure around a few of the plants as was suggested to me. Putting manure on some of the plants seemed to me to have sped up the end of the plants existance. Does any one know what I should be doing to keep these plants healthy. Does asparagus have a three to five year life span then dies out? I appreciate your ideas on this situation. Garden novice
As far as I know Asparagus is long lived, more like 20 years. I don't know what would have caused yours to die off.
Here is how I made a long lived asparagus bed. http://www.durgan.org/URL/?AspBed 16 May 2008 Making Asparagus Bed The bed is 41 inches by 102 inches by 12 inches deep. About a cubic yard of soil was removed. Time taken three hours from start to finish. Compost, sand and a bit ot bone meal was added and mixed prior to planting the Asparagus Millenium Rhizomes. There were a total of eleven rhizomes. The bed will be filled in with compost, sand and a bit of normal soil as the plant grows, similar to hilling potatoes. The rhizomes were spaced about 16 inches apart, and covered with two inches of soil, with the crown just protruding above the soil level. It takes about three years for full production, and the bed should be kept weed free. This is my second year and I didn't pick any stalks this year. The plants were just allowed to grow. Here is how the asparagus bed looks this year. http://www.durgan.org/URL/?AspafragusS 29 May 2009 Asparagus (Millennium) All the plants eventually grew, some better than others.
