Aspargus lost due to bad weather

[Snip]

In March 2009 I planted 20 asparagus crowns, 10 Grimlin and 10 connovers collosal. As per the instructions I picked none last year and cut them all to the ground in Nov. I put 4 bags of manure over the bed for winter and in Feb I mounded up to keep them a bit warmer.

Now it is May, the connovers collosal (which i can pick 1 spear per crown this year and full crop next year) have had 6 crowns producing. Grimlin which I cannot pick this year has so far only has 2 spear emerging from 2 separate crowns.

My question is:

Are the others dead, has the cold weather got to them?

or

If I do nothing will they be all right next year?

and

What can I do to protect them from the bad weather in future?

These are a lovely thing to have in the garden and I really want it all to work well as they are so delicious all help and opinions gratefully received.

Snip

[Johnboy]

Hi Snip,
The Asparagus crop is about 3 weeks late this year so I will keep my fingers crossed for you. As you will appreciate many plants suffered during the long cold winter that we have just endured including many long established things like Bay Trees and long established Herb Beds.
I should start to worry if no more spears appear in the next couple of weeks.
You do not say in which part of the country you live which would be of great value when it comes to a problem such as this.
JB.

[Snip]

Sorry I was doing so well with all the other info.

South Cotswolds in Nailsworth. We get no winter sun on our side of the valley so once frost sets in it does linger and we ahd 6 inches of snow on the ground for weeks.

I wasn't expecting to see any asparagus for at least another couple of weeks so in my head they were ahead of schedule so interesting to read what you said about timings.

Generally my garden is 3 weeks behind everyone else due to the darker winter, we get no winter sun.

Do the different varieties grow at different times, i.e. would I expect Grimlin to be later?

Any ideas to protect for future years and if they will come back next year or are they gonners?

Snip

[Nature's Babe]

Hi Snip, hope they appear soon for you, mine are looking pretty straggly too after the harsh winter, wishing I had mulched mine. If you have to replant do all the usual then mulch on top with straw, dried lawn clippings etc, it will grow through and the mulch will stop evaporation of moisture in drought and erosion from heavy rain / and cold damage in winter. Some of my garden is mulched and some isn't yet, the mulched areas are streets ahead and seedlings are pushing their way through.

[Beryl]

JB is right it is late getting started this season probably due to the harsh winter I have only just started picking here in the south.
Out plot has been flooded for almost 2 months this winter but I have mine in a raised bed which has kept it 'out of the water' but surprisingly the bed is now very dry so perhaps a good watering might help to give them a kick start.

In the Autumn after cutting back the fern I give it a good thick mulch with well rotted compost/manure.

Be patient I think really is the answer.

Beryl.

[madasafish]

We had a harsh winter -17C two nights. My asparagus is 2 weeks late and half it has not shown. I'll worry in end May...

[Tigger]

Despite the cold, we've had the earliest asparagus ever - been cutting it for a month now. Very unusual.

[PLUMPUDDING]

A few shoots have appeared on the new plants I put in on 16th April, but nothing is showing on the established bed yet, so I think it is just the cold weather that is holding them back. As most have already said, be patient and they should get going soon.

[Mike Vogel]

I've only just started mine. The evening before we went on holiday in late March they arrived from T&M, so I hastily put them into large pots and put them into the soil when we got back. Although the shoots were much the same on each crown, they have not all popped up above the surface yet; some are 6 inches high and others no sign. Tyhesde others have either had their crowns eaten or are just sluggish; I am an optimist and expect to see both rows full by the end of May.

[Binky]

I bought new crowns this year - 3 varieties: Backlim, Grolim and Pacific 2000. The Backlim and Grolim have all produced their first spears. Of the 10 crowns of Pacific 2000, only one has produced any spears yet. Has anyone any thoughts? Why are the other 9 "sluggish" - as Mike so aptly puts it? How long should I wait before sending a sniffy letter to the company I bought them from (OGC)?

[PLUMPUDDING]

Hi Binky, I also bought three varieties and have noticed that two have sent up shoots before the other variety. The Pacific 2000 does have thicker spears, so may take longer to get going. I've just had a look today and although they aren't all up, there are quite a few of all three now.

I got mine from Pomona fruits and was very pleased with the size and quality of the roots. I hope yours get going soon, with the weather warming up you'll soon know if they are going to grow.

[Mike Vogel]

Don't panic yet, Binky. My optimism has proved justified, as now all the crowns I put into my bed in April have produced a stalk; the last ones have only appeared these last few days.

[Beryl]

There was an article in the Dail Mail yesterday 'Pick of the Crop'
stating that it won't send up new spears if the soil temperature is below 10 degrees and if it drops below zero will freeze and turn translusent and inedible.

I would say be patient and then mulch the crop thickly in the Autumn to protect them.

I always add at least 4 barowloads to my bed of 15 crowns and now late, they are cropping very well even though we have hard such a hard winter.

Beryl.

[Mike Vogel]

And don't let the crowns dry out in their first year. 4 barrowloads: I'll remember that.

[The Mouse]

And when the plants do start to grow, watch out for asparagus beetle - they have just put in an appearance in the last few days!
They nearly killed my young plants last year, and the only bug-killer that I had to hand - designed for aphids - was like water off a duck's back, a complete waste of time.

It's the organic treatment this year: I'm knocking/picking them off into a bucket with about an inch of water in it, and a squirt of washing-up liquid (not sure how organic that is ).
So far, so good - a bucketful of dead beetles to show for my efforts!