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View Full Version : Asparagus-anyone working with it?



rfeiller
07-13-2011, 08:41 AM
i have been experimenting with asparagus in conjunction with aquaponics. i was unable to get one sprout from any of twenty bare root 2yr old plants over a period of one month in a lava medium with a bell siphon.

i transfered them to a grow bed that is made up of coir and perlite. so far after about 3 weeks i have 13 plants that have sprouted. however, until i added phosphate and other organic nutrients nothing sprouted. these are irrigated from the biopond.

i have 5 pots that have a total of 20-1 yr old bare root plants in them, they were immediately planted in coir and perlite; 19 of them sprouted and they also had to be fertilized prior to sprouting. they are part of the backyard garden and irrigated with water from the biopond, which has about 200-3" goldfish in it.

would appreciate feedback from others that have attempted to raise asparagus. i have read tons of info on asparagus. am looking for responses from those that have actually worked with asparagus.

i have raised quite a bit of asparagus in the ground. in fact it was the best crop out of about 30 different types of veggies, including chiles at my home in the high desert of new mexico. it is considered too fragile to commercially farm asparagus there, even though it certainly outperforms the local commercial crops.

urbanfarmer
07-13-2011, 12:21 PM
I bought some roots, but they got misplaced and by the time I found them I assumed they were no good.

I will swing by the garden center and see if they have any. If so, I will let you know what happens. I may be setting up a BIG system like David soon because I may have finally got my farm land... it's a dream come true! :-D

rfeiller
07-13-2011, 01:21 PM
That will be wonderful for you with the property.
Salad greens are good to eat but low in nutrients I am interested in growing the most nutritious. Such as asparagus, peas, squash, sweet potatoes etc.

Lordshandyman
04-25-2012, 08:09 PM
That will be wonderful for you with the property.
Salad greens are good to eat but low in nutrients I am interested in growing the most nutritious. Such as asparagus, peas, squash, sweet potatoes etc.
I am also interested in growing asparagus and sweet potatoes in my flood and drain beds. Although, I have not built my system just yet, but it does exist on paper. I bought some of the materials today, and more planned for tomorrow. I am still a long way away from planting, but when I get there, I would like to know what I can grow.

I am really interested in how well root crops do in the flood/drain cycles. I will keep an eye on this tread to see what becomes of it. :shock:

rfeiller
04-26-2012, 09:17 PM
sweet potatoes did very well in my grow beds with a bell siphon. the most productive ones was on a matt system. although i have set up another asparagas bed it is on a watering basis with the aquaponics water. it just did not like to have it's feet wet so much of the time. would be interested in hearing about your experiences with it. i have about 50 or so plants growng now

Rich

davidstcldfl
04-27-2012, 03:11 AM
UF...did you ever get some asparagus started ?

Has anyone else in FL tried growing it, wether in AP or soil...?
I thought I read that in FL, you can grow it, but it dies out in a year or two.

Lordshandyman
04-27-2012, 07:53 AM
Has anyone else in FL tried growing it, whether in AP or soil...?
I thought I read that in FL, you can grow it, but it dies out in a year or two.
We planted 2 year old roots of a Jersey Hybrid all-male variety about 2 years ago. Planted 20 of them in a 1'x4'x8'raised soil bed. The first year we let them all fern, although it was very tempting to "rob" a few, we resisted. This year, we have been harvesting a couple every other 3 days or so. We just put the cuttings in a cup of water in the fridge until we have enough for dinner. We let some of each root fern as well, while trimming off the delicious ones. They seem to be doing wonderful. I have automatic water and 20-20-20 liquid fertilizer in the morning, around 8 am, then just water once more around 2 pm.
This variety was suppose to be all male, but most seem to be female, I get tons of seeds, which is great for me. I let the seeds turn red on the fern, then pick. I plant the seeds in seed trays and let the ferns sprout. Each berry has 3-5 seeds inside, but I just plant 1 berry per cell, I tried squishing the berries and planting 1 seed at a time and that failed. In about 6 months to a year (depending on root size), I give the transplants away. It does take awhile for the seeds to sprout, not sure what triggers it, but out of a 50 cell tray, All 50 cells had ferns.... Once, my watering system got clogged and the center of the tray dried up and died, but with the surviving cells, I was able to give about 30 large roots away, and had enough smaller roots to replant the whole 50 cell tray. Now I await the little roots to send up ferns.
As for my original bed, they all look great. Perhaps nematodes or some other critter kills the roots, or someone planted the wrong variety for Florida? I use last years potting soil left over from my strawberry breeder friends. I heard nematodes do not like rich soil, so maybe this keeps them away? Anyway, ours are thriving.