Somewhere on this blog I wrote about growing asparagus from seed. I can’t find that post, so maybe it’s time to do it again.
Asparagus plants come in two sexes and the female plants eventually produce red berries containing black seeds :
I collected a handful of berries back in April and sowed them (as is, i.e. not taking out the seeds) in a 150 cm pot of ordinary potting mix. I covered them with a layer of potting mix and left the pot out in the open all winter. I didn’t record the date when the first germination occurred, but this is what they look like at the moment :
Time to do some potting on :
I potted up 32 tubes. Fiddly job. I was sick of asparagus by the time I’d finished. In the end I was potting them up in groups of 3 and 4. I’ll enjoy them more when they’re in the ground and bearing. There were still plenty of tiddlers left growing—just a bit over a centimetre tall. I gathered them all together into one pot. If they grow a bit bigger, I might pot them on as well.
Those in the tubes will sit there for a year or so before planting out. Then, they’ll take a year or three to start producing spears of useable size and then I’ll be picking these (tonight’s dinner—from previous plantings) :
It’ll be worth the wait.
Foodnstuff 
October 4, 2017 at 3:39 pm |
Perpetual asparagus. I love it! 🙂
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October 7, 2017 at 1:39 pm |
So do the male and female asparagus, both produce spears – or does only one sex, get that job? Nice work propagating. Unless you’ve done it yourself, people take for granted how many years it takes, to put a small plant in the ground.
I have one carob tree, I grew from seed, which is 2 years old now. I wasn’t looking after it very well (I guess) because the newest batch of seeds last year, are now the same size. Another year, and they all might be sizeable enough to go into the ground.
The thing with propagating plants, I have found, is to always do more than you think. Because there WILL be casualties along the way. 😉
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October 8, 2017 at 8:00 am |
Yes, both sexes produce spears. The flowers on both are tiny and I’ve never investigated to see which is which; I only know which are the females when the berries appear. I think I’ve read that the females should be removed so that the berries aren’t spread around and the plants become weeds—but who wouldn’t want asparagus coming up like weeds!
I have actually found a few plants in different places—even in the bush (where I think they wouldn’t survive), so I just leave them there. I could pot them up but don’t bother.
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October 8, 2017 at 9:59 am |
Oh, I’d love weed asparagus in my yard! It would compete with the thistles, lol. 😉
I also wouldn’t want to remove a means of propagation, by removing the female plants.
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