Wow that's a good plot...just let them grow, mulch them good and leave them until they die back in the winter....and yes you can feed them...I always feed mine a good nitrogen fertilizer in the spring after they are up and growing and in the fall as well..

Ferns already? Are they pencil thin? I can't imagine being done harvesting asparugus in April. If they're fat, I'd chop them down and keep harvesting. Maybe there's something I don't know about your zone.

I had a great grow out rate, 49 out of 50 plants!

So this is a new bed, right? Not one that can be harvested from.

As Ruthie said, just let them grow, feed, mulch, keep well watered and feed again in fall. When the ferns brown and begin to die back, mow them down even with the top of the soil and remove all from the bed. Mulch heavily again and you are set to next year. ;)

Dave

Sorry, steelshepherd and Dave. I should of mentioned that this is a brand new bed that I planted crowns in January. The new sprouts are less than pencil size and are ferning out. I put blood meal in the trenches at planting to provide some phosphorus for the root growth, but nothing since.

I'll go ahead with the mulching and fertilizing. I know I probably won't get much for at least two years, but boy-oh-boy, I'll be in hog heaven then!

Elaine

Seeing a post about asparagus growing up well reminded me of a neighbor several years ago. I was putting in a new bed and as he looked over my garden, he said 'Those things a worthless, I put in a bed a while back and they grew up real big every year and I didn't get a single piece of asparagus out of any of it, so I said to hell with it and tilled them under."

I put blood meal in the trenches at planting to provide some phosphorus

I hope you mean bone meal. ;) Blood meal is a great source of nitrogen but no phosphorus. When you feed them now you need to use a well rounded fertilizer that will give them a good dose of everything - micronutrients included.

Dave

Sounds like they need another year before you can harvest them. What I would like to know is if they will ever produce in your area, if so I would love to hear about it as I am in the Houston area and we just can't grow them as it gets to muggy and not enough cold in the winter months to produce anything.
Paul

I should have picked up that it was a new planting by the 49 of 50 success. That's a lot of asparagus!!

Feed and mulch.

Dave, I did mean bone meal :) I'll put some nice combo fertilizer out this weekend. Thanks for the info.

Paul, I certainly hope they will produce because just 60 miles north of here is Stockton and that area produces great, huge amounts commercially! They do have a different soil make up, it being delta flood plains, but the summer and winters are the same. Your mugginess is what we don't have here in the summers; just lots of dry heat!

Elaine