My sympathies...that's a lotta work. I had to go to Colorado Springs a few years ago (from PA), and a week's neglect can produce a pretty nasty welcome home. To answer your question, I would move your "controls" back from the 'gus bed....at least 6 inches MORE on both sides. You need all the growth you can muster this season, and you never know where the next spear will try to appear. Best wishes! Hal in PA

I think you can plant them where they will be, just remember you cant harvest them until their third year or you will stunt the plant. You should plant as many as will fit in your space, given they are seeded 12 inches apart so they have room to grow. Because it is a perennial and takes several years to even get started before the first harvest and since people like a lot of asparagus and it only produces one crop a year, I suggest you assign or plant an entire 4'x 4' in only asparagus. Have you ever grown it before? The plants get very bushy throughout the summer and need quite a bit of room to spread out so leave good aisle space around it. (After you have harvested the asparagus, consider using the feathery leaves as filler in flower arrangements.)

Hi Dan, I dug through my computer history and found the page I loved so much about asparagus roots. I've switched from gardening my veggies next door in the sun to only my own yard recently, so have been useing my beloved computer. Let's start with .. remember asparagus gets REALLY tall. The ferns come up to my shoulder height and are so beautiful I'm thinking about useing my new planting as a background for a perennial bed this time 'round. Maybe. So be sure your spot is not going to shade anything that wants sun. I'm wondering about your soil too. The newer , popular varieties , all male, start with the word Jersey ! So maybe your in the most perfect spot ever to grow this ? Jersey Giant, and the other two I forget, but they both start with Jersey. Asparagus wants alkaline soil, so here in my slightly acid soil, it's the only thing I use dolomite lime for. I would definitely skip the peat moss.. super acid. Vermiculite : I'm not a big fan. Pick up a piece and squish it between your fingers. No rebound. It's just lays there flat as a pancake. Vermiculite retains moisture nicely, so it's a good addition to a seed starting tray, but other than that, it's always seemed like money for physiological gain only. What you want is fiber. Your compost is perfect. When I need more, I tend to use fine pumice..but what with those roots going two feet the first year and a total of ten feet later, I'm not too sure they need that sort of help. ;) They are heavy feeders.. so well aged manure fits the menu. I do use on occasion a mix a local fuel company sells, of our city yard compost and mushroom compost. It's such nice stuff ! There are those that will not use any city compost due to residents use of lawn ferts and such, but with my mix it's so dilute and I got to thinking my own tree leaves..and I have too many.. are filled with car pollution. Uck.. but it's the best I've got. Balancing out all the pollutants I do avoid, and those I can't ... I have tossed some of this around veggies now and then. Mostly when I'm short of the home made stuff. Mushroom compost is pre-limed BTW. Maybe go to a local specialty nursery and see what they recommend for your area? This time of year they really need the business and have time to help with questions like this. Mid-week is best. Your county extension service might also be a good source, and easy to Google. Looking forward to learning all about Jersey asparagus. Here is a link that might be useful: asparagus roots, ten feet down !

I have close to 1000 plants started at different times. I started with 100 Mary Washington crowns in 1976, then added 25 Jersey Knight sometime around 2005. I thought I had plenty for my own use then 5 years ago I just got a urge to start from seed so I ordered 1000 Jersey Supreme seeds and got about 80% germination and sold a few as potted plants. I'm an advocate of starting from seeds since the wait time to harvest is not that much different than from crowns and price is drastically lower. All that I harvested today is from the new bed but I really need to harvest from the older bed too before spears get too tall. The problem is that I don't care for either canned or frozen asparagus and the market where I normally sell most of it won't start for 2 weeks. I guess the local Food Bank will get a little. My suggestion is to go for it and plant 1000 seeds if you have the room. They really require little special care once started.