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Florida Gardening

Harvesting asparagus in FL

15 years ago

I planted some asparagus crowns almost a year ago, the plants are huge, ferns about 7 or 8' tall. When and how should I cut them to the ground to begin spear production? Do I just use pruning shears and cut them all to ground level? Should I do it soon or wait til mid or late Feb?

Gary

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dghays
Original Author

15 years ago

fyi: The asparagus was excellent, tender and tasty. The 2.5' spears, the tips were still good, the bottom 1.5' were tough, so I only ate the spears. I think I'm going to keep an eye out for new plants sprouting from the seeds, and cultivate them too, in order to have larger harvests.

Gary

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Comments (7)

fishead199
15 years ago
I do not think you can be sucessful with asparagus in Fla.
I think it needs real cold weather to go dormant.
Rhubarb is another no go in Florida.
dghays
Original Author
15 years ago
Maybe you can come by and tell my asparagus that!
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What kind of asparagus are you growing sojay? We are harvesting Purple Passion which is so sweet and low fiber that we enjoy it best raw. Really amazing. I think most asparagus growers use the clear cut method which means you cut all spears until they get to be pencil sized or less and then let them fern out. UH mentions another method where you let the first three spears fern out and then harvest any new spears until they get to be pencil sized or less. Probably this is not the preferred method for cold climate gardeners but thought i would mention it since you are in zone 8. I have tried both methods and find that leaving the three ferns makes for a smaller harvest over an extended period of time. Could be other variables in play, tho. I'm seeing more variability in spear size this season and have been letting the thinner shoots fern out. Is that the right thing to do? IDK. Maybe someone else will comment on that later in this thread. Nice to hear of your success ; )
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Hi john, I waited 6 years for my Mary Washington's to get bigger then a pencil. Some one told me I should have started cutting them after the 3 year no matter how small they are. That when they are all small, this cutting will cause the crown to grow & later you will get larger spears. I understand that you should take only the large spears, and stop when they are smaller. But this person was talking about when you only have a few spears & none of them are large. I am getting a few larger ones now. But you can not give me the small female crowns now.
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Depending on their health, you hould be able to harvest for maybe 2 weeks this year. If the spears start coming up on the small side (pencil sized) diameter, you should stop so the fronds can build energy for next years harvest.
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No, this is the second season, in general you can do a few but not a full harvest if you did the Jersey series or any of the Martha Washingtons or those types. If you did an heirloom bit from mail-order crowns, maybe less than half. But looking at that bed you aren't ready for a full harvest. You'll be happier taking a few spears for the fam and waiting until next year, then you'll be really happy. Dan
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corar4gw
15 years ago
DG, I live in Jacksonville and my Martha Washington asparagus did great for several years until my son decided to mow the lawn for me. Surprise! they were cut back so severely, they never recovered. Generally, one should not harvest many, if any, the first year. Hard to do, I know, but take heart. Asparagus will generously reward your patience if you can wait until the third year for a major harvest. DO NOT cut back the foliage. Allow it to die back naturally, as the foliage feeds the roots.
As for the rhubarb, I'll try it once we're up in northern Baker county. Should get cold enough for both, I would think. Best of luck with your asparagus!
cora
an_ill-mannered_ache
15 years ago
we want PICTURES!
artyenvy-z9a
15 years ago
I've seen asparagus in a backyard garden in Naples,Fl., heard of a failed asparagus commercial venture on Pine Island, Lee Co., Fl., both Z10, and don't know of any spear harvesting success. Like many Florida gardeners,I'm a Yankee transplant whose been here for over thirty years and just can't resist trying to force an out of zone crop favorite to produce here.
One of my favorite threads when I first found this site a couple years back was titled "What won't grow in Fl.". It was quite lengthly, proving that many of us, who understand that our micro-climates,super fungi, blights,heat and humidity,freaky unexpected freezes just before harvest,"short day" season/ tropical season,critter sharing, and other challenges,should't discourage a little experimentation now and again.
Florida is unique, and the diversity of crops from Key West to Tallahassee is incredible.
Next year, for fun,I'm going to plant a small bed[3x32],of 3 year asparagus crowns in Citrus Co.I'll give it three years and see what happens. Good luck to me.If no or little success,I'll plant something else.
Many things will grow here[Lee Co.] with great success but I prefer to enjoy what I eat and the tropical veggies I find a bit bland[chayote,jicama,plantain,etc.].Butter and garlic fixes everything.
I have no special incite to offer.I will remove 1' of soil,spread the crowns on a mound of soil/mushroom compost mix[12"]topped with 6" more for a 6" raised bed.I'll expect some spears the next year.Or the next.Or the....
As it's been said- Much to learn before I pass-

Good luck to you-DG
dghays
Original Author
15 years ago
I harvested some yesterday evening, going to grill steaks tonight and we'll see. Some of the spears are real fat and beefy, a few are skinny. A couple spears which I didn't get to cut early enough were 2.5' tall, cut them into two spears, they seem very juicy. Will give a report soon. Will be having some homemade carambola and pineapple wine with it :)

Gary

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