Jan,

I am not sure asparagus will come back reliably in your soil if your soil is extremely well-draining sandy soil without a denser subsoil to hold the moisture well. Asparagus needs soil that will hold moisture well---not necessarily in the top few inches of soil, but further down. Otherwise, though, asparagus grows well in OK. The key is that the soil cannot be too well-drained and that can be the case with deep sandy soil. If you have a less porous subsoil that retains water well about a foot or so below your sandy soil, then all you'd have to do is add lots of organic matter to the upper soil where you're going to grow the asparagus and keep it well watered. So, asparagus does really well in sandy loam/amended clay or amended sandy soil on top of a thicker, denser, clayier subsoil that holds long-term moisture for it. Do you have or can you provide that kind of area for your asparagus? (This is one of the few instances where it is good to have a heavier, less porous subsoil.)

For rhubarb, I keep trying to grow it for DH who grew up in Pennsylvania and loves the stuff, but it is difficult to get it through our hot, dry summers....and the issue really is the heat more than the lack of moisture. I think I've only had it survive one summer here, and that was a relatively cool and wet summer (20024, I think). Although it grows well in full sun in many parts of the country, I've found it grows best for me in southern OK with about 4 or 5 hours of morning sun and then anything from dappled shade to almost full shade from about noon or 1 p.m.

I've given up trying to grow it as a perennial here because the heat is just going to burn it up no matter what 9 times out or 10. Instead, I start it from seed in February and transplant in out in late March. I harvest beginning in about May---it depends on what the temperatures are doing and on how well it is growing. I harvest and freeze all I can before the heat gets it in July or August, and then I am just thrilled to death if it makes it through the summer and into the fall, which it seldom does. Last year would have been a geat summer for it, but I didn't plant it here because at the time I ordered seed, I was expecting drought. (Naturally, having based my planting decisions on our then 18-month-old drought, we instead had 53" of rain in 2009, which isn't a record here but is the most rain that has fallen here in one year in about 20 or 25 years.)

The recommended Rhubarb variety for Oklahoma is MacDonald which is hard to find. I found it available as roots a couple of times by googling and think Nourse Farms usually carries the roots. Here in southern Oklahoma the variety I generallysee in stores is Victoria, which the heat in southern OK wipes out very fast. (I'm not sure MacDonald lasted any longer for me in the heat than Victoria did.)

When growing it as an annual, I plant whatever seed I can find since rhubarb seed is not one of those types of seed that's easy to find. The seed I purchased this year was from Franchi Simenti seeds, an Italian seed company carried by Seeds from Italy (growitalian.com). Usually you can find rhubarb seed here in the USA from some American seed companies, but since I was already ordering beans and winter squash from Seeds from Italy, I just went ahead and ordered the rhubarb from them. I planted the whole package of seeds on Sunday and am hoping enough sprout to give us a nice long row of rhubarb.

Rhubarb is more difficult to grow here in OK than asparagus although I think that the further east and north you live in the state, the better your chances of managing to get rhubarb to grow as a perennial. I am sure some people probably have more luck than I do with Rhubarb grown as a perennial in Oklahoma, but here in southern OK, I can't keep it alive through our brutal August heat no matter what I do.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Asparagus in Oklahoma Home Gardens

I've grown asparagus for over 35 years. The current planting is UC157 grown from seed 20 years ago. It is mostly male but has enough females that I have several seedlings from more recent years.

We have heavy clay subsoil with fairly good topsoil and we have mulched the asparagus bed with sawdust in years past and oak leaves more recently. These mulches make our acidic soil even more acidic for a while so we counter that by spreading the woodashes from our stove over the bed but not right over the crowns. Asparagus likes a neutral to slightly alkaline soil. We watered the first summer but never watered since. However we are over here in eastern okla where we get a lot more rain than your end of the state. 70+ inches in 2009!!

Dorothy,

That's a disgusting amount of rainfall, isn't it? LOL

I hope Jan has some thicker, denser soil or subsoil with the capacity to hold water because I suspect that's the only way she'll be able to keep asparagus alive in the panhandle.

I always thought it would be 'wonderful' to have all the rainfall we ever wanted, but after seeing what heavy rain did to some of you in the northeastern part of the state, I don't think that any longer. Our 53" that fell last year is unlikely to be repeated again for another 15 or 20 years, and I'm OK with that. Too much rain is as damaging as too little.

Dawn

I have only planted rhubarb one time in Oklahoma, and I only planted one plant. That was pretty optimistic and was based on my experience of having it in Colorado where planting it once is all you ever need to do. In addition, don't ever try to move it because you will just end up with it in both places.

Well, it doesn't happen quite that way in Oklahoma. I planted one root and it lived through the first summer, but the 2nd summer took it out. If I plant it again, it will be in an area with afternoon shade.

I have been planning to plant asparagus for 8 years and don't have it in the ground yet. I just can't decide where you put something that is going to last 35 years, and you have to keep the bermuda grass out of. Maybe someday I will figure it all out and really plant some. LOL

Carol,

I am in exactly the same boat with you on the asparagus. Every spring I think that this is "the year" I will plant it here, and then I try to figure out how I'll keep the bermuda grass and Johnson grass out of it, and I say to myself "next year....."

Dawn

I've grown asparagus here for at least ten years. It does very well for me. And I have deep sand. I know several here who grow it in the sand hills. And some never water. Really why I got started. Our sand here drains very well. But still retains moisture below the surface. That is why this soil raises milo even in dry years. I only water my asparagus bed once or twice a month during extreme heat. Otherwise I never water. I watered twice last summer in the drought. If dry I soak it good in mid March. This year I won't as we have had enough snow. I used to not even mulch. Now I put down a light layer of manure, scatter some soybean and cottonseed meal and a layer of mulch on top every fall or winter. And it does very well. I have a mixture of varieties. Mary Washington, Jersey Knight, Purple Passion and an open pollinated large variety that the name escapes me now. Thinking of ordering an heirloom French variety. Here you have to really water if you have tight ground. As long as I mulch well I have no problems with weeds or the bermuda grass. I do watch and remove the bermuda as it starts creeping in. For me other than a little feeding and mulching during the winter I do very little to mine. I just cut and eat it. And then when the season is over forget it unless it gets really hot and dry. It takes as little care and watering as anything I can grow here in my semi arrid region. Like I said I know those with the tighter ground who have tried to grow it have had more problems and have found it a lot harder to grow and maintain than those of us in the sand. Remember these are my experiences and your results could be different. Jay

Thanks everyone for all the good information. I guess I will try asparagus this spring and get some rhubarb seeds and try it next year as an annual hoping it lives through to the following year. My children all love those rhubarb pies and it is difficult finding fresh rhubarb around here even in the spring.

We have sandy loam soil so I think the asparagus will probably grow alright. I may have to give it extra water in our dry summers and the open dry winters. We water trees and shrubs when we have open dry winters so one more water job won't be too difficult.

Jan

Jan,
I think you will have good results. Asparagus does well here for me. I think rhubarb will also. There was a patch in the back yard when I bought this place. It did well. I have never ate or used it. So a few years ago I removed it. It didn't require any extra care either. As I didn't really care if it died or not. But it did well till I removed it. The male asparagus plants get the biggest. And many buy all male varieties. I don't necessarily. My bed is a mixed lot. Like I said mine has done well for over ten years in the sand. There used to be a few growers over around Liberal who would sell some of it every spring. All raised in the sandhills around there. I freeze what I don't eat fresh and then usually grill it. After it is established you will be surprised if it is mulched well how little watering it requires in the sand. Jay

Jan,
Just saw some Victoria rhubarb roots at Lowes here in OKC on NW Expressway. I'm not suggesting that variety because I know nothing about rhubarb...other than remembering your inquiry.
Cindy