asparagus spacing
plympton_ma
14 years ago
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paully1
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Asparagus spacing question
Comments (13)The 5' row spacing is certainly well-documented at various sites, and chinamigarden's explanation is very helpful. For some of us, 5' between-row spacing is more space than we have, so I started searching for some confirmation that my tight 1'x1' spacing wasn't doomed to failure. There are a number of sites and studies that accept row-spacing or 4' or even 3'. The British Royal Hort. Society suggests an even tighter spacing for asparagus: "Place the crowns on top, spacing them 30-45cm (12-18in) apart (right). Leave 45cm (18in) between rows and stagger the plants. Another British site (www.gardenorganic.org.uk) suggests 3-row beds, with 30cm (12in) between plants and rows, and 1.3m (4.5ft) between beds. A 1997 New Zealand ag journal article by Bussell is titled "what is the correct density for transplanted green asparagus?" lists various studies, including one by Sanders & one by Williams & Kendall that includes 1'x1' spacing. It's hard to decipher, but these two studies seem to show that denser planting slightly helps yield. Comments from anyone who can actually interpret this paper are VERY welcome. Anyway. I take from this that (1) 5' row spacing is the near-universal rule of thumb and (2) some seemingly knowledgeable voices outside the U.S. say narrower row spacing - down to at least 18" according to Roy. Hort. Soc., and maybe narrower, are OK. Here is a link that might be useful: Royal Horticultural Society: Asparagus...See MoreAsparagus
Comments (13)First off are you all planting roots? If you start with roots, you are supposed to be able to harvest the third spring....well that is if you get good roots. From seed it takes a lot longer....if you start harvesting the smaller shoots, there is less to feed the plant for the next season, and it will take that much longer to mature. northspruce is right with saying that you are only supposed to harvest about a third of the shoots, because the ferns leaf out and feed the plant for the following year. The males are supposed to get larger and more shoots, this also depends on the variety. The female plants produce berries...and fewer smaller shoots. Sierra...See MoreAsparagus bean row spacing
Comments (5)When I experimented with spacing for yardlongs several years ago, they proved to be very sensitive to crowding. At the spacing that I recommend, they will climb vigorously to their full height & branch heavily, with multiple runners. Yardlong beans, at 15" spacing on a 6.5 foot trellis. As you can see, it is not as open as you might expect. At the closest spacing I used (3-4") there was only one main runner per plant (which climbed to 4-5' with few branches) and the plants reverted to a half-runner habit, with the majority of the branches (and the yield) borne close to the ground. The yardlongs at the closer spacing bore very heavily initially, but tapered off toward the end of the season. Those at the wider spacing began more slowly, but increased steadily until the approach of near-freezing night temps. Optimal spacing can, of course, vary... soil fertility, climate, cultivar, and spacing between rows (or other crops) can be other influences. Dean, although we are very close geographically, you get about 25% more summer heat than I do... and since yardlongs love heat, they may grow more vigorously for you than they do for me. I'm trying to visualize these cattle panel arches - although I have read of their use here on GW, I have never used or seen them personally. You say they will be 8.5 feet tall at the center? I'm assuming that since they are "arches", that there is an opposite side - how far apart will the two sides be? Any chance of a photo? To get vines to reach the full 8.5 feet, you would probably need the wider spacing. But to get the heaviest yield for the area, you could certainly plant them more closely... in fact, if you are planting on both sides of an arch, this would allow more sunlight into the center. The best compromise between height & plant density might be to interlace two rows (_-_-_-_-_-) on each side of the panel, with at least 12" between the rows (though with 12" between plants, I would recommend 24" between rows)....See MoreHow much space for asparagus?
Comments (4)It should, since asparagus is more of a mass planting anyway. Put in 6 crowns in a 3-2-1 pattern and they should be fine. Just be aware that the ferns get tall, this should be on the north-ish end of the beds. If it is anywhere else, plant strawberries there instead....See Morekathmcd7
14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agoplympton_ma
14 years agoplympton_ma
14 years agokathmcd7
14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agopaully1
14 years agoplympton_ma
14 years ago
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