Xtremehorticulture

Xtremehorticulture of the Desert

When to Stop Cutting Asparagus

Leave a Comment / harvest asparagus, how long, when /

Q. When should you stop cutting asparagus? We’ve had a good crop in the past but seem to have quit harvesting too soon in prior years so want to go as long as possible. We enjoy eating it! Asparagus spear called ‘Purple Passion’ harvested A. The textbook answer is 6 to 8 weeks of cutting and then you should let it go and rebuild its crowns beneath the soil for next year’s harvest. That information was given back when asparagus spears were thought to be marketable only if they were the diameter of your thumb. That’s changed and now we see asparagus sold much smaller in diameter than that and marketed as such. Asparagus spears will produce spears large in diameter at first but after the crowns get exhausted from production the spears will get smaller and smaller in diameter. It is up to you when to stop harvesting them. But in the older days, asparagus spears were harvested until the spears got smaller in diameter and smaller. The other answer is to continue to harvest until you see a noticeable decrease in the diameter size of the spears. When they start to get too small for harvesting (don’t just look at one spear but take an average), stop and let the roots and crowns of asparagus rebuild themselves.             Asparagus will rebuild itself better if you can provide some nutrients as the crowns are putting away storage for next year. After harvesting, apply at least an inch of rich compost or you can also use manure. In late December or early January the asparagus bed is fertilized with either manure or a rich compost. Sometimes a fertilizer is required if no manure or rich compost is available.             The crowns should be 6 to 10 inches deep depending on the soil so laying manure on top of these areas should cause no problems. (Some manure is high in salts.) Planting the crowns deep makes sure the spears don’t come up too early. Make sure you water it after planting. After planting don’t water too often because the crowns are deep. Apply water on a similar irrigation cycle as fruit trees. The roots and crowns should have water available at the same depth. Asparagus crowns are planted 8 to 10 inches deep. In retrospect, I would have used more compost when planting and made the planting area darker…more organics in the soil.

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When to Cut Asparagus in Las Vegas, Nevada?

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Q. When is the best time to stop cutting asparagus here in Las Vegas? I have a bumper crop this year. A. There are a couple of ways to determine when to stop cutting asparagus. First way is when the spears start to get thin. If you have thin spears, it is a sign the stored food in the roots is starting to get in short supply. Winter color of asparagus in the Las Vegas Valley with light freezing temperatures.in December.             Stop harvesting. Let the ferns, tops, grow until late December and then cut them to the ground, fertilize with compost to get ready for the next seasons production.             The second way is a calendar method. Cut for about two to three months in early spring, let the ferns grow and cut these ferns to the ground in late December. Fertilize with compost and start the cycle again. Asparagus knife manufactured in Kosovo from a sample I took to new asparagus growers there.             By the way, remove the spears from below ground with an asparagus knife, not by snapping off the spears. An asparagus knife is like the old fashioned, forked dandelion remover. In a pinch, I use a long knife and push it into the ground, cutting the spear. Snapping the spears leaves a “stubble” on the soil surface which interferes with next year’s harvest and management.             Wash the spears and recut the spears to the proper length for cooking. Use the bottom parts of the spears, peeled, for asparagus soup.

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Asparagus Should Be Cut Below the Soil Surface

Leave a Comment / cutting asparagus, harvest asparagus, proper way, snapping asparagus, stubble /

Q. I have a raised bed (5 x 10 feet) dedicated to asparagus. The yield has been magnificent. However, the plot has gotten so overgrown with old asparagus stumps that I have had to totally remove and replace all the soil because cultivation was impossible. My question is how long can an asparagus garden last without being so impacted that it must be replaced; or, is there a way to deal with spent stumps annually to prevent this problem.   Purple passion asparagus with some rabbit damage. Rabbits love the higher sugar content of Purple Passion A. Asparagus rhizomes are normally planted about 12 inches below the soil surface. If started from seed, the seed is planted in a trench and backfilled as the plants grow so that the developing rhizomes are still at about 12 inches deep.  Asparagus crown for vegetative propagation. Selecting crowns that are male will guarantee a male crop. Spears emerge from the top where the fleshy roots come together When this is done the spears can be harvested by cutting below the soil surface with a knife so that these “stumps” don’t stay on the surface. If you harvest the spears by “snapping” them or breaking them above the soil surface then you will get these woody stumps remaining above the soil surface and they interfere with future harvesting. So, in short, if you can harvest by slicing with your knife an inch or so below the surface I think this will stop your “stump” problem. The woody part is cut off after harvesting during food preparation. The woody part should compost fairly easily. Snapping off spears will cause the spear to break just above the woody portion. Nice for the kitchen but leaves a “stubble” behind in the asparagus bed Recent research has pointed out that asparagus spears can be harvested anytime the spears are pencil diameter or larger five inches above the soil level. Smaller spears should be left to grow into fernlike growth to replenish the roots for upcoming seasons. The plant is still expanding its root storage system and excessive removal of spears weakens the plants. However, there is a market that has emerged utilizing these very thin spears. In commercial operations all spears are harvested cleaning the entire bed and spears are allowed to grow to ferns only after the harvest period. An asparagus plant will yield an average of 8 to 12 spears per year before the roots need to be replenished by letting the spears develop into ferns. Harvest spears by cutting or snapping. To cut a spear, run a knife into the soil at the base of the spear and carefully sever it. Because the spear cuts below the point where fiber develops, it becomes necessary to remove the fibrous base from the tender stalk. Most homeowners and some small scale growers prefer to snap the spears. This eliminates any woody growth on the harvested spears. This does however leave a “stubble” on the surface that can make harvesting more difficult.  To snap a spear, grasp it near the base and bend it toward the ground. The spear breaks at the lowest point where it is free of fiber. Stalk diameter is not a good indicator of proper maturity and associated tenderness. Hydrocooling, or plunging freshly harvested spears into cool, clean water is strongly recommended. Commercially, asparagus is graded by class (US Number One and US Number Two which are based on straightness and head compactness) and by diameter 5 inches from the tip (see table) according to USDA standards for canning asparagus.

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