I've tried seeds, crowns, and they never come up, I follow the directions,but no luck,any suggestions? I live in Ohio,

-- David (nelson3@bright.net), January 30, 2000

Answers

Huh. Got me. Standard questions. Soil too rich/too poor? Soil too wet/too dry? Did it crust over the seeds and not allow them to come up? Seeds too old? (About a 3 year shelf life.) Did you give the seeds plenty of time to come up-they take 3 weeks plus. Wouldn't hurt to soak them in water overnight before planting.

How many times have you tried planting crowns? If just once, perhaps the crowns had a bad trip to your home. And there are a few companies from whom I will order seeds but never anything like plants. You might have ordered from one of those places. If you order crowns again, get them soaking in water as soon as you can until you plant them. (Unless it will be days, in which case put them in a plastic bag with the roots wrapped in damp paper and watch for mold.)

Could something be eating them? The muncher could be coming from above or below. Any signs of burrowing near the bed? Try covering the planting with something-ideally a floating row cover-but you can improvise. I know my geese and sheep have a taste for asparagus.

Many times since this is a long term planting, people move away from their usual planting areas. Could there be something wrong with the patch of ground where you're putting your bed?

Come spring, a local nursery will probably sell some crowns or even started plants (pricey!). It might be worth it to buy some from them, easier to ask questions of local people and easier to return if it doesn't work again.

You aren't salting them are you? Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), January 30, 2000.

When I planted my current asparagus bed, it took so long for them to emerge that I had a serious but polite discussion (at least my part was polite) with the nursery where I bought them. I tried to pick the seller's brain about what could have gone wrong, including stuff I might have done. They finally came up and have produced nicely but the guy was such a twit, I haven't gone back and won't.

-- Marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), January 31, 2000.

I ordered asparagus crowns when we moved to our knew house 5 years ago, unfortunatly they arived before i had got the bed dug and because of pregnancy problems was on complete bed rest [also rasberry plants and 50 stawberrys, yes went nuts ordering but this was first place i could actually have a garden]so my poor husband ended up planting everthing one weekend for me and after all the hard work he did none came up [didnt tell him that the spot i had picked was shady in afternoon and i was just experminting to see if i could get away with it in our hot climate].Every once in a while a shoot pops up but i never show it to hubby because i dont think he would find the humor in it!

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), January 31, 2000.

I have never tried seeds but the first time I planted crowns I thought something was wrong and nearly plowed them up and started over. It seems like the first season it does take a long time for them to ever come up, after that they are earlier. The only other thing I can think of is that your soil was too wet and they rotted? Good luck

-- Marci (ajourend@libby.org), February 03, 2000.

I've planted both seeds and crowns and for faster results I prefer crowns. Asparagus likes to be quite deep (about 10" here in Northern Wisconsin) but you should check with someone from your area. It doesn't like weeds of ANY kind, especially when young. It does like very rich soil. The seeds I bought were expensive because they were supposed to be super males (do not go to seed). Male plants are also supposed to produce larger spears. Many of the plants turned out to be female anyway. I suggest you try again but put a board or something over the plants/seeds to keep them moist. Make sure you check them every day and remove the covers as soon as the plants emerge. The results are worth the effort and when you do get the plants established, a yearly feeding of good composted manure is all they will require for years to come.

-- Peg (jnjohnsn@pressenter.com), February 16, 2000.

Just ran across a very good article on asparagus online at organicgardening.com. From the magazine of the same name. Complete planting, growing, harvesting, etc. Worth a look.

-- Peg (jnjohnsn@pressenter.com), February 21, 2000.