Go Back   Wildlife and Environment Forums > Outdoor Activities > Wildlife Gardening

Reply

 

LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 15-03-2007, 09:34 PM
brainfarmer's Avatar
Wild Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: sunny huddersfield
Posts: 148
asapargus in pots

im pleased to announce the arrival of my first 1/2 dozen asparagus tips in one of the 4 pots i have been growing it in for the last 3 years. it always heralds the arrival of spring for me and the fact i ignored all the advice i read that u cant grow it in pots.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 17-03-2007, 07:12 PM
Kayleigh's Avatar
Knight Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Northants
Posts: 5,363
Re: asapargus in pots

It just goes to show if you don't try you will never know. I am growing all sorts of things in pots this year from broad beans and chillies to garlic we brought home from the IOW. I have not tried asparagus though. I may give it a go what size is the pot you used?.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 18-03-2007, 11:35 AM
brainfarmer's Avatar
Wild Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: sunny huddersfield
Posts: 148
Re: asapargus in pots

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kayleigh View Post
It just goes to show if you don't try you will never know. I am growing all sorts of things in pots this year from broad beans and chillies to garlic we brought home from the IOW. I have not tried asparagus though. I may give it a go what size is the pot you used?.
i think its 24 inches big plastic thing. i originally planted the seeds in 2001 variety 'martha washington' and was suprised at how easy they were to germinate. due to personal circumstances i was moving about a lot the 3 plants were completely neglected for 3 years but survived unscathed. i put them in these pots 3 years ago the main thing is to ensure very good drainage so i drilled big holes in the bottom of the pots, crocked them then about 4 inches of gravel. i feed them every two weeks in the growing season with a general purpose liquid fertilizer.
with seed it takes up to 3 years to get a crop so it may be easier to order 2 year old plants for quicker results.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 08-04-2007, 03:31 PM
brainfarmer's Avatar
Wild Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: sunny huddersfield
Posts: 148
Re: asapargus in pots

a funny thing has happened this year my asparagus is being attacked by slugs or snails i can see the mucous trails. they only attack the more mature spears which seems strange as on most plants they eat the most tender growth first. im considering using a fair amount of salt to deter the little buggers but wondered if anyone else had ideas.
see above for how im growing them.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old 08-04-2007, 03:43 PM
Kayleigh's Avatar
Knight Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Northants
Posts: 5,363
Re: asapargus in pots

Put some chopped carrot around the base of the plants the idea they eat that in stead. Salt may harm the plants.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old 08-04-2007, 03:55 PM
brainfarmer's Avatar
Wild Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: sunny huddersfield
Posts: 148
Re: asapargus in pots

i had read that asparagus can benefit from almost a top dressing of salt that was my thinking but being a coward i wondered if anyone had tried it.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old 08-04-2007, 04:49 PM
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,151
Re: asapargus in pots

Quote:
Originally Posted by brainfarmer View Post
i had read that asparagus can benefit from almost a top dressing of salt that was my thinking but being a coward i wondered if anyone had tried it.
I think you are correct - Asparagus can cope with salt as it's originally a coastal plant.

thunder
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old 08-04-2007, 08:50 PM
Garden Carpet's Avatar
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Lincolnshire/Cambs/Norfolk border right on The Wash
Posts: 2,214
Re: asapargus in pots

I stand pots on gravel which deters the slithery fiends.. also.. as they are in pots.. perhaps sticking some coarse sandpaper around the pot might work.
Jaki
__________________
too many books... not enough money!!!!!!!!!!
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old 13-04-2007, 03:16 PM
brainfarmer's Avatar
Wild Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: sunny huddersfield
Posts: 148
Re: asapargus in pots

well despite the attacks of the molluscs i cut my first 6 spears today. there are about another 20 that will be ready to harvest in the next week. once the weather warms up that bit they grow quicker than just about anything iv'e seen. fresh organic asaparagus with salmon for tea tonight.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old 13-04-2007, 04:39 PM
smartie's Avatar
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Letchworth Garden City
Posts: 1,359
Re: asapargus in pots

Quote:
Originally Posted by Garden Carpet View Post
I stand pots on gravel which deters the slithery fiends.. also.. as they are in pots.. perhaps sticking some coarse sandpaper around the pot might work.
Jaki
I use the copper tape that you can buy in rolls to put round my pots, and it does seem to work very well.

I'm fascinated that asparagus will grow well in pots. I must have a go. We once made an asparagus bed in a garden we had in Sheffield, tended it for two years - and moved out of the house just as the first spears were coming.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #11 (permalink)  
Old 13-04-2007, 04:57 PM
brainfarmer's Avatar
Wild Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: sunny huddersfield
Posts: 148
Re: asapargus in pots

i would never say they grow well but u get enough to have some once a week between april and june and they are suprisingly undemanding.
u can also plant garlic in the pots in oct/ november for a harvest in june july ie from when u cut the asparagus down to when u let it grow into ferns. i keep wondering what other stuff i can grow in the same pots but in 3 of the 4 pots i have you can see by were the spears grow the crowns are 2 feet at least across.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #12 (permalink)  
Old 13-04-2007, 05:51 PM
Kayleigh's Avatar
Knight Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Northants
Posts: 5,363
Re: asapargus in pots

Quote:
Originally Posted by brainfarmer View Post
i would never say they grow well but u get enough to have some once a week between april and june and they are suprisingly undemanding.
u can also plant garlic in the pots in oct/ november for a harvest in june july ie from when u cut the asparagus down to when u let it grow into ferns. i keep wondering what other stuff i can grow in the same pots but in 3 of the 4 pots i have you can see by were the spears grow the crowns are 2 feet at least across.
you could grow beetroot, spring onions, small finger carrots, radishes, rocket or salad crops. anything that grows quick and you sow in succession I grow all these in pots.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #13 (permalink)  
Old 22-04-2007, 02:52 PM
kaz kaz is offline
Active Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 74
Re: asapargus in pots

I've never grown asparagus and it seems a bit daunting to wait 3 years for the first crop - excuse my ignorance, but does it crop every year after that?
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #14 (permalink)  
Old 23-04-2007, 10:52 AM
brainfarmer's Avatar
Wild Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: sunny huddersfield
Posts: 148
Re: asapargus in pots

yes it crops every year, ive had about 30 decent sized spears of mine this year so far and will probably get as least as much again before i stop cutting them. ive read that the plants can last 15 to 20 years and as mentioned i have mine in pots, they would crop much heavier in open ground.
__________________
life is like an overcooked steak - tough and the chips are always stacked against you.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #15 (permalink)  
Old 23-04-2007, 03:58 PM
Tinkerbell's Avatar
Officer of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 925
Re: asapargus in pots

No sign of my spears so far this year - I've never been able to cut them yet. I did pop a few carrot tops into pots last year to give a fernlike appearance to the arrangements and found that they had grown into sizeable but deformed carrots when I dug them up recently. (Two for the price of one).

Tinkerbell
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #16 (permalink)  
Old 13-05-2007, 12:38 PM
Tomgrowscress's Avatar
Active Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Small Village Up north
Posts: 32
Re: asapargus in pots

Ive never grown anyting before apart form cress

can anyone recomend how to grow something lol
Easy guide please

Thanks
Tom
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #17 (permalink)  
Old 13-05-2007, 02:54 PM
Kayleigh's Avatar
Knight Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Northants
Posts: 5,363
Re: asapargus in pots

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomgrowscress View Post
Ive never grown anyting before apart form cress

can anyone recomend how to grow something lol
Easy guide please

Thanks
Tom
Look on this thread there are lots of ideas.
Veg growing questions
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #18 (permalink)  
Old 13-05-2007, 06:34 PM
Tomgrowscress's Avatar
Active Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Small Village Up north
Posts: 32
Re: asapargus in pots

Thanks Kayleigh
I will take a look
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #19 (permalink)  
Old 19-06-2007, 10:45 AM
brainfarmer's Avatar
Wild Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: sunny huddersfield
Posts: 148
Re: asapargus in pots

its a shame u cant eat the asparagus when it goes to 'fern' mine have gone mad with all my pots producing ferns of 6 feet tall i think i probablly stopped cutting them to soon. as for easy things to grow in pots i'd say strawberries easy to the point of boredom depending on variety can be grown in open ground, pots, hanging baskets and ive never not had a crop whichever way ive grown them. easy to propagate or to treat as an annual if u get them planted up early enough and very rewarding.
__________________
life is like an overcooked steak - tough and the chips are always stacked against you.
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
  #20 (permalink)  
Old 19-06-2007, 10:51 AM
Paul mabbott's Avatar
Knight Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Sheffield, FPRSY
Posts: 5,220
Re: asapargus in pots

I'm nurturing some now in Sheffield! I got it growing fine in London until -----




... and there's a lot of asparagus beetle about this year so watch out!

Quote:
Originally Posted by smartie View Post
I'm fascinated that asparagus will grow well in pots. I must have a go. We once made an asparagus bed in a garden we had in Sheffield, tended it for two years - and moved out of the house just as the first spears were coming.
__________________
Ladybird Survey
Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!
Reply With Quote
Reply  

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

» WAB Development Posts

No Threads to Display.

» New Wildlife Posts

Go to first new post Fungi for WAB dear...
Last post by KeenTeen17
Today 08:34 PM
15 Replies, 171 Views
Go to first new post First Snow
Last post by sunnydale
Today 08:34 PM
53 Replies, 538 Views
Go to first new post Still Going
Last post by PMG
Today 08:29 PM
17 Replies, 180 Views
Go to first new post Bird of the day!
Last post by sunnydale
Today 08:25 PM
2,230 Replies, 59,983 Views
Go to first new post Bolbitius?
Last post by KeenTeen17
Today 08:24 PM
1 Replies, 2 Views
Go to first new post Dog Lichen, Peltigera...
Last post by poschiavanus
Today 08:21 PM
7 Replies, 81 Views
Go to first new post Heathland Management
Last post by Al Hyde
Today 08:19 PM
44 Replies, 589 Views
Go to first new post Sunrise or Sunset?
Last post by tameblackbirds
Today 08:14 PM
35 Replies, 330 Views

» New Environment Posts

Go to first new post Vegetarianism and Global...
Last post by Garden Carpet
Today 07:57 PM
49 Replies, 802 Views
Go to first new post The Whole Picture
Last post by eeyore
Today 04:18 PM
33 Replies, 471 Views
Go to first new post Public Transport
Last post by Jim Ford
30-11-2008 03:09 PM
104 Replies, 2,305 Views
Go to first new post