Marianne's Response

Why did my asparagus beds fail?

Hi. In early spring 2020, I planted a bed of 20 asparagus plants. Half were Jersey Giant and half were purple passion. I planted about 9” deep, a foot apart. They were pampered. I did not harvest them. The next spring the asparagus beds just went berserk – each crown sent up about 10-12 huge spears but I again did not harvest: the asparagus formed a dense hedge about 8’ high. They were fed with organic fertilizer and watered. This year, I looked forward to a healthy harvest, but the bed has failed almost entirely.

Many crowns did not produce spears at all. Others sent up one or two big spears but then nothing more and surviving plants are all weak and send up spindly, thin shoots. I dug down to one of the crowns that had failed entitled and discovered that the roots were still alive, thick and seemed healthy, yet there were no shoots at all. It’s very disappointing. Both varieties are supposed to be disease resistant. Before I dig it up and junk the asparagus beds, do you have any ideas about what happened?

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Posted by David Muir on June 21, 2022

Marianne's Response

You did not mention where you live but poor drainage is the number one reason for asparagus failure and in some areas a very wet spring could have prevented spring growth. A raised bed is preferred for this reason.  The second reason for failure is letting the plants dry out in the summer. Those roots like to have a good, deep soak when the soil dries out. Don't junk the plants. Some sent up shoots so if you keep the roots watered but not too wet this summer you may be surprised with a decent harvest next spring.  Keep growing, Marianne Binetti

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