On Mon, 1 Nov 2004 22:30:44 -0000, "Mike Lyle"
wrote:

Duncan Heenan wrote:
I've planted asparagus for the first time this year, and now I have
a
dozen plants in the garden, each feathery and about 18" high. How
should I look after them during the winter to stand some chance of
a
first crop next year please?

I'd be inclined not to cut any till 2006, unless the crowns you put
in were already two years old. All you have to do now is cut off this
year's stems, and give the whole bed a good two-inch layer of rotted
muck or weed-free compost. Even in winter it's best to keep an eye
open for weeds.

Surely you wouldn't cut off green stems? I let them die down
completely to brown stems and then remove them. Otherwise treatment
as above and DON'T cut any next year. It is worth the wait. I have 6
plants but now have and extra 9 grown from seed this summer. They
will not be touched AT LEAST until 2006.......


Pam in Bristol