On Sun, 13 Apr 2008 07:31:04 -0500, The Cook
wrote:

On Sat, 12 Apr 2008 08:32:31 -0400, Boron Elgar
wrote:

I have too many ground critters who feast on my garden goodies, so I
am trying to find out if there is some way of growing asparagus in
tubs.

Any advice?

Asparagus seems to be a plant that takes lots of room.

The information in the " Rodale Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening"
says that "50 plants are usually adequate for a family of four, but
ardent asparagus lovers recommend tripling that amount. Planting
instructions : dig 12" wide trench 6" - 8" deep and 4' apart. Set the
crowns 1 1/2' - 2' apart." I think you would have to have one tub
for each plant since I doubt that they take kindly to being moved.

We put in 100 crowns 3 years ago. Year 1, no picking. Year 2 pick
for 2 weeks and year 3 we can pick for about 1 month. Those figures
may no be exact. We have yet to pick more than we can use. Whenever
we start getting more that we can eat, I will start pickling them and
freezing some for soup. Emeril's recipe for asparagus soup is great
since it uses the whole spear, including the tough bottom part.

A neighbor saw the asparagus bed in the fall and wanted to know what
kind of trees they were.


I get the feeling I'll be shopping for my asparagus, rather than
growing it.

Boron