Ok, so I was a little slack this year on harvesting the spears. A few
got away from me. Should I leave them be or cut them anyway?

Thanks
Mary

How old is the bed?
How long have your been harvesting them this year?
How tall are they when your harvest them?
Answer your question after I know the above.
Jerome
"Mary McHugh" wrote in message
...
Ok, so I was a little slack this year on harvesting the spears. A few
got away from me. Should I leave them be or cut them anyway?

Thanks
Mary

il Sun, 09 May 2004 17:50:41 -0400, Mary McHugh ha scritto:

Ok, so I was a little slack this year on harvesting the spears. A few
got away from me. Should I leave them be or cut them anyway?

Thanks
Mary

You're meant to leave some ferns uncut to provide energy for the
plant. each year anyway.

--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

JRYezierski wrote:
How old is the bed?

About 7-8 years.

How long have your been harvesting them this year?

Just started so maybe 1-2 weeks. I usually follow the advice to harvest
until the spears become as thin as pencils. Then I let them fern out.
I still have plenty of thick spears coming up.

How tall are they when your harvest them?

I usually harvest around 6-8".

Answer your question after I know the above.
Jerome
"Mary McHugh" wrote in message
...

Ok, so I was a little slack this year on harvesting the spears. A few
got away from me. Should I leave them be or cut them anyway?

Thanks
Mary

Loki wrote:

You're meant to leave some ferns uncut to provide energy for the
plant. each year anyway.

Well, I do but only after the spears shrink to pencil-thickness. I was
wondering if letting a few fern out early will reduce my yield next
year. I still have lots of thick spears coming up.

Thanks,
Mary

In article ,
"Loki" wrote:

il Sun, 09 May 2004 17:50:41 -0400, Mary McHugh ha scritto:

Ok, so I was a little slack this year on harvesting the spears. A few
got away from me. Should I leave them be or cut them anyway?

Thanks
Mary

You're meant to leave some ferns uncut to provide energy for the
plant. each year anyway.

Your plants will thank you for it. :-)

When I harvest Asparagus, I let it get a little tall, then just "snap"
the top off. The lower part that remains then ferns out to develop the
root system.

K.

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"Mary McHugh" ...
JRYezierski wrote:
How old is the bed?

About 7-8 years.
All right .You should be able to pick till the end of June if you are in
zone 5.As about that time its getting very hot and they are growing like
crazy that you could harvest in the morning and again in the evening (which
you do not want to do if you want the bed to last you another 15 years.
How long have your been harvesting them this year?

Just started so maybe 1-2 weeks. I usually follow the advice to harvest
until the spears become as thin as pencils. Then I let them fern out.
I still have plenty of thick spears coming up.
You are missing some tasty stuff if you are not picking the thins ones
now and eating them.Penicl thin are great #2 bunches that sell like crazy
around here.We always cut dowen the thinner than pencil ones while we were
harvesting as it gives the roots a rest. If you harvest until it gets too
hot or all that you are getting are "skinnys" than stop for the season.
Since your bed is young you should get another 15years out of.Unless evan at
the begging of the season all you have a "skinnys" than its time to replant.
How tall are they when your harvest them?

I usually harvest around 6-8".
And if you cut them about 2inchs below ground you are doing excellent.
The snapping them off some folks do really isn't that good for the roots
as often it will keep growing or bleed/seep which weakens the root,as when
cut under ground it gets an instant band-aid.
When harvesting you should be cutting down all the spears that are
thinner than a pencil just leaving the ones that are too small to pick
today.You should also be picking all the "crooks"(ones that are bent over
due to a windy day) as they are just a tasty.
We grew for the Boston veggie market for years and all we ever ate were
the rejects,crooks,skinnys whcih most of the time was just the tips when we
finished bunching the days harvest up.
A good asparagus bed should last you 20 to 35 years when taken care of.
Hope this helps you out.
Jerome

il Mon, 10 May 2004 09:51:34 -0400, Mary McHugh ha scritto:

Loki wrote:

You're meant to leave some ferns uncut to provide energy for the
plant. each year anyway.

Well, I do but only after the spears shrink to pencil-thickness. I was
wondering if letting a few fern out early will reduce my yield next
year. I still have lots of thick spears coming up.

So I saw in your last post. Afraid that's the limit of my knowledge.
:-)
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

il Mon, 10 May 2004 09:15:50 -0500, Katra ha scritto:

Your plants will thank you for it. :-)

When I harvest Asparagus, I let it get a little tall, then just "snap"
the top off. The lower part that remains then ferns out to develop the
root system.

Now that's what I call getting two for the price of one. :-) I wonder
if yield is affected in the same way the cutting of blooms
encourages more blooms.
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

In article ,
"Loki" wrote:

il Mon, 10 May 2004 09:15:50 -0500, Katra ha scritto:

Your plants will thank you for it. :-)

When I harvest Asparagus, I let it get a little tall, then just "snap"
the top off. The lower part that remains then ferns out to develop the
root system.

Now that's what I call getting two for the price of one. :-) I wonder
if yield is affected in the same way the cutting of blooms
encourages more blooms.

Not sure, I'm still pretty new with asparagus, (had the bed for 3 years
now) but the lower part that is left ferns out nicely and the snapped
top is tender and tasty!

K.

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"Snapping off" as a way to harvest your asparagus isn't the best you can do
as what remains above ground will still grow going to fern which will have
the plant put its energy into growing the fern and not its root(whioch you
want root growth to have a bed that last up to 30 years with a heavy harvest
each year)while it its harvest season.
Other reason is it may still be bleeding/dripping sap where if you had cut
it below the surface an inch or so the soil would act like a bandage to stop
the bleeding/dripping sap.
Your asparagus roots will yield better crop if picked clean daily during
the harvest season and than let turn to its "fern"at the end of harvest
season till early next spring.Meanwhile you have kept the weeds under
control and givin it some food.
Happy eating.
Jerome

"Katra"
"Loki" wrote:

il Mon, 10 May 2004 09:15:50 -0500, Katra ha scritto:

Your plants will thank you for it. :-)

When I harvest Asparagus, I let it get a little tall, then just "snap"
the top off. The lower part that remains then ferns out to develop the
root system.

Now that's what I call getting two for the price of one. :-) I wonder
if yield is affected in the same way the cutting of blooms
encourages more blooms.

Not sure, I'm still pretty new with asparagus, (had the bed for 3 years
now) but the lower part that is left ferns out nicely and the snapped
top is tender and tasty!

K.