Asparagus crown help please

kinkyjinks

Eeeek I think I've messed up big time. I found some asparagus crowns when I was forking weeds from my allotment. I saw the white spears soon as I lifted the fork out. My first thought was what a bonus, finding something that I'm guessing must be 2 year old crowns (it was a new plot last year). But they were right next to the dividing pathway and I've already planned to build a special bed for my asparagus, right where my second early potatoes are at this moment in time. So I dug 4 of them up :eek: then put them in a bed that I've prepared for my sweetcorn, but I was going to plant my sweetcorn out next week and have started to harden the seedlings off.

I went back today and I obviously haven't killed them off yet as one solitary spear was showing through the soil, but they can't stay there. Can I dig them up again and maybe store the crowns somewhere until sometime in August? I really don't want to turn the bed I've prepared for the sweetcorn into an asparagus bed because it's so close to the path and I want to put it in the least accessible part of my plot. I know I should have left it until I was ready to transplant it properly but I just wasn't thinking properly, I guess the thought of fresh asparagus a year earlier than I thought clouded my judgement and now I'm stuck

conradmum

I'm afraid you can't store them until the autumn. As you've seen, they're currently trying to grow as this is their growing season. You can only store plants if they're dormant and that would be over the winter for plants in our part of the world.

The other bad news is that asparagus don't like being transplanted. You've probably knocked them back by moving them once, if you move them again you'll knock them back further. The choice is yours. However, I agree that having them growing right next to a path wouldn't be a good idea. They tend to grow very tall and bushy and would get in your way.

kinkyjinks

conradmum wrote: »

I'm afraid you can't store them until the autumn. As you've seen, they're currently trying to grow as this is their growing season. You can only store plants if they're dormant and that would be over the winter for plants in our part of the world.

The other bad news is that asparagus don't like being transplanted. You've probably knocked them back by moving them once, if you move them again you'll knock them back further. The choice is yours. However, I agree that having them growing right next to a path wouldn't be a good idea. They tend to grow very tall and bushy and would get in your way.

Thanks for the answer, I thought I'd messed up big time . I think I might cut my losses then and give the crowns to one of the other plot holders that has the space to spare. Hopefully if I pick the right person they might just give me a small share next year It's all learning