2023 - the good, the not so good but hopefully not ugly of growing your own!

Kantankrus_Mare

Well after dilly dallying about whether or not to do it, I finally bit the bullet and ordered some asparagus crowns and they arrived this morning. Have been looking on youtube for advice on planting. Looks rather labour intensive. Dig a trench, make a ridge, spread out crowns and cover with soil. I dont do a lot of digging. Found one video where you plant in a raised bed (which is where I plan to have them) and you can dig a biggish hole and spread out the crowns so I think thats the way Im going to go. Will have a go either tomorrow morning or Saturday.

Put my spare strawberry plants on facebook sales. Had a lot of time wasters but one genuine guy came and took £50's worth in one go so am well chuffed with that. Paid for my asparagus crowns and some left over for compost and anything else I need.

Suffolk_lass

Kantankrus_Mare said:

Well after dilly dallying about whether or not to do it, I finally bit the bullet and ordered some asparagus crowns and they arrived this morning. Have been looking on youtube for advice on planting. Looks rather labour intensive. Dig a trench, make a ridge, spread out crowns and cover with soil. I dont do a lot of digging. Found one video where you plant in a raised bed (which is where I plan to have them) and you can dig a biggish hole and spread out the crowns so I think thats the way Im going to go. Will have a go either tomorrow morning or Saturday.

Put my spare strawberry plants on facebook sales. Had a lot of time wasters but one genuine guy came and took £50's worth in one go so am well chuffed with that. Paid for my asparagus crowns and some left over for compost and anything else I need.

You could sprinkle fresh compost in a ridge along the raised bed then spread the crowns on this, then cover with more compost. 

For those of you starting with asparagus this year, you probably know that you won't get a crop this year or next (just leave next year's growth to go to seed). That said, the seeds that the fronds produce are lovely, sprinkled on salads or just to snack on.

Re raspberries, if you left autumn (August on) fruiting raspberries without cutting them down in January they will sprout new growth on these canes. It is not too late to cut them down as the plant will throw up new shoots now it is entering its vigorous growth season. We cut them to ground stumps and here in the East (cold Springs), we did ours this week. If they are summer fruiting (much more spindly canes) you should cut them down as soon as the fruit finishes and the new growth they put on this year will be the fruit bearing part. If you are not sure, cut all down to 2-3cm stumps now.

@Soontobeoap Not sure what king of fungus you are describing on your apple tree but you washing it might have spread it. This page on the RHS site offers a list of problems and if you click through to the different possibilities they usually list non-chemical solutions. From what you are describing it does sound somewhat terminal. Without seeing it, we can't be certain but to stop it spreading it might be best to remove it (and not replant).

Here I potted on all my chilli plants and have far too many now. About 20. My peppers are still seed leaves though but as they are sharing a tray with the chillies they lost their cover last night.

Kantankrus_Mare

Thanks @Suffolk_lass......yeah Ive been reading up on Asparagus for a while and am aware you have to wait two years before picking as much as you like........hence the dilly dallying    Think its worth doing though as I am not planning on giving up my allotment till they cart me off in a box!  I took advantage of the sunny weather this morning and was down at the plot for just after eight. Dug a slight trench, dug a bit deeper with trowel and managed to get all ten crowns in one bed. Should I see some growth this year? Not sure what I do after the ferns have grown after the season. Do they get cut down right to the soil level in the winter?

Soontobeoap

thanks @Suffolk_lass I fear you mau be right. Poor tree. Mayne my iinexperience helped it on its way. This is its thirx year like this so I do feel there is little hope. 

carinjo

Something like this @Kantankrus_Mare ?! Dug  a 5m trench this morning and done the compost layer, planting tomorrow.

alicef

Gorgeous weather today. 

Weeded some of the beds in the veg. area. We have overnight temps forecast down to 0 so no planting out until these temps rise.   I've moved the trays of germinated seedlings, (though not toms/chillies/peppers plants), into my potting area - much better light than the utility room, and fleece up overnight.  All okay.  

Have been pinching out the sweet peas and did a belated prune of the roses - not my best effort but will have to do.

KajiKita

I am VERY happy … 😊

My Christmas present compost bins got built today! ❤️🤩
(I will just explain that there is a huge, horrid, messy, disaster zone of a heap just out of short the right to clear now ….! 😂😂😂)

Farway

Soontobeoap said:

thanks @Suffolk_lass I fear you mau be right. Poor tree. Mayne my iinexperience helped it on its way. This is its thirx year like this so I do feel there is little hope. 

That looks like woolly aphids to me, not fungus. Give one squish and see what happens.

Soap & water will not do, the "wool" bit is waterproof, and they hide in the cracks & crevices

maybe cut the badly infected branches of & burn / dump

Pressure washing may dislodge them, but they will return, so constant vigilance and squishing when ever spotted is the key

have a search on Woolly Aphid, but be warned it involves elbow grease, maybe a stiff brush & no magic bullet

Nobbie1967

Kantankrus_Mare said:

Thanks @Suffolk_lass......yeah Ive been reading up on Asparagus for a while and am aware you have to wait two years before picking as much as you like........hence the dilly dallying    Think its worth doing though as I am not planning on giving up my allotment till they cart me off in a box!  I took advantage of the sunny weather this morning and was down at the plot for just after eight. Dug a slight trench, dug a bit deeper with trowel and managed to get all ten crowns in one bed. Should I see some growth this year? Not sure what I do after the ferns have grown after the season. Do they get cut down right to the soil level in the winter?

You should see growth this year or the crowns are dead. As they are newly planted it may take a while for the new spears to pop up, so don’t give up hope if they’re not up when other established beds are in full production. Most important advice for this year is to keep the beds weed free and well watered. Once established the massive root system will sort its self out, but they are vulnerable to lack of water while they are building the root system. At the end of the year the growth will stop and turn yellow. When it does this cut off the stalks a couple of inches above the ground. This enables you to see where they are to avoid standing on newly emerging spears when you are weeding the bed in the spring or picking in a couple of years.

Kantankrus_Mare

@Nobbie1967.....Thanks for that info.......just what I was looking for! Have watered again when I went down this morning. Weather glorious for a change!

So Im guessing dont pick anything at all this year......next year just a few and then 2025 as much as I like?