Asparagus help

[jawja clay]

Planted 20 crowns in 4x8x 15" raised bed. Filled with potting soil, wood mulch and peat moss. Year planted excellent yeld. Did not harvest. Year one, maybe 1/2 (50-60) as many shoots and planting year. Again no harvest. This year, (2) maybe 20 shoots. Nothing is competing with asparagus. I dug down 3" and there seems to be a mat of very fine roots. Did I do anything wrong and what suggestions do you have. I don't want to start over but that's the way I'm leaning.

 

[chrislibby88]

I thought asparagus took years to mature to the point that you can harvest? Hence why it is pretty expensive in stores.

 

[Buckeye76]

How do the crowns on the ones not producing look? Be sure to let the plants that are not harvested flower. Do not cut them until they die back.

 

[jawja clay]

How do the crowns on the ones not producing look? Be sure to let the plants that are not harvested flower. Do not cut them until they die back.

Don't know about the non producers unless I dig them up. There no sign of new growth. I've left them to grow until the first frost and then I cut them back and cover with mulch.

 

[jawja clay]

They were planted in 2016. I counting this as the 2nd growing year.

 

[Butshot]

I have a small plot of asparagus that has been growing every year for thirty years. I do nothing to it, no fertilizer no mulch, sprouts always come up, I just clip the stalks when they are about 8 to 10 inches, sometimes they get ahead of me and grow too long and tough to eat!

 

[Buckeye76]

Be careful of covering the crowns, could cause them to rot. It took my last patch about 4 years to produce anything of quantity. Got a few dinners the other years, but not much more.

 

[gh1950]

3-4 years.

I gave up on asparagus because you almost have to there when the spear breaks the ground. By the end of the day it will be too tough to eat if it's a warm spell, left them alone because they are a pretty plant anyway.

 

[Horsehat]

Just to be sure, you are leaving off harvesting and letting some spears mature, aren't you?
You probably need to lime that soil, sounds like everything you put in there was pretty acid. After you clean your bed in the late winter, put a layer of good composted manure on it. Did you dig your bed down a foot or so or just put the raised bed on untilled ground?
Mine is thin this year but I let it get weedy last year. I may have to add some crowns.

 

[jawja clay]

Just to be sure, you are leaving off harvesting and letting some spears mature, aren't you?
You probably need to lime that soil, sounds like everything you put in there was pretty acid. After you clean your bed in the late winter, put a layer of good composted manure on it. Did you dig your bed down a foot or so or just put the raised bed on untilled ground?
Mine is thin this year but I let it get weedy last year. I may have to add some crowns.

No harvest since planting in 2016.
Did not dig bed since they are 16" of bedding soil, wood chips and peat moss.
Today I saw 2-3 spears breaking the soil. Seems to be a void in the middle of the bed. I ordered 10 new crowns today.

I did not lime yast year. I did apply a 16 oz cup of 10x10x10 last year and a few weeks ago.