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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 34535 Location: Hereford
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46052 Location: yes
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 21 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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dig the natural to open it up, dig in manure
use good compost to plant the crowns in the raised part
feed it lots, mulch it in autumn with manure,
cut sparingly yrs 3 to 5, after that take half the stems*
blanched under a bucket is nice
beware asparagus beetles very pretty, but they munch the tops and starve the crowns
*if you get older, bigger, better crowns you should get a small cut in year two and a proper one after that.
most commercial crowns need 3 yrs to be ready for a small cut
from seed, like i did, 5 yrs to first stems |
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Slim
Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 6594 Location: New England (In the US of A)
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 34535 Location: Hereford
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Slim
Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 6594 Location: New England (In the US of A)
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46052 Location: yes
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Slim
Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 6594 Location: New England (In the US of A)
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46052 Location: yes
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sgt.colon
Joined: 27 Jul 2009 Posts: 7380 Location: Just south of north.
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Slim
Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 6594 Location: New England (In the US of A)
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 34535 Location: Hereford
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 15834
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46052 Location: yes
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46052 Location: yes
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Slim
Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 6594 Location: New England (In the US of A)
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Posted: Mon Mar 22, 21 10:30 am Post subject: |
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Mistress Rose wrote: |
If you have very clean soil, no dig might work, although perhaps not for asparagus. If you have other than just annual weeds, it can be a problem.
Interesting information about cation movement Slim. Thanks. I always understood that potassium was very mobile and would move through soil rapidly, so had to be applied only as and when needed. Have you any views on using charcoal (biochar)? I know it will absorb organic nutrients, but no idea about things like K and P. |
K is the major cation nutrient that leaches the most, oyf I'm remembering correctly.
It has less 🧲 relative to it's orbital diameter. So weaker holding strength to CEC.
It's less important to front load than P.
Apparently some biochar can add quite a bit of CEC, but if you add it in a raw form, those sites are all empty, so it's like adding a dry sponge to a glass of water, and then wondering why you don't have water for your plant. Needs to be "charged" before being added.
I'm not convinced that biochar will outcompete lots of organic matter and correct pH in temperate soils like ours, however, at least in terms of crop response. |
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