a burning question

[randy41]

So at the risk of sounding stupid......how do you identify the female plants? I've got a bed I put in several years ago and I've heard that the goal is all male plants as the female ones want to reproduce and not give off spears.

the plants with the red 'berries' which are the seeds are the females. you don't sound stupid. you sound inquisitive and smart to ask.

 

[crowbar032]

the plants with the red 'berries' which are the seeds are the females. you don't sound stupid. you sound inquisitive and smart to ask.

Hmmm. I have more female plants than I thought. Thanks.

 

[randy41]

not much to that.

 

[dave1949]

Question about asparagus:

When do the stalks no longer feed the roots in the fall? Is it when all the tiny, fine fronds are gone, or dead, from the tips of the stalk, or is it as long as the stalks themselves are green? I don't know if any significant action is going on between the stalk and roots when they are mostly dead, but not quite.

I usually end up cutting off the stalks in the early spring after snow melt since they stay green so long in the fall. Does it make a difference in a cold climate where the bugs are likely dormant or waiting for warm weather to hatch?

 

[randy41]

Question about asparagus:

When do the stalks no longer feed the roots in the fall? Is it when all the tiny, fine fronds are gone, or dead, from the tips of the stalk, or is it as long as the stalks themselves are green? I don't know if any significant action is going on between the stalk and roots when they are mostly dead, but not quite.
I usually end up cutting off the stalks in the early spring after snow melt since they stay green so long in the fall. Does it make a difference in a cold climate where the bugs are likely dormant or waiting for warm weather to hatch?

i think mostly dead is dead enough.
i've read that its best to leave the stalks on to catch the snow which insulates the ground and then cleaning up in early spring. we don't get much of the snow that stays around all winter here (none so far this year at all)so i clean up when i have the time.

 

[dave1949]

i think mostly dead is dead enough.
i've read that its best to leave the stalks on to catch the snow which insulates the ground and then cleaning up in early spring. we don't get much of the snow that stays around all winter here (none so far this year at all)so i clean up when i have the time.

Thanks. I think that makes sense.

Asparagus is fairly frost hardy. By the time they are dead dead :laughing:, it's usually not very nice weather outside to be messing with the garden, or the soil is so wet, tromping around the roots can't be a good thing. They do catch snow and that certainly is a benefit, just like winter mulching of plants that are only marginally hardy for the zone.