Those bulk prices can get you. One year I bought 1# of turnip seed. I still have turnip seed after 7 years.

I'm thinking pass the salt and butter!

Send them to Zone 8 washington along with the tiller. That will fix two problems.

Yum!

Eric

I am thinking why didn't you get 250. the first spring on my farm we put in 200 asparagus plants and last year (2 years later) we put in another 300 and I do not think this will be enough.

25 plants is enough for a family of 2 to 4 to eat in spring and fall and freeze for winter but not nearly enough to market (unless you asparagus market is so bad/saturated you can't sell more than 5 pounds a week)

I mean we though 200 plants would be enough but found even at full production we can easily sell 3x top 4x what we produce. We also found purple asparagus is very very popular. Once you get people to try it few go back to green and that is where we expanded production.

You must have been thinking a little better than me. Last year I planted 100 and this year I ordered another 300.

The truth is I had to talk myself out of an even larger order. I have the room to plant them, but really there is alot of work to get the ground ready here. And mostly it is only my skinny little old lady arms doing the work. I have found that if I put the rocks that I extract from the beds into the paths it really helps. This will be my 3rd year selling at a farmers market and I know I will sell all that I grow.
We have decided to go ahead and buy a small tractor. I know nothing about them and am worried that I am spending more on tools than I will ever make selling veggies.

We planted just under 700 last spring. I lucked out tho' as I have a friend with a trencher. That makes asparagus planting a breeze. Of course, with all the rains we had I ended up with olympic swimming pools that had to be drained. One of my curious neighbors thought I was doing some kind geo-thermal project on my garden.

Sounds more like hydroponics. he he he.

Has anyone planted something on the beds along with the asparagus. Cover crop of clover or something edible.

After planting 100 or 700 asparagus plants your beds are bare. It's like nothing has been planted. Makes me want to plant something on top.

Eric

Eric - My neighbor used to plant early leafy crops on her asparagus beds ... leaf or butter-head lettuce or radishes, close-planted. As she thinned and ate, the asparagus shoots would start appearing. Abpouit the time the last of the asparagus was harvested and the rest of the shoots left to go leafy, she's be finishing off the lettuce.

Sounds yummy! I've got a space set aside for adding asparagus this year (20' x 50') and have 200 crowns coming this spring to plant. That is about as much space as I could spare for a perennial crop. We are excited to get to eat it and our customers at the market are going to love it. Hopefully none will make it to the freezer. I have never grown it before so I am relying on lots of reading. From that I have put a plan together. We will immediately cover the soil with a living mulch, white clover this year. If I leave my clay soil bare it will erode right down the hill! We will also plant several short rows of parsley between Asparagus rows. A few tomato plants will work into each row also...I think my planner has 8 tomato plants in the whole plot. These were chosen for the companion benefits. I don't know your tractor situation, but the BCS works great for me. Very excited about asparagus!!