I usually take any plant cuttings, especially those that contain bugs, and toss them in with the chickens. And whatever the chickens leave after 2 days I’ll toss in compost. That way they take care of the bugs for me and they get a snack too.

I love describing foliage as a solar panel, collecting energy for the plant (the bank). That is EXACTLY how life works!

I use electric hedge trimmers to take down my plants in the winter, takes very little time. Then a cover of mulch for winter. In some years they will begin to sprout as early as February. My plants are nine years old and have to be harvested twice a day once they start growing large spears. 4-6" a day is not uncommon.

I live in the Caribbean in Antigua and have three asparagus plants growing in a raised bed. This is their first season. I pray they get nice and big like yours.

Thank you so much for this video. I was hoping you would talk about this. I just started a bed late spring and wasn't sure when I should cut it back. Can't wait to see how it grows next year.

Hello sir! Next spring I will start cutting on my crowns, and my yearlings will be placed with them. I can't wait, great timing. Thank you!❤

Hi Jacque, I am also growing asparagus by seedlings. I can't get over the thickness of some of the spears. My bed is going into it's second summer. I haven't harvested any yet. I'm going to assess it spring 2023. Maybe I might get a spear or two then. Blessings from Australia ♥️

Nice video Mr. Jacque, comfortably well spoken, informative, easy to watch, and enjoyable. I knew an elderly lady that used to put wood ashes and old cow manure on here bed every fall/winter best I remember it grew very well. What if you just cut the tops off at ground level leave standing till brown then burn it, it should burn fast killing any bugs and the ash would fall and fertilize. Burning it while it stands keeps the crown from getting hot.

This is so timely for me. Thanks for the wonderful education. Now I know it’s ok to cut it to the ground and cover with compost. I’m in 9A and we grow year-round so I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing and after watching your video, I was doing it wrong. LOL

Thanks for the video. You do a very good job of explaining what you do and why you do it. Keep on keeping on.

Great video on year two on asparagus in a raised bed and I definitely made some mistakes but still alive! Love from Lakeside California. Love your videos!

I'd be burning the aphids infected cuttings. In fact, I even thought of taking the creme Brulee flamer and torching the aphids before cutting the bush, to prevent spreading plus where they had dropped onto the ground, avoiding the live plant areas.

Be lazy like me in the fall raise my mower deck up mow away bed is about 20 years old does great sprouts about the size of large carrots

I'm in zone 5 (NH) and don't find we need to leave the ferns for winter snow protection. instead I prune like you do, then mulch heavily with leaves or similar.

as always lots of useful information thanks

Thank you for great tips! I live in a cold zone 3 and it was very helpful to know i do not need to prune my asparagus patch. Alsoi started with seedlings. Goot to know i can eat them sooner!

I especially appreciate the adding of compost step.

Ia loving asparagus! I have a patch growing here in bay are but no where near as large! Yours looks amazing!!

Ahhhhh!!! The cloud of aphids… RIP Jacques 😂

Hi Jacques!

I just found your channel and subscribed. I am growing in the Los Angeles basin area of California (10b) and I just had to thin out a patch of asparagus that looked a lot like yours (almost 3 years old). It was so dense bugs were also inside. It is mid August so I am reluctant to cut the whole plant down. I am not sure what time of year this was, but it looks like you are also in a warm climate. I am hoping I can wait now until the plant turns brown (fall or winter) before I cut it all back. Thank You, most videos I have seen on asparagus seem to be in a cold climate.

This video was awesome 😊 what a fun plant to grow

I have my asparagus in the center of a raised bed Greenhouse. I plant tomatoes and cucumbers around it, they grow high enough so when the asparagus flops over the other plants are above it. Been working out for 2 years, This year's supposed to be the harvest year so only a few more months to go.

Awesome. Next year will be my 1st year that I harevest mine! Grown from seed!!

That asparagus looks like a hobbit lives inside.

You should spray the plant with soapy water first before cutting so aphids won't spread to other plants.

Perfect! I need help on this: I planted my asparagus from seed this spring (zone 10a) and have beautiful plants maybe 3-4 feet tall/long. They are still vibrant green with no aphids and I've been wondering when to cut them down. Did you cut yours back the first year?

Good information Jacque! Are they too thick or stringy to use gas hedge clippers?

I've never seen asparagus without asparagus beetle. Last year, I made the mistake of chopping/ dropping the fronds back over the beds. Early spring spears already had the little devils all over them. We had a freeze in April, and I haven't seen one since. I'm sure they'll be back later, but I've never seen them so early before.

Beautiful plants by your compost bin

Wow Lovely Garden LIKE it ❤️ My friend, thank you for good sharing 😊

busy in the garden

Vast fields of these grow wild on and by a bridge by my house. It is very common to see people harvesting them every spring. I like to grow them as a house plant which is much harder then it sounds. The crop version of this plant requires a lot of water and light compared to the dwarf houseplant version and is a lot more fickle about drainage. A south window and some good quality grow lamps are required. That said, they do make a good conversation piece if well looked after. I come to videos like these for insight on how to make these plants do better then they currently are. These are one of the most difficult plants I have ever grown indoors in pots.

Thanks for the video!

I've seen strawberries recommended as a companion plant, but my strawberries go crazy with runners. How do you keep them from taking over?

Great tips, Thank you

Question about the aphid dust: Is the aphid dust black in color? I had asparagus that the tops became very thick. When I tried to separate them in the middle there was a black area, and lots of little white specs, but nothing was moving. Your video is the ONLY place where someone showed photos of something similar to what I was seeing. I thought maybe mine was a fungus or mold, but now I am thinking that I must have had aphids, never noticed it in the center of the fronds, maybe they died off and it left this black powder with white specs. What did you do to get rid of the black dust? It's middle of Summer here, normally would not chop back until October or November. Should I just cut down to the ground now all parts of plants that had this black powder? Thank you so much, I am so happy to have found your video!

I just leave them until after the fridgid temps are finished. Bone and blood meal.

Thanks!

Great tips

This is an old post so i don’t know if i will get an answer but i planted asparagus 3years ago. I haven’t harvested more that a few spears even this year(the 3rd year) i felt like my bed was doing well but later in the spring/summer i noticed more fronds popping up all over, ones i didn’t plant. Im taking that as a good sign but what i noticed with these plants is that the fronds are much thicker, denser and shorter than my other plants that are taller and feathery. I cant find anything in the internet about what might be happening, if it’s good or bad. Di you have any ideas?

Ok, totally off topic, but... I just found this channel and am loving it!! I have a totally off topic question though to any in this awesome community, we got a cat who adores the outside lands, so we had to close up the dog door. Well, now I have a horrible gopher prob. They're attacking everything! Avos, citrus, herbs, even a 40+ year old lemon verbena that they'd never gone after. I've tried traps 😖, not helping, and it's so bad I need to find something! Otherwise my partner might go the poison route!! Please, any ideas? -helpless gopher digger needing help

Hi Jacques, You said that if we get heavy snow to not cut it before winter, so are we cutting it as soon as the snow is melting? thanks a million!

I am curious: Were this NOT the end of the season, how would you handle the aphids? I have had aphid issues before, usually handle with neem or the like, but this last summer I had MASSIVE aphid problems and I couldn't even keep on top of them when I was out there almost daily. I have always heard letting them go would attract beneficial insects to help, but I never saw that happen. I am hesitant to just douse everything I own with pest control stuff, even organics like neem.

What are your thoughts on Ruth Stout's method of never cutting them back?

Because possible Beatles I'm burning 🔥 my clippings.

Jacques, Just curious--are the asparagus fronds also edible? 🤔

Why can’t you spray the afids. Like with 8. Thanks jim80

My asparagus has never died down. Because it’s pretty much green all the time, when it’s a good time to cut them down?

god i hate cutting down all the fronds. so time consuming. ive even tried chain saw,angle grinder with cut off blade etc lol but still not efficient. any tips would be welcome.

Did you bury the newer ferns? I couldn't see them at the end

if you had aspargus beetles, believe me, you would know it. they can strip your plants in a matter of days. One day you have beautiful new growth, the next day you have bare stalks and branches.

58. 11

I think I had those beatles in my sweat basil. Does that make sense?

Was there any afids? You didn't mention it 😁

😁👍

so why did you put infested folliage in your compost? also when you tossed the asparagus over the fence didnt you just spread the aphids all over your garden?? Im a new gardener and im asking so i dont make any mistakes? Thanks for sharing

Want to grow some, but still trying to figure out where in my garden I can place a patch. How do you tell the difference between a male and female plant?

I don’t know if I have asparagus or an asparagus fern. Do both produce asparagus spears? I have spears growing now (in late fall, zone 6a) after cutting back all the foliage to the ground (the foliage had red berries on them).

Ahhh!

Looks like you need ladybug's

Hello 👋 Masha Allah

Hey Jacques, I'm also growing asparagus from seed and it has been extremely vigorous. Unfortunately I need to move the raised bed. How and when should I go about moving the asparagus? Zone 8a

: Holds up a plant that's about 2 feet taller than him. "This might be 6 feet in height".

Sad. Mine has yet to get anywhere. I get two or three small spears. I’m in zone 4b tho so that might be part of the issue

Hey Jacques, why isn't Kevin helping you... U always help him out

Why not give the asparagus to your chicken flock for some added protein and some fresh greens?

I am concerned about the aphids. I have never had them on mine. Aphids mean something is wrong.

UGH seeing all those aphids makes me itchy. Also, maybe wear a mask so you're not inhaling them 🤢

I have a question.. why do people harvest the way they do? IE: they cut cabbage and what not at the base instead of ripping out the entire root? Wouldn't it be easier to just rip out the entire plant also you can plant something else in it's place? I just find it foolish to just something at the base and leave the root in place in the garden.. to me that's a waste of space now because something is still in the same spot.. I'll never understand that...

Sounds like a pain.. I just bought some.. we shall see. I’m a good gardener…

Planted 3 plants in a small row of 10 cm wide. Think I made a mistake there

YUCK YCUK that’s so many Aphids 😂

That's ONE asparagus plant??

"Continuously providing" that statement is so misleading when describing Asparagus. Asparagus provides such a short harvest of two or three weeks, and low yield per square foot that I gave up on it a long time ago due to space. That and you can buy the same quality at a farmers market during the harvest period. If I had the room maybe.

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How many plants, or how much area do you have dedicated to asparagus? I'm trying to decide how much to plant for 4 people