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| Hello all, Not only new to these forums, but also new to gardening in general. I have wild asparagus growing and its been great for the last few weeks. I usually harvest about 3-5lb bags every other day. I was told not to harvest the female asparagus that are growing so I haven't been touching them. So the males and females kind of mixed in the field. About 20 yards away there is about 10 females that are between 5-6 feet tall. I searched the area and see no males anywhere to harvest. I don't understand why I have a plot of females and no males in this area. 20 yards away they grow both male and females. Hoping someone can explain this to me. Would very much appreciate it. Thank you! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Why did they tell you that? Did they give a reason? Does someone want the female plants to set seed and self-sow? |
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| I was told they drop seeds for new asparagus to grow. So I just left them be |
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| They are perfectly fine to eat. But to be honest, I do not know how to distinguish them at the spear stage. |
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| If I cut down females and eat them will I be killing off the asparagus since no seeds will be dropping? |
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- Posted by theforgottenone1013 5b/6a MI (My Page) on Tue, May 27, 14 at 20:43
| Agree with the others. There is no reason not to harvest the females (I sure wouldn't be able to tell them apart from the males). And no, you wouldn't kill them. Asparagus are perennials and come back for years. However, if you overharvest the plants you can diminish their vigor for next year. Rodney |
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| From seed to edible three years elapse. You are no more likely to kill a female than to kill a male by harvesting. Use common sense and follow well known asparagus harvest protocol. |
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| I'm a little confused, couple of you guys say you can't tell the difference between male and female. But from what I was shown, they look a lot different. I'm starting to wonder if what I was shown is asparagus at all? Females branch off and kind of look like a tree without leaves shape? Males just a straight stock right? |
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| Watch your male, and it will branch out too. When they start to flower, then you can easily tell them apart, but that's way past the time of harvesting the spears. |
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| Can you post pictures of what you consider male and female? Maybe people can explain what you're seeing. They all turn to fern if left alone. The females will eventually produce berries. But I agree, at the spear stage, when you eat it, you can't tell the difference. If you were growing a named variety you would actually want to remove the females, not encourage them, because they will seed and produce non-named and probably inferior plants. As others have said, asparagus is a perennial and plants can yield for years. They don't need to seed to perpetuate. |
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| Thanks everyone for the help. Here is some more pictures of the asparagus in question, both males and females? |
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| Wont let me upload more than 1 photo? I have a few more photos of some females and males. |
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| alright I think I got it now. So are these here females? |
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| So those are the females in question. Those are the ones I have not been cutting. |
This post was edited by Stubster on Wed, May 28, 14 at 9:47
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| Keep doing what you've been doing, but not for the male/female reason. The difference is age, not sex. The branched plants are just asparagus gone to fern and gone way past the tender stage when they're good to eat. The others are newly emerged spears before they go to fern, tender and delicious. But you need to leave enough plants to go to fern so they'll grow and produce next year, so after a month or so, it's time to stop harvesting and let them all go. |
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| Thanks Itilton. Now its making a lot of sense to me. So it looks like I actualy have 2 different patches of asparagus growing! I thouth the other patch was just females, but I guess it was just never harvested and grew to fern? Roughly how many should I let just grow and fern out if I want to keep coming back every year to harvest asparagus? I just been cutting what I thought was males down and leaving the ferns. I know it seems odd, but to help give you guys an idea. I just bought this 12 acre lot about 6 months ago. So I had no idea asparagus was evening growing here. Just noticed them this spring. Now that I understand asparagus a little more I can mark off the areas I see them. Again, thanks a bunch for the information! |
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| Usually, people pick for a particular length of time, like month or no more than 6 weeks, then let the rest go. Another key that it's time to stop harvesting is when the spears start to get spindly and thin. IF this is an old patch, once planted and since neglected, the crowns are probably mature enough to support a nice harvest. I'm assuming that, with all that growth around them, you'd be missing some of the young spears and letting them go to fern, which is good for the patch. The more you let go, the more you're likely to have next year. |
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| Got it, Thank a bunch! |
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