And any votes on direct sowing vs starting seedlings and then transplanting? I think direct sowing would be better, but then when you remove the female plants, do you end up with big gaps? Maybe you do both so you can transplant male plants in that place?

If I were you I'd stick the seeds in a freezer if you purchased them this year and plan on starting mid- winter(early Jan.) by sowing in individual cells, potting up, and then transplanting to a prepared soil bed in mid April in your zone. Seeds take a 3 weeks to germinate and initial growth is slow. Keep under lights after germination and transplant to deep pots when young seedling are a few inches tall. The roots can crowd a small pot very quickly once plants start growing.

Prepare a bed to acept transplants just as with purchased roots but you need to cover over gradually to not bury the growing plant. You can sneak a spear or 2 per plant in year two. I was reluctant to take any and then a late frost rendered a few weeks of harvest potential wasted but the plants bounced right back and had good ferm growth to finish the season. The third year is where I'm at now and although the spring has been dry my new growth is amazing- some spears are lifting brick sized clumps of soil as they emerge. Instead of pencil sized I've had with Mary W. they are finger- thumb diameter spears. I hate to only cut for a few weeks but I'll follow guidelines and hope for a little longer harvest next year. So this is the routine that I'll pass on to you.

I would start them this year, that one month of difference is really not all that great. Get them started and then feed them judiciously once in the ground. Thus far, I have not seen much difference in the male and female plants, maybe it may be due to varieties but it may not be worth the effort to cull the females. In addition to the ones started from seed, I have Purple Passion and 2 different Jersey hybrids.

There is simply no comparison at all between the quality and the production, not to mention the work involved, between the Washingtons and the Jersey varieties or between planting crowns and growing from seed or even between the female and the male plants.

Since gus is intended to be an established, perennial bed, start with the best available. But if you insist on doing it from seed then as bmoser said above at least start with the Jersey seeds.

Dave