asparagus help needed!

[beth144]

I planted asparagus at the beginning of march and nothing is happening! i even dug down a little bit to see if any growth was happening and the root start looks the same as it did when i put it in. we are zone 7/8 here and i planted the starts in really nice raised beds with great composting soil. i have not otherwise fertilized them though. what should i do? keep waiting or give up on them and plant something else?

[*Eva*]

How old were the crowns that you planted? Just an fyi, asparagus doesn't yeild a crop until the second year so that might be your issue.

[lmonter]

First I'd say give it time. March/April is when you're supposed to transplant stuff like that up here in my zone 5, so it may have been a tad warm for you to be transplanting this year.

Second, just wait another month or two. If the crowns take, you'll see the spears. Which you leave be to get huge and tall and fern out. Helps build the root system.

Third, where did you buy the crowns? If they're from a not-so-reputable place, they may not be top notch. Wait until the end of the season, and if nothing has happened, get ahold of whoever sold them to you if you feel like it.

In addition, apparently asparagus is a pretty heavy feeder. So good aged manure, awesome compost, etc are all good things.

You can also plant a few shallower things like lettuce or small determinate tomato plants if need be. Last year I threw tomatoes, marigolds and alyssum in the asparagus bed for them all to co-exist. I think lettuce would be fine, too.

[beth144]

the starts that i bought were probably 1-2yrs old and i did buy them from a good local nursery. if they don't come up i have thought about contacting the store to get my money back as they were somewhat expensive.

the soil i planted them in was bought from a soil supply company locally. its supposed to be top notch with vitamins/minerals added and all that good stuff. do you think i should give them a shot of liquid fertilizer as well?

do you think bush beans would be ok to plant in the bed? that might actually add something to the soil, maybe?

thanks for your help!

[JamieCatheryn]

They sound dead to me. You can't harvest them the first few years because that'd kill them, but they should be growing *something*.