Asparagus crown depth

[BoPeep75]

Hello, I have recently switched some of my older wooden raised beds to metal beds. They are deeper and will affect my perennial asparagus bed. I’m not sure if I can cover the crowns up an additional 8 to 10 inches from where they already are and have been growing for several years, or if I have to dig them all up to move them up higher in the soil. My concern is that they’re just now coming up and I don’t want to lose this year’s crop . I know some things like tomatoes can be planted several inches deeper when you are transplanting them. I was hoping with how huge asparagus plants get that they could take an extra 8 inches or so of dirt on top.

 

[sugarapsa]

This might work although I would add just enough soil, an inch at a time above the emerging spears & see how high they will travel. If it doesn't work I would wait until late winter 2024 to dig out the crowns and move them higher.

 

[redback]

Google says the spears are bigger and fewer when planted too deep.

 

[BoPeep75]

Hmmm, we shall have to see how this works out. I did put some more soil down on it this past weekend. I tried to dig some out to move them higher first, but there was just no getting those crowns out. I was hacking at them so viciously I thought it would end up killing them anyway, so I thought I would give this a try first. I will keep you updated.

 

[BoPeep75]

I just wanted to update this post since I said that I would let anyone know who was interested how it went. As mentioned above, I did put down about 3 or 3 1/2. more inches of dirt on top of them. 2024 had a harvest that was maybe a little bit slower to fruit and when they did come up, they were paler. I looked it up and apparently some people like the white asparagus. I thought they tasted at least as good as before. This year, I did not add any more dirt at least at this time. Our harvest was as plentiful as it was (if not more so) two years ago, and I did not notice any paleness in any of the stalks. We’ve had this asparagus bed for some years, so I’m not overly concerned with hurting it. I can always replant if necessary, so I’m planning on putting a couple of more inches on it this fall. It will not fill up the bed by any means, but at least it won’t look so bizarre.

 

[Meadowlark]

Nice to see a follow-up!