Asparagus question

2 years ago, I planted some asparagus on the side of my deck just in the ground. They are starting to come up this year, but the whole area is filled with weeds. My husband was cutting the grass, and not realizing that is where my asparagus is, mowed some down. I am wanting to transplant them, but not sure how to. The dirt is really hard, and totally infiltrated with grass and weeds. Should I wait until they all sprout so I know where they are? Is it too late this season to do it?

Also, I found a bag of asparagus roots I bought last year at Walmart and forgot to plant. They are dry packed with what looks like sawdust. Think they might still be alive?

I would wait and see if they come up pretty for you, cut and eat if they are big enough then move.

You can water them and maybe the ground will not be quite so hard. Also, if you have any mulch laying around, put over asparagus to help with weeds til you can move them.

When moving, first water well, maybe more than well, start digging way out from 1st plant, until you find the roots of first plant, roots can be long and spread out a lot, but maybe not in hard packed soil. After finding 1st one, just dig gently, trying not to cut roots as you go.



I really don't think the plant from last yr will be alive, but you can put in a bucket of water, then see if you see any that is alive.

Good luck! Jo

I am new to SFG this year, loving the book so far. I live in northwestern Wisconsin, zone 3. Can I plant aspagus, strawberries, and rhubarb in a 4' x 4' box? Will the plants survive the winter here?

Strawberries will do fine in a box. Since they do put out runners, I have one approximately 2x3 TT of sorts that I've dedicated to strawberries. Mine are in about 4-5" of Mel's Mix.

Not sure about rhubarb (do a search in the white box in upper left) because I think most people have theirs in beds outside their SFG.

Asparagus needs to be planted DEEP and the roots will go down - so if the bed has a bottom, that won't work. They are plants that need about 3 years to really produce and should be permanently located because they will produce for many years after that. Again search "asparagus"...there was a recent thread on it.

Also, here are some links to get you started that give information particular to your state and what varieties might work well in your area:

http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/A1597.pdf

http://wimastergardener.org/?q=rhubarb

http://fyi.uwex.edu/farmersmarkets/files/2009/06/asparagus11.pdf

I would suggest just plant the rhubarb in the dirt in a sunny location, with a few shovels full of compost thrown into the hole where you will plant the crowns.
Plant and grow Rhubarb