Asparagus from seed in SFG

Hello! I'm defying sensibility and trying to grow asparagus from seed (Mary Washington).  I've created an extra tall 4x4 and have it all nice and clean and composted and ready to fill with asparagus.  But I'm very confused about one thing.  I'm in the Pacific NW (Marine area)... Can I plant my seeds, spaced "correctly" and to the "correct" depth and then do the gradual dirt filling in as they grow and then just winter them right there in the square and let them grow from the crowns next Spring?  Do I have to transplant (move) the crowns next Spring?  It looks like there has been some success in the forums with growing asparagus from seed in a SFG, but I'm not clear if I need to replant them at some point.  Would appreciate any and all advice!

Im doing the same thing this year because after planting 6 two year old crowns about two years ago and only getting a couple tiny, thin hints of asparagus, I went ahead and bought some seeds that im going to just sprinkle into my asparagus box   

I have seen a video on this from a great gardener on youtube.....but im having a hard time finding the right video, as I believe he just sprinkled the seeds into the bed and didn't do anything transplanting and they grew great for him.....if I find it I will post it!

happy gardening
rose who hopes someone will come along with an answer  

TRying reading through this discussion. Littlejo talks about her asparagus self seeding.

My guess is that if you have to take seedlings and then replant them deeper has to do with how deeply your ground freezes solid. This is my guess why I do not see wild asparagus around me, but did a zone or so warmer. Deep mulching could compensate to some degree.

I am just hoping my plants make it through this winter. I deep planted in a 12" bed 2 year crowns, 1 year crowns, and some seedlings, each a little higher up so not to overwhelm them. I intend to deep mulch them that survive and sprinkle some annual flowers to grow among the fronds. Now to see what survived

Thanks for the quick response. I too have been wading through Youtube and past posts on this Forum and have gotten some great information, but nothing specific about successful direct sowing of asparagus without the transplant step   .  Your thought about the level of ground freezing is a good one.  We are relatively temperate here on the Olympic Peninsula, but can have some hard freezes (this past winter for example was a bad one).  Being in a raised bed also seems to contribute to the degree of frozen earth.  I'm hoping that if I plant deep enough (without jeopardizing the initial seedling) and then cover and perhaps even surround the outer bed, with mulch over the winter, things might work out.  Would still love to hear from someone who actually did this though.

I believe Littlejo did this. Maybe some one else. But Littlejo lives in SC, I do not know how your climates compare.
In zone 5/6 asparagus self seeds and grows wild in the ditch banks. No one is transplanting those seedlings to deeper depths. But what is probably crucial is that it is banks with excellent drainage, much like a raised bed...

Well this is just my experience.  I know that in the north 1/3 of the country you can find wild stands of asparagus that come up year after year with no care taken for them. My brother who is in Central Michigan tells me you can locate old abandoned farm site by the asparagus beds that still exist. I am located in the north panhandle of Florida. I have had an asparagus "Clump" ongoing in a Rubbermaid Storage Tub for 5 years now... I don't get a huge harvest, but I'm the only one in the house that eats asparagus so its enough... Every year I have a number of new tiny plants that come up from the "berries" that fall off the plants..I am seriously thinking of devoting one of my two meager 2 by 6 beds to asparagus.. I enjoy it just that much.. I have found it very easy to take care of, just keep it moistly watered, add some compost from time to time, and if I have any extra compost or fish emulsion tea I add that as well.
I have found asparagus to be very forgiving..

Back in the late 1980s and the 1990s, we discovered single and small clumps of asparagus growing in the back yard of the house I had in Goffstown, NH.  We didn't plant it.  It was just there growing year after year 4 to 5 feet tall.  Since it was there from before we bought the house, I don't know how long it had been growing there or how deep the roots were, but it came back year after year so the NH winters were not killing it.

-Ed

happy to report that we were able to eat 1 nice size asparagus this year! after all this time some came up....we left the couple others as they were a bit thinner then the one we gobbled up   

after they turned into ferns.....something exciting happened....

a few baby asparagus ferns are coming up from sowing the package of asparagus seeds into our asparagus bed in the spring  I will keep ya posted on how they end up doing next year....I will take some photos if anyone is interested   so far I would say about 6 ferns are up from those seeds.....

and the ones we didn't eat have gone to seed as well.....hmmm

happy gardening
rose

A friend hunts ditch asparagus and supplies enough for himself his two daughters and me to each freeze around 25 bags besides fresh used. Personally I would not put it in a sfg unless you want that box dedicated to just asparagus. The tops would shadow anything else near it and tops are necessary for the root system to store energy for winter and new growth. The roots will grow over 10 feet deep in time and the clump will continually spread out in the direction it decides too. My 30 year old clump now covers a 3x10 foot area in my regular garden area.