I have been watching my asparagus in raised beds trial anticipating a small harvest this year. I started the plants from seed I received from a breeder in 2012. This is the sister variety to AsparaBest™ Asparagus. They have been happily growing, surviving some cold winters. I thought this winter would be the end of them. We had much colder temps this past winter; I thought they may have frozen so badly that they would not come back. Guess I was wrong- and I am impressed. Tomorrow will be the first harvest. In the third season as this is for my asparagus, the spears can be harvested. I won’t push the harvest to the max though this year. I will let them go to ferns early so that they can restore energy to their crowns. This will ensure a much stronger plant next year which will be ready for full harvest. Typically, in the Midwest, you can harvest for about 6 weeks; throughout May and into early June.
I was also impressed with the Joan J raspberry. This will be its second season and it survived happily. This is one of my favorite varieties. The taste and size are impressive and you will get light harvests all summer after the first flush. I love them on my morning cereal or even better, on ice cream.
I hope you are enjoying the early spring where you are.
Craig
Asparagus in Raised Beds