Aparagus crowns

Can anyone give me advice on which asparagus crowns to purchase please for my allotment,ive never grown it before,i have seeds but i read to start the bed off now i need crowns ? Thanks

 

Conovers Cololosal

 

Off to see who is selling them cheers Zigs xx

 

How many will i need? no idea how they multiply ive not googled them x

 

20 crowns

 

I think i read 3yrs john and im not getting any younger so i need to get the bed started,il be in my 50's before i eat them
If im successful with the seed then i will make more beds next spring
I have no idea how many i need per 8ft lengh x

 

sorry,i was thinking lengh trench for them and how many per 8 foot as they will be on the narrower half of the allotment ive just seen Ariane crowns on ebay not a bad deal too buy 3 get 1 free
How many males do we need ? im getting more confused the more i google x

 

Here commenceth the lesson (Not being a know-it-all, but I planted a lot of beds for clients in the UK, and the first thing I planted here was a row of 250 asparagus plants!)
Spacing will depend on soil type/preparation. If you've got the ideal sandy soil, 18" apart sounds about right. They also establish and start producing good spears much more quickly on light soil. If the soil is heavy, it really is worth improving it with sand and peat before planting. It's a long-term investment Same with eradicating perennial weeds and keeping annual ones under control.
In theory, all-male plants are better because they don't waste energy on producing berries/seed. In practice, even if you buy 'all-male' plants, there will be some females. The proportion in seed-raised plants is very variable, but you'll still get useable spears from females.
Connover's Colossal is 'the' standard old variety. Not sure if newer, improved and all-male varieties are available as plants in UK?
Watch out for asparagus beetles..like an elongated red, black and white ladybird. The beetles are bad enough, but they produce the most disgusting, slimy offspring which defoliate the plants very quickly. If you've got time, hand-picking and crushing the beetles is the best control.
When you're inundated with asparagus, it freezes very well after blanching for a few seconds

 

That's right, JWK...it's only when they've gone to fern and have berries that you know what sex they are. You've struck lucky! IIRC, you're supposed to leave all the spears to go to fern for the first year, then pick one or two from each plant the next year and in year three you can pick for a couple of weeks. Thereafter, as much as you like as long as you let the plants run to fern and then die off naturally. You cut the stems right down when they're completely yellow.
As mine were allowed to become weed-infested last year (mentioning no lazy, good-for-nothing husbands!) I'm trying a thick straw mulch this year to suppress the weed seeds. Have had to resort to slug pellets underneath, though, as it's been sooo wet and slugs and snails love asparagus.
The French (until fairly recently) didn't know what they're missing eating the huge, white, bitter stuff. Now the local ex-pats have introduced them to sweet, green, tender 'English' asparagus, there's a mini-revolution going on Not that they'll admit to preferring anything English, mind

 

Thanks john ,i didnt realise one crown produced that many x

 

Eventually, joolz.....steady on