Asparagus Dividing and Transplanting

As seems to be par for the course in our part of the world, once the rain started it can't seem to stop.  Not that I'm complaining, but it is causing me to fall way behind on my spring chores.  And this is a year when I really wanted to get a good running start to the season.  The house and yard needs to be in tip-top shape for our daughter's wedding on July 5.  Well, actually, it needs to be in tip-top shape for her garden party bridal shower three weeks earlier that that.... oh my!  I'm running out of time!!

Fortunately, I did get the major job of re-locating the asparagus bed finished before the rain started again.  My old asparagus bed has produced well for about 15 years, but as the trees grew taller and shaded the area more, and as the asparagus clumps started to become crowded, my patch started losing some of its "oomph".  The spears were getting skinnier and fewer, so the old bed has been re-located and some new plants started in an area that should be good for the rest of the asparagus' life.  At least I hope so, because moving asparagus is not a pleasant job. 

Asparagus develops a huge mass of thick, tuberous roots that spread everywhere in the patch.  Most gardening experts, when asked how to transplant asparagus, are likely to tell you to just buy new crowns and start over.  Yes, it's that much work to transplant them.  But, there is enough of my frugal mother in me that I just couldn't bear to see that old bed go to waste.  Plus, I have a sentimental attachment to those asparagus plants - Mom and I dug them from some overcrowded clumps in her garden all those years ago.  So, last fall I began the process of getting ready to transplant asparagus this spring. 

Those preparations started with preparing a new bed area in a nice, sunny location that isn't likely to become too shaded anytime within the next 50 years or so.  Asparagus likes rich, loose, and well-drained soil.  To accomplish that with my clay base, I added an extra helping of peat moss and well-composted manure to an area that had already been heavily ammended annually for the past several years.  We tilled those organic ammendments in last fall and then tilled it again this spring to loosen it up and make sure they were well mixed into the soil.

I also left the old foliage to dry in place last fall, rather than cleaning it off as soon as it was dry as I usually do.  That assured I could see where to dig this spring.  Ideally, asparagus should be moved while it is dormant, but it is pretty tough stuff.  Some of mine was growing nicely before I got it moved, and it's hardly complained a bit since it's in its new location.   In warmer climates, asparagus can be moved in the fall, but here, by the time it goes dormant, we are pretty near to the time when soil temps are too cold to allow good root establishment before winter freeze-up.

The important thing is to not damage the crown of the asparagus as that is the part of the plant that sends up those tasty, succulent asparagus shoots.  You'll almost always need to sacrifice a few of the roots in the moving but the asparagus will survive nicely if the crown is lifted intact. 

Start the process of moving by looking for where the old foliage is most closely clustered together - that is where the crown is located.   Then go about 8 to 10 inches further out from the edges of the old foliage to get the best clump of roots.  Do the initial digging with a spading fork or potato fork.  The tines of the fork will slide between the fat roots and loosen them before using the shovel to begin digging.  Once things are loosened up a bit, start digging down to the bottom of the root mass. 

Dig a circle around the clump, to the depth of the spade.  Then dig under the root system until the clump is free and can be lifted out of the hole.  There is no way to get all the root system so the objective is to get as much of it as possible.  The more root transplanted with the crown, the better chance of survival the plant will have and the sooner the crown will be able to produce large enough spears for harvesting.

Some of my clumps were about two feet in diameter and felt like they weighed 100 pounds.  I worked these out of the hole and onto an old plastic child's sled to move to their new location.  I've found that asparagus generally tells you where it can be divided - once the soil is loose, the crowns will often separate themselves and you can tease the roots apart and move an intact piece of crown to a new planting hole.  Smaller clumps were able to be moved and transplanted without dividing.

The transplants were planted in rows that are approximately 30 inches apart and each plant within the row is about 18 inches from its neighbor.  This should give my transplants ample room for many, many years without being divided and transplanted.  Asparagus plants can live up to 50 years, so it pays to plan ahead.

The roots should be nicely spread in the planting hole.  Begin covering the roots by gently sifting soil over the top of them by hand.  Don't use a shovel to dump a large amount of soil over the top of them at this point.  Once the roots all have a layer of soil to hold them in place, continue covering with a shovel until the crown of the asparagus is covered with approximately three inches of soil. 

The soil should be gently tamped down into the planting hole and the plant should be watered in well.  Asparagus is a pretty care free plant, so other than keeping the bed weed free, giving the plants a good, healthy drink of water every week, and a top-dressing of compost or manure over the top of the bed each fall after the bed goes dormant, asparagus doesn't ask for much to reward you with many tasty meals over the years.

Thursday we'll talk about planting the new crowns I bought this year.

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