Asparagus in Dutch Buckets???

jason892

Hello all. First post, but have been lurking and really like the activity level.

So, on to my question. I am just getting started, actually don't even have any fish yet, only seeded my first few rockwool blocks with lettuce, kale, spinach, and some old pepper seeds I had left from my outdoor garden. I am currently sourcing around 100 blue tilapia that once grown will reside in a 1000 gallon stock tank that will serve as my reservior.

Reading a few posts concerning asparagus, I have seen mixed reviews concerning the "doability" of growing asparagus in either an aquaponics or for that matter hydroponics system, but I haven't stumbled upon a thread where somebody tried to grow these in a dutch (bato) bucket system. Some of the issues I've read seem to have a central theme of grow space required and dormancy where you have wasted square footage. That has got me thinking that a dutch bucket system seems to possible provide a solution. With these, you can trigger a dormant period by inducing drought, remove the bucket from the system and place in a cool dry area and occasionally sprinkle water in the bucket to ensure enough hydration to keep the plant alive as it rests. When one is ready to begin the next active cycle, it can be placed back in the system. This provides the ability to rotate the "spot" in the system between plants where you can always have active growth on a crop that is in season.

So, again, this is my first post and I have absolutely zero experience, but I'm planning out my system now and would like to know if anybody has tried this, results, or advice anybody might have.

Colum Black-Byron

It'd work, but to be honest, I'd drop them in a F&D bed and forget about them. Plant around them, and let them go dormant naturally.

Root competition isn't really an issue in AP, so they can take up the same space easily enough.

Faye has some growing in her system, maybe quiz her if she pulls it out at all?:
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1622&p=481149&hilit=asparagus#p477859

scotty435

Some in my system as well. It's dormant right now but it's in an outdoor portion of the AP system. If you just wanted a little asparagus then Colum is right, let it go dormant and grow things around it. If you want more than that, your idea might be better or you could just plant it in the ground.

I started my Asparagus a few months after Faye. It is growing in a Constant Flood bed and is doing well, with over 100 shoots this past Summer. The one problem I have is that it hasn't produced any shoots larger than 3/16ths of an inch ( roughly 4.75 mm). I think it may need to be planted lower in the bed than it was. Otherwise it's doing way better than the Asparagus I planted in the wicking garden at the same time. The wicking garden shoots are much thicker though.

Colum Black-Byron

scotty435 wrote:

Some in my system as well. It's dormant right now but it's in an outdoor portion of the AP system. If you just wanted a little asparagus then Colum is right, let it go dormant and grow things around it. If you want more than that, your idea might be better or you could just plant it in the ground.

I started my Asparagus a few months after Faye. It is growing in a Constant Flood bed and is doing well, with over 100 shoots this past Summer. The one problem I have is that it hasn't produced any shoots larger than 3/16ths of an inch ( roughly 4.75 mm). I think it may need to be planted lower in the bed than it was. Otherwise it's doing way better than the Asparagus I planted in the wicking garden at the same time. The wicking garden shoots are much thicker though.

How many shoots do you get off one plant?

Just curious here.

scotty435

That is one plant in the AP.

In the wicking beds just getting a few shoots per plant so far but with 20 to 30 plants. I figure this coming year will be the first harvest.

Here's a picture I found of it -

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IMG_0105.JPG [ 221.64 KiB | Viewed 7379 times ]

mattyoga

I think they start off thin until the crown builds up reserves. Also do you know if it is male or female? Think the males have skinny spears :0

scotty435

This crown was labelled as a Mary Washington hybrid so it's not one of the all male hybrids but I think this probably is a male plant. I think you're right about the males putting out thinner spears so I'll have to see if they begin to thicken up as time goes by.

FYI - I've read where removing the female plants keeps asparagus seedlings from sprouting in the bed. I didn't want to have to remove seedlings in and amongst some of the Jersey hybrids so I did this as well but left a few females just in case. For the few remaining female plants, I've been removing the seeds before they can fall.

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