Asparagus

I have never grown asparagus before and it is something I would love to give a go. I have been six years now on an allotment waiting list and I do not hold out much hope of getting one any time soon but I think I will get some crowns.

I generally buy from one supplier and the smallest pack of crowns they sell is 10. I live in a rental so most of my growing is done in containers... so I have two questions.

Will asparagus grow in a container (I was thinking of a potato or tomato bag) and how much space do they require container/ground or otherwise?

Crowns are planted in the ground between a foot and 18" apart, about the same between rows. I've seen asparagus grown in containers but you need pretty decent sized pots to accommodate the roots. I'd reckon one crown per 2'x2' (width x depth) pot would probably work. Make sure the pots have plenty of drainage holes. You'd need a top quality potting mix with plenty of extra organic material mixed in. The key to asparagus is caring for the roots.

Hmm... perhaps not something I can grow then.

Thank you for your fast response.  

That's a shame. Not even room for a couple of pots?

Oh I have room for one or two, but I can only buy 10 crowns for £15.99 from my supplier which seems a waste both money and product wise.

why not give some of the excess to a gardening friend as a present? One of my customers planted asparagus plants 20 years ago and they are still producing!

I would love to LMR1, but I am new to this area and do not know anyone. 

From what I have seen so far, all my neighbours are elderly and/or disabled and seem to have privately hired gardeners come in at random times to do their mowing/weeding.

I suppose I could wander down to the allotments and hand them out there!  

Why not find out if the allotments have a noticeboard or similar means of contacting each other/sharing seeds etc.  You might find someone who would love to go shares on buying some ... and what a way to make gardening buddies 

You can buy 60Lt 'aspargus grow bags' from suppliers like Thompson and Morgan.  They advise three crowns/bag which sounds a little cramped to me; this is maybe why they say to only expect three to four years of crops.  I've never done it myself but would be interested to know if anyone has had good results ... allotment waiting lists are closed in the area I've just moved to and the quagmire that is apparently my garden would cause the crowns to rot.

I finally, after six years, got an allotment!!!

Which is good as I had no room left at all for any more containers or specialised bags for growing anything at home... Now the only problem is that it has rained and rained and rained non-stop and the allotment has mint on it (who in their right mind plants mint direct into the ground ).

But I did mark out my beds and put down some weed suppressant fabric for two of them - beans/peas and my salad/herb/flower bed.

They have a little tin screwed too the allotment notice board for seed swapping, not really sure I can squeeze 10+ asparagus crowns into it!  

Hurrah!!!  

Well, you don't need to swap the asparagus crowns now - you can plant them all yourself in your own allotment - how exciting