Is there value in a temporary asparagus bed?

We bought 100 acres in a state across the country from where I have all of my gardening experience.  I'm excited for the new challenge, and am already taking advantage of the hotter summers to grow some stuff I never would have had success with in the PNW.  We are building a house, and I intend for my kitchen garden to be in the general vicinity of it, but until the house is completed, I won't be ready to site the garden.  I have a temporary/auxiliary garden down at the bottom of the hill our house is going on near our shop that I'll likely continue planting with annuals and select perennials (I have a geodesic dome I'm going to use as a trellis for hardy kiwi) at least for the foreseeable future as it is in a low point and tends to stay moist. I could easily build an area to have slightly better drainage to use as a temporary asparagus bed. (I never grew asparagus in our garden in the suburbs and it's a high priority at the new land)  Is there a benefit to preparing this bed and obtaining asparagus starts now, knowing I will be transplanting them in a couple of years, or am I better off just waiting until their future home is ready and then getting some?

Hi Laurel, did you decide?  I think putting them in a good moist spot now is a great option.  Maybe they will do so well there you won't want to transplant!  Because they take so long to establish, I would want to get them in sooner rather than later (as in, this autumn) and get a yield from them earlier.  With 100 acres to play around with, in my view there's really no pressing need to keep them to the dedicated kitchen garden.

Asparagus grows so fast, I wish I would have planted it closer to the house. Even though my bed is enroute to the chickens and ducks spears get away from me. If it were me I'd plant it with the intent of moving into zone 1.  Just letting the ferns grow without harvest would increase the number of crowns to transplant later.

Robert Ray wrote:  Just letting the ferns grow without harvest would increase the number of crowns to transplant later.

Does asparagus divide pretty well then?  I wouldn't mind trying this in a year or so with my plants.

Asparagus does divide easily. If it is a case where you will be moving it in the future starting a nursery bed might be a good idea.

G Freden wrote:Hi Laurel, did you decide?  I think putting them in a good moist spot now is a great option.  Maybe they will do so well there you won't want to transplant!  Because they take so long to establish, I would want to get them in sooner rather than later (as in, this autumn) and get a yield from them earlier.  With 100 acres to play around with, in my view there's really no pressing need to keep them to the dedicated kitchen garden.

I haven't decided yet, but I'm leaning towards preparing a spot now and putting some crowns in either this fall or spring, but I'll definitely be moving them closer to the house.  I know myself and know that when I get busy, out of sight is out of mind, and if I'm not seeing the asparagus all the time, I won't be thinking of harvesting it.

Robert Ray wrote:Asparagus does divide easily. If it is a case where you will be moving it in the future starting a nursery bed might be a good idea.

Thank you!  I actually have a pile of soil that was scraped off of an area that was used to work cattle when we built our shop.  It would be easy enough to work on flattening it out a bit and letting it spend the rest of the summer under a tarp before planting some crowns for future collection.  

The ferns are actually a visual pleasing landscape feature. Just be sure to cut them down after they turn brown to keep pests down.

I think starting a temporary asparagus bed early is an excellent jump start for your future garden. It will give them some extra time to mature enough to start harvesting since that takes a few years. They can be moved or divided easily. You could also just leave them there & start the new garden with seeds from those asparagus. I actually made a temporary asparagus patch at my last garden. Made a small patch to move some existing asparagus into. Then worked on turning a big hole into a large new area for a couple of years ... it was almost ready to go... then I moved away. Someone else will reap the rewards!