Growing your own - is it worth it?

[gradus]

Re peas there are several varieties stillavailable that will grow well over 6 feet tall eg Telegraph which some seedsmen still sell. Personally I can't be bothered and stick to Hurst Greenshaft and Douce de Provence both of which are easy, not too tall and of excellent flavour.
Re asparagus, maybe the non-showers are simply late arriving, none of mine is showing yet partly because I buried the tops under six inches of muck last Autumn and partly because some are only in their second year having been raised from seed and the shoots are still slender.
I wouldn't worry about a little frost nipping on early spud foliage, it just slows them a little but since the object is not to grow house-brick sized tubers what does it matter?

[umslopogaas]

Gradus, all very well said. Hurst Green Shaft are what I have, and I have Great Expectations (now there's a name for a pea variety!) of the yield. Dont know Douce de Provence, but will investigate.

Checked earlier today, there are a few asparagus spears showing, but many crowns are dead. All very strange. I shall encourage the survivors with a hope of dividing later.

Agree about the spuds, so long as all is well below ground, a bit of frost damage above doesnt matter very much.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Not a spear. For some reason I cant divine, it just wont thrive. But I shall keep trying, it is mysterious stuff, but delicious none the less.

I planted some crowns last year, sold in a packet. These all died. I replaced them with plants in pots from a local nursery. These are the ones that have produced the enticing spears this spring.

[umslopogaas]

My crowns grew, but didnt survive the winter. What did survive were plants I had grown from seed. Must be something about the preparation of crowns (the drying?) that stresses them. Plants in pots are a good idea, I shall try the local nursery (though I suspect he only has crowns). If all else fails I shall try again with seed, it was easy enough to germinate.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Is the drainage good?

[umslopogaas]

Yes, its a raised bed so drainage cant be the problem.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Oh dear. I don't know what to suggest. Living on the windy North Yorkshire coast, I would normally be the one having problems with a crop such as this.

[umslopogaas]

Since the survivors were seedlings, but the crowns all died, I suspect that the process of preparing the crowns stresses them so that although they do grow when planted, they are still too stressed by the time autumn comes to survive the winter. Cant think of anything else. Anyway, the local nursery has sold me some plants in pots, so I hope to have better luck with them. If you can grow it up in the frozen north, I should have no problem down here in balmy Devon!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

If you can grow it up in the frozen north, I should have no problem down here in balmy Devon!

…though to be honest, living half a mile from the sea, our winters are quite mild, though compared with Devon, it's probably more like tundra.

[vinteuil]

... I have to say that my local waitrose, four minutes walk away, has the most excellent asparagus - English in season, from elsewhere at other times. All at most reasonable prices...
.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

... I have to say that my local waitrose, four minutes walk away, has the most excellent asparagus - English in season, from elsewhere at other times. All at most reasonable prices...
.

Yes indeed. Frau A bought some juicy asparagus from Waitrose yesterday. From a financial point of view, it isn't worth growing our own, but this applies to so many walks of life.

This morning, I ordered the materials to build a wooden Canadian canoe. It would be cheaper to buy a ready-built fibreglass one, but much less satisfying.

[vinteuil]

Yes indeed. Frau A bought some juicy asparagus from Waitrose yesterday. From a financial point of view, it isn't worth growing our own, but this applies to so many walks of life.

This morning, I ordered the materials to build a wooden Canadian canoe. It would be cheaper to buy a ready-built fibreglass one, but much less satisfying.

... wise words indeed. The time and expense incurred when I had a harpsichord of my own to play - compared to the trivial expenditure in acquiring the CDs of those who could really play the instrument - Leonhardt, Gilbert, Ross, Rousset, Hantai, Moroney, Staier....

[jean]

... I have to say that my local waitrose, four minutes walk away, has the most excellent asparagus - English in season, from elsewhere at other times...

The Peruvian isn't worth eating.

[vinteuil]

The Peruvian isn't worth eating.

... I think it was on these Boards that there was a discussion, interesting as always, on the different values placed on the smaller, thinner green asparagus compared with the fatter white ones. I seem to recall that there was a line separating those preferring the latter (Germany, northern and Eastern France)... from the former (southern France, Italy... ).

Me, I love both. But prefer the smaller green ones

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The time and expense incurred when I had a harpsichord of my own to play - compared to the trivial expenditure in acquiring the CDs of those who could really play the instrument - Leonhardt, Gilbert, Ross, Rousset, Hantai, Moroney, Staier....