new asparagus bed

They do seem a bit weedy in the first year, but that is normal.

Hopefully they won't flower - i.e. you have a Male Only cultivar. The females set seed, after flowering, and they then self-seed all over the bed, and it is not easy to tell seedling from crown of course, so in time you would get a mess of plants.

 

I was never sure whether I had a male only or mixed cultivar. How can you tell? They did flower but certainly never seeded themselves out. Knowing myself, I would probably have bought a 'natural' mixed one at the time ....

 

The females will have "berries" later in the year. You are right that the males flower too - although not sure if "flower" is the right term - but splitting hairs!!

 

Remember if you are starting off a new bed, you are not supposed to take a crop for two years! If I'm not mistaken anyway.

My parents had a big asparagus bed at a childhood house. I went by a few years ago to find the asparagus still there and in full growth. There must have been about 50 of them all waving around like tiny trees. All those middle-class teatimes wasted!