Question

Hi Kate! I posted this question on our facebook page and the consensus is that you should plant them as soon as space has become available. Wait for a cool day or two and give them a lot of water. You can store them for a week or two while you wait for the space to become available. Just be sure to keep the roots moist. Hope this helps. Roger

Has anyone had experience *storing* or *holding* asparagus crowns for any length of time? Is mild refrigeration a good idea? Damp & warm is likely to get moldy. Kate says she has to prepare a planting area for these 12 lovely surprises & preparing a good asparagus bed takes time & effort - especially when the weather is hot. You might try keeping them cool & rinsing them with water every day just as you would *sprouts* until you are able to get the asparagas-bed prepared. I like to have a gardening water source in an open bucket where the municiple chlorine can evaporate before using it for special plant needs & such as watering seedlings - or dampening live roots. Another option would be to *heel them in* some soil in boxes, cool & slightly moist. They would start to grow a bit ... but maybe no more than other *transplants.*

From quite a lot of experience with *plant vigor* i think keeping them cool, wrapping to prevent drying & rinsing them daily will *hold* them until you get the asparagus bed prepared. If any root parts start to spoil, cut them off with a clean, sharp blade. It sounds like you have a can-do approach. Working in the cool of the day can be great exercise & this sounds like great motivation.

i meant to add that you could refrigerate them for a few hours a day to bring the temperature down - without subjecting them to continuous refrigeration.