Our all-male asparagus ferns are covered in berries. I thought that berries on asparagus meant female... Does anybody know? Does it matter? 

Last spring we planted Gijnlim asparagus crowns. We dug a wide trench about 15cm deep and spaced the crowns about 30cm apart from each other in two rows. Each crown was sat on a pillow of soil to raise it slightly above the roots. We covered them with a 5cm layer of soil and left them to it. We had quite a few spears last year but we didn’t pick any as advised on the packet! In the autumn we cut down the yellowing ferns and spread over a layer of crumbly manure. We also sprinkled over fish, blood and bone before the spears came up and after we’d finished harvesting. We picked the spears for about three weeks but we didn’t want to overdo it as apparently asparagus plants don’t like to be stripped of all their spears in their youth.

The spears have now all turned into ferns which, if they were stood upright would probably be about eight foot tall. The thing is, they have collapsed and are bending over, virtually touching the ground. I have taken a risk and cut off the tops to lessen the pull on the crowns. I hope this isn’t a mistake considering their exacting nature. Gosh, it’s not like growing cabbages is it?!