I received 1 asparagus plant and it has been in the ground...do these multiply?
It is now in the "ferny" stage... what do I do with it? I'm in zone 9. I've seen some asparagus plants at Wal-M and thinking I need more plants if I want a harvest.

Asparagus plants will multiply, year after year. Only having one plant will be a slow process though. You won't be able to harvest any of the spears until the second year, and then only a handful of them. So if you planted the plant last summer/fall, you should not harvest this summer/fall. Wait until 2014. You have to be patient with asparagus. You'll be able to get a lot of edible spears the third year and the years after. Ken in Mississippi

P. S. There is absolutely no growth on my asparagus yet. We are still getting freezes here but it looks like by the end of the week, we will finally begin getting nights temps in the upper 30's to mid-40's, The asparagus should begin putting on growth in a week or two. I am starting some plants from seeds in one of my greenhouses and will sell them when they get large enough to pot-up, which probably won't be for another couple of months.

Nothing popping through here in GA yet. We have both seed started and roots planted, three rows, 50 ft. Long.

I started asparagus from seed last year, so it will be quite a while before I can harvest any. Looked in the container this past weekend, and no shoots were showing yet, but I think their time is coming soon. This will be another harvestless year, but I'm hoping I see heartier shoots - last year's babies were spaghetti-thin, but still shaped just like asparagus you'd buy at the store. Cute, but it would take an awful lot of them to fill a plate

Bit, they will get thicker and thicker each year. This year you may see some sized similar to what you see in the grocery store. Ken

Starting asparagus this year.

Great! Going for sustainability! Or at least being able to cut down on grocery bill?

It takes awhile but it's well worth the wait.

I can wait... I hope lol.... Nothing better then fresh asparagus. Oh yummy yummy... But seriously I can wait

I now have four spears growing, the tallest one is already 24". They are all about the thickness of my little finger. This morning was (hopefully) our last freeze. It got down to 31 F but does not appear to have harmed the asparagus in any way. These are now two-year old plants. I will not harvest any of the spears for a couple of months, just letting what grows put on tops so that energy can be directed into the growth/expansion of what I have. When lots of nice tops have formed, I will begin to take a few newly formed spears each week for a month or two. Next year, I should be able to harvest a bunch of spears, from spring until fall. Ken

Got one spear yesterday!

I got a pack of long purple eggplant seeds and will sow them and see what happens.

My mother next door has already harvested a bunch.
Someone planted some on a grave in an old hispanic graveyard and that one grave is loaded every single year.

I'm waiting to see if my little plants survived our winter this year. I had about 200 plants... it was much cheaper to start from seed than to buy crowns. I'm going to sow some more though, just in case. ;)

Our patch is in its fourth year and going strong. Haven't notice much expansion, but haven't really fertilized either. Do cut all of the ferns before first freeze and mulch. Texas winters (yes, I know, laugh!) don't phase them at all. We only harvest for three or four weeks and then let the rest grow to fern - this is how they store food for next year's growth. Not much makes it to the house though - it is sooo yummy right out of the garden!

I don't have room really to grow them. I do love asparagus though.

I bought crowns of Jersey Knight. They were mostly male plants with fatter stalks. A few do make seeds, so I think they must be the females. I've been saying that I should harvest and plant some of the berries when they turn orange in the fall, but haven't done it. Asparagus needs a lot of water. Mine didn't do much, although it was alive, until I put down those black leaky hoses and mulched the whole patch heavily with grass clippings (no chemicals). The leaky hoses get them wet enough and the clippings hold the moisture in the soil and also break down to feed the plants. There was a marked improvement after that, and I even have some volunteer plants between the rows.

for asparagus. We were able to harvest more than enough for DH and me. Gave some to my son and we sold it twice at market. Should be tons more next year. We are letting it fern now.

Love the taste of asparagus but I have no room to plant any.

Yeah, it does take up a lot of space.

We have been growing asparagus for over 22 years and love it.

Wild Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis 'Jersey Knight')

Yumm looks like a lot
do you preserve it in any way or just eat it all fresh?