Anyone have experience with any heirloom asparagus varieties?

Asparagus seed is routinely collected by birds who eat the pulp and groom or excrete the seed.

It is easy to forage seed. It stays on the plant well into winter. Or dig crowns early in the spring from along fence rows (where birds poop em out)

Mary Washington has been on offer as seed or crowns for all of my adult life. There are also purple cultivars on offer.

If you are absolutely determined to wring every possible spear from your patch look at one of the super-male offerings.

I always start mine from seed. The cost-benefit for this homesteader makes crowns out of my price point.

How are they pollinated? Open? If so, I would guess they would not germinate true to variety.

Connover's Collossal is an old variety, which grows thicker shoots.
I am going to try starting it in 2017, so don't have any experience with it.

Asparagus seed is an excelent candidate for winter sowing.

Might try a winter sow.

UrbanWild said:How are they pollinated? Open? If so, I would guess they would not germinate true to variety.

If you have a home garden. There is little dividend in perseverating about trueness-to-type.

In total there are few cultivars you are likely to have access to. Mary Washington being one, Purple passion, being the most distinctive. and a slew of male super-males. All of which do in fact set seed.

I have tried planting them in the summer and also in the winter. I have to say the winter is way better. So that would be my advice.

Are there any "heirloom" cultivars that favor thinner spears?