PENMART01 wrote:


> When asparagus seed is planted it takes one year for the seed to produce
> crowns. About half the crowns produced are male and half are female. The
> female crowns only, produce seed. The male crowns only, produce asparagus
> spears... asparagus spears are truly male, gals... they have no female parts.
> People who insist on growing asparagus from seed (cheap *******s - male crowns
> cost much more than a packet of seed) need to wait and watch to determine the
> sex of each crown produced. Then they need to separate the crowns, usually
> discarding the female crowns (unless one is in the asparagus seed business).

From http://www.extension.umn.edu/distrib...re/DG1861.html we have (in part):

"Asparagus is a dioecious (dye-EE-shus) plant, meaning that there are both male and female plants. Generally, females
produce larger spears than males, but the males produce greater numbers of smaller diameter spears. Only female plants
produce berries. Breeding work is in progress worldwide to produce high yielding all male asparagus lines. The main
benefit from an all-male hybrid is that it doesn't produce seed, which can later germinate and create a significant weed
problem. Only a few varieties of asparagus are available for commercial plantings. Until recently, varieties have been
various strains of the Washington type, which are comprised of both male and female plants. Several of the all-male
hybrids recently developed in New Jersey hold promise for high yields and increased rust resistance tolerance to fusarium."

Note especially the second sentence.

All asparagus growth (both male and female) starts out as "spears" and all (both male and
female) will "leaf" out into feathery fronds if not picked. Any spear left on the plant long
enough will have the tip begin to loosen as this begins. This loosening is perhaps what
the OP refered to as "going to seed". It is more "going to leaf".