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Mouldy mail order asparagus crowns
Zibbyl
Posts: 2
in Fruit & veg
Just over a month ago I purchased some asparagus crowns from a well-known online seed & plant merchant.
They arrived yesterday, covered in mould and smelling rotten. I emailed the company to say I was unhappy and wanted to return them for a full refund. They've replied saying "the mould is a natural occurrence due to the temperature " but I'm not convinced.
Does anyone have any comments or advice please?
Last edited: 25 April 2017 14:41:09
0
Posts
If it's just surface mould and they're otherwise firm I'd go ahead and plant them.
If they're squishy and soft then I'd send photos to the suppliers and say that you want a refund as they're not fit for purpose.
If you do Twitter it's a good way to contact them as companies seem to respond more quickly and favourably.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Many thanks for your reply. There appears to be two different kinds of mould, a darker grey/black mould on the ends of roots which seem to have been cut, where the ends are blackened and squishy, and a whiter mould/fungus which appears all over the roots.
My concern is that if I plant them I could be introducing a harmful fungus to the soil which might infect any healthy crowns (if there are any, I haven't separated them), and also I won't know until next Spring if they're healthy or not, by which time I'll have lost a whole year in the development of my asparagus bed.
To be honest, I'd just get them planted asap.
If the supplier (who you say is a well known firm and therefore presumably has a reputation to safeguard) says it's perfectly normal I would trust them and get on with it ... but then I tend to be a 'glass half full' sort of person.
Don't know what anyone else thinks ..?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.