Asparagus preparation

[bionda75]

I've gone and taken the plunge and ordered some asparagus crowns which should arrive early March. I've quite heavy clay soil on my plot and have read that asparagus like well drained soil so any advice on how to best prepare the bed?

Many thanks

[Paulottie]

On heavy soil it is best to grow them on a ridge...should look a bit like earthed up spuds by the time your finished

Double dig a trench now, WEED it well and incorporate lots of grit and muck. level the bed with surrounding soil and save spoil (mix with more grit and muck to earth-up later.) dust with BF&B and let it settle. return in March and edge the bed a bit like a lawn to form (a) shallow ridge/s in the middle- top about original soil level. soak your crowns and spread out like a spider on the ridge. 12-15" apart and preferably put a bit of peat/compost around crowns to protect them as you start replacing the soil you saved. firstly to a depth of about 2" and later in summer another 2". When you cut down the ferns in Nov mulch the whole bed with 2" of muck so the rain doesn't expose them in winter. If you really want to treat them nice: Go and get a few bags of jetsam seaweed (not the live stuff) and give it a layer of that the following spring.

learn what Asparagus beetle and grub and egg looks like...seek and destroy!...the can do serious damage in the early years.

Lots of effort now but worth it in the long run...Good luck.

[bionda75]

Thanks for the detailed advice. Will let you know how I get on.

[Eco-Chic]

If you get asparagus beetle a tip I was given is to leave about 6-9" on one stem only to encourage the beetles to move in. Cut it down in spring being careful not to drop the beetles and scatter them around.

[selfraising]

Hi
I too have clay soil. I planted my crowns in a raised bed filled with compost and plenty of manure. They seem to be doing fine

[bobleponge]

Likewise a heavy clay soil.
I dug out the area where they were going to go, down to about a foot. I then placed a layer of rotted horse manure and straw on the bottom and covered that with a layer of sand/grit. This was then mixed together, giving a light mix.
The crowns I had been given had been grown in almost neat sand, with very little soil involved, so I merely emptied the whole lot out of their containers and moved straight into the prepared areas. They were basically growing in a "soil" of sand,grit and rotted manure.
They grew fine, with lovely spears.
At the end of the season I cut them down to ground level, and cover the whole lot with more rotted manure, to a depth of a couple of inches or so.
The dreaded B word hasnt come to visit me yet, but it certainly exists here, so I do keep a beady eye out as soon as my plants pop their head above ground every year.
Good luck.

[bionda75]

Great so we're doing the right thing then. At the weekend we dug out the bed, made up the wood frame and put down a layer of weed suppressant material to stop any weeds growing up from below, covered that in a layer of coarse sand and gravel, followed by a layer of manure. Then we started the long, tedious task of filling up the bed by putting the soil back once it had been sifted and hand picked free of any weed roots (couch, dock, dandelion, the usual baddies). We've also mixed the soil with some sand and we'll add more manure too.

But home grown asparagus will be so worth it in a couple of years time.

[selfraising]

Sounds like your doing a great job. I've just had to move mine. Hope they survive!!