Interplanting asparagus?

[veggiechicken]

I have 12 asparagus crowns to plant out but open flat space is at a premium here. I don't want to give over a prime site to asparagus that will not be productive for a few years. I've never grown asparagus before so would like some ideas about whether I can grow other crops between the crowns this year. My thoughts were that roots would not work because of the soil disturbance but that leafy crops like lettuces or spinach might.
Over to the experts!!

[solway cropper]

You're right about asparagus not liking its roots disturbed but you might get away with a quick grower like radishes before the sparragrass gets established.

I dug up an asparagus bed when I realized I could grow something far more useful in the space. Unless you have plenty of space I'd be inclined to give asparagus a miss unless you really can't live without it.

Last year I planted some crowns and small plants grown from seed in large containers and have more freshly germinated seed to go in pots this year. The idea is to have a continuous supply of new plants and crop them to exhaustion!

[veggiechicken]

Thanks SC. I remember you mentioned your technique on here recently. I have the crowns now so have to do summat with them and pots can be a problem if they need a lot of watering as I'm not always able to do that. I think I'll plant them in several different places around the garden, in amongst other perennial plants and see what happens.
Any thoughts on rhubarb and asparagus planted together?

[SarrissUK]

How about dotting pots around the asparagus plants once the season for them is over? I've never seen them in situ after the season is over (after June/July?). If they still grow, but you can't harvest them, they probably won't mind a few big pots around them either?

[veggiechicken]

I'm starting to wish I hadn't bought them! They seem such fussy things - need sun, light sandy well drained soil - none of which do I have. I think they're going to have to grow in random spots wherever I can find them a space. Like the broad beans I've just shoved in amongst the wall flowers on the boundary bank!

[SarrissUK]

I don't think they're that fussy - they just need a gentle start in life Put'em where ya like'em VC! LOL

[veggiechicken]

I'll do that - anywhere there's a space. Can't promise a gentle start though!

[Kaiya]

Thought mine haven't cropped (they have not had a gentle start! I keep moving them. And planting them upside down) they are in clay, and are fine in themselves. I was too stingy to buy them any grit so I gave them a mound of compost instead.

I wonder if an idea would be a sprawling thing next door (rather than on top)? Then, after June, the sprawler could use the space to... sprawl, which would keep the weeds lower and the soil moist, but perhaps without impeding the ferns?

I'm glad you asked this, as I was wondering the same thing. I only have five crowns, but that's still 1-2 square meters out of 40 square metres of productive ground.

[veggiechicken]

Like a sprawling squash you mean? Its an idea! I've never seen asparagus growing as it should so don't know what to expect. I'm not convinced I like it enough to give it a lot of TLC.

[Kaiya]

I had a single fern last year. I trod on it (accidentally!). So I'm also not sure what it's supposed to look like! Either way, at this rate if they survive we'll have the toughest asparagus out there...

[kathyd]

I read somewhere that asparagus and strawberries grow well together, so I've stuck some runners up the middle of my bed to see how it goes. I suspect the straws will get shaded out when the asparagus grows, and I should have planted them round the outside not up the middle, but I'll move them at the end of the year if necessary and top up the compost over the asparagus. I only planted it late last year so won't be harvesting until next year, so I'm sure it'll have time to recover from a bit of gentle tugging at strawberries if push comes to shove . I can't believe that pulling up a few plants is any different from pulling up a few weeds really, provided you're gentle with it... Plus, apparently if you get a female one and it sets seed, you'll be over-run with seedlings - all of which will manage quite nicely without your help, and will go on to take over your garden.... so I fail to see how it can really be as fragile as some people would have us believe!

Oh, and before I planted my crowns I read lots of advice about it, and there was someone who basically said 'ignore all the fussy stuff, I just dug a trench with no mound, chucked them in, covered them up and left them to it' - and his grew great. And whilst mine will get the sun, the soil isn't 'light and sandy', yet all but one crown threw up at least one shoot after I'd planted them, despite the fact the supplier said 'can't promise they'll all grow because you're planting too late really'. Now whether they'll come up again this year I don't know, they've since had the dog and 7 chickens scratching round amongst them... but I agree with VC and others that I'm not going to coddle them, I don't have time!

I sometimes wonder how on earth plants ever manage to grow all by themselves in the wild, given the amount of attention they seem to need in the garden!!

[kathyd]

I read somewhere that asparagus and strawberries grow well together, so I've stuck some runners up the middle of my bed to see how it goes. I suspect the straws will get shaded out when the asparagus grows, and I should have planted them round the outside not up the middle, but I'll move them at the end of the year if necessary and top up the compost over the asparagus. I only planted it late last year so won't be harvesting until next year, so I'm sure it'll have time to recover from a bit of gentle tugging at strawberries if push comes to shove . I can't believe that pulling up a few plants is any different from pulling up a few weeds really, provided you're gentle with it... Plus, apparently if you get a female one and it sets seed, you'll be over-run with seedlings - all of which will manage quite nicely without your help, and will go on to take over your garden.... so I fail to see how it can really be as fragile as some people would have us believe!

Oh, and before I planted my crowns I read lots of advice about it, and there was someone who basically said 'ignore all the fussy stuff, I just dug a trench with no mound, chucked them in, covered them up and left them to it' - and his grew great. And whilst mine will get the sun, the soil isn't 'light and sandy', yet all but one crown threw up at least one shoot after I'd planted them, despite the fact the supplier said 'can't promise they'll all grow because you're planting too late really'. Now whether they'll come up again this year I don't know, they've since had the dog and 7 chickens scratching round amongst them... but I agree with VC and others that I'm not going to coddle them, I don't have time!

I sometimes wonder how on earth plants ever manage to grow all by themselves in the wild, given the amount of attention they seem to need in the garden!!

[VirginVegGrower]

VC what does Gertrude Franck book say? I have mine in a dedicated bed and we are sandyish soil, free draining anyhow. Other than that my sparry grass is left to it.

[Kaiya]

Oooooo now that is an idea. I have a bunch of alpine strawbs I was thinking of moving into a pot as they simply didn't fit into my plot plan, and my asparaguses (asparagi?) are next to all of my soft fruit canes, so in the unlikely event I do manage to arrange some form of bird netting - bonus, strawbs covered too. It was meant to be!

[Nicos]

Like the idea of strawberries- I could see that would work.

Sprawling could be tricky at first when you're trying to find the spears. After Midsummers Day you're not supposed to cut the spears-so as long as the sprawler at that point hasn't reached the asparagus bed- then you'd be OK!

I grew my Asparagus in one long ridge and planted lettuce on each side of the ridge. Under enviromesh they both did really well.