Root systems growing asparagus

Betty , as you said the roots can easily go down 15 foot or so .   Due to that knowledge I grow my asparagrass in a 36 inch deep raised bed that is brick built around a hole in a 6 inch slab of concrete  I planted them 15 inches apart as I want a big bed in the irregular shaped 12 sq foot bed they are in .

This morning I noticed the first two fingers poking their head out the bed … this years harvest will be the fourth year harvest after planting them out and should be very good .

Asparagus can keep giving from the same bed for 20 to 30 years,  the more established watered & fed the bed is the better they are able to stand  cropping after the third year of being sown . If you used pre grown crowns give them two full years before you take a small crop so you don't weaken the plants  . 

 Over here in Great Britain  we 3 inch mulch in autumn after the dead stems have been cut back to just above the ground level and again in February with good a quality home made compost that has an animal & bird manure content . In late Feb to mid march  we sprinkle some cooking salt very lightly over the bed as it helps keep down weeds & does not hurt the asparagrass. 

 It's OK  to use your own well made compost and sprinkle it with dried  fish, dried blood  blood & bone meal to give it the extra  boost the asparagus will need to regrown for the season .

bettyDailey wrote:I think I already made a mistake in my soil preparation; however, hopefully, not too late to repair the problem.  Completed the following
Step 1. removed as much as possible the rhizome grass and root systems
Step 2. covered the ground with 4 layers of "Preen Max Strength Weed Control Fabric"
Step 3. built a 3’ x 3’ raised bed square foot garden.  The depth is 19"  Photo attached to this email
Step 4. filled the box with 6" deep of Mel’s mix - which is 1/3 course Vermiculite, 1/3 Peat Moss, 1/3 propagation mix (compost)

Question 1 - I read "Easy Gardening Asparagus" by  Joseph Masabni, Assistant Professor and Extension Horticulturist, The Texas A&M University System.  I learned the roots can reach 5 to 10 feet deep.  Did I create a problem with covering the ground with 4 layers of landscaping fabric?  

I am NOT an expert -- this is my 3rd year and will hopefully be my first real harvest. That said, I would have to suggest you use that bed for something else or rip out the landscape fabric. I am so sorry to offer such harsh advice, but an asparagus bed is a 20-30 year investment. You want those babies to have every advantage and that landscape fabric would be a huge handicap.

OTOH, there are people out there who swear you can grow asparagus in containers, and your setup would be a vast improvement over that, so maybe you could research what they do and see if you're really okay.

I can't help with varieties. I started out with 2nd year already potted up 1/2 price nursery plants. I don't even know what variety I have.

From my research, it seems the biggest mistake 1st year gardeners make is to plant asparagus starts too deep, so keep that in mind if you decide to go ahead with this project.

Finally, good luck and keep us posted. We're with you all the way.

My ground level asparagus bed is c. 4 y/o and is outside my SFG! I interplanted comfrey in with the asparagus. I've also grown tomatoes in there. I didn't use weed fabric at all! Any weeds are removed by hand, 'cause I read it somewhere. Don't know how deep the roots go, though!
Good luck.

Windsor.Parker wrote:My ground level asparagus bed is c. 4 y/o and is outside my SFG! I interplanted comfrey in with the asparagus. I've also grown tomatoes in there. I didn't use weed fabric at all! Any weeds are removed by hand, 'cause I read it somewhere. Don't know how deep the roots go, though!
Good luck.

Comfrey in with asparagus? Why?

countrynaturals wrote:Comfrey in with asparagus? Why?

Suz,
I read somewhere that Comfrey companions well with asparagus, so I tried it. Both plants (perennials) seem to grow well together. The comfrey isn't invasive. It's edible (cucumber flavor), but is used mainly as a compost bin "green", and with nettle for compost tea.
Lee

Windsor.Parker wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:Comfrey in with asparagus? Why?

Suz,
I read somewhere that Comfrey companions well with asparagus, so I tried it. Both plants (perennials) seem to grow well together. The comfrey isn't invasive. It's edible (cucumber flavor), but is used mainly as a compost bin "green", and with nettle for compost tea.
Lee

Hmmm. Velly intellesting! The comfrey doesn't restrict the asparagus from spreading? Picture?

countrynaturals wrote:

Windsor.Parker wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:Comfrey in with asparagus? Why?

Suz,
I read somewhere that Comfrey companions well with asparagus, so I tried it. Both plants (perennials) seem to grow well together. The comfrey isn't invasive. It's edible (cucumber flavor), but is used mainly as a compost bin "green", and with nettle for compost tea.
Lee

Hmmm. Velly intellesting! The comfrey doesn't restrict the asparagus from spreading? Picture?

My bed of Comfrey has a very dense root system, and it would seam that they would choke the Asparagus roots. My Comfrey are the Bocking 5 which do not spread by seed, but they do gradually spread by roots.  If I dig out a Comfrey plant from the patch, a dozen more will sprout up from where I cut/broke the roots of the one I pulled out.  An interesting thing about the Comfrey, though, is that it covers the ground so heavily that grass will not grow among them.

OhioGardener wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:

Windsor.Parker wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:Comfrey in with asparagus? Why?

Suz,
I read somewhere that Comfrey companions well with asparagus, so I tried it. Both plants (perennials) seem to grow well together. The comfrey isn't invasive. It's edible (cucumber flavor), but is used mainly as a compost bin "green", and with nettle for compost tea.
Lee

Hmmm. Velly intellesting! The comfrey doesn't restrict the asparagus from spreading? Picture?

My bed of Comfrey has a very dense root system, and it would seam that they would choke the Asparagus roots. My Comfrey are the Bocking 5 which do not spread by seed, but they do gradually spread by roots.  If I dig out a Comfrey plant from the patch, a dozen more will sprout up from where I cut/broke the roots of the one I pulled out.  An interesting thing about the Comfrey, though, is that it covers the ground so heavily that grass will not grow among them.

Ooo, I think there might be comfrey in my future.

We grow Asparagus on a 12" x 12" spacing, when we first did this we were warned that the roots go 10' - 12' deep but because of the way we treat it we found the roots did not go more than 3' deep. After our asparagus harvest we allow the fronds to grow as much as they want. to aid this we give a heavy dressing of blood and bone meal and  20:10:10 unless we have an order for asparagus seed we cut the fronds a day or two after the first frost. These are composted with other vegetable matter. The asparagus beds are watered well then dressed with 6" of well rotted farm yard manure and this is covered with a very thick layer of bracken [we get this for free] you can use straw 12-15" thick held down with netting to stop the wind blowing it away. This will gradually rot down over the winter it does not  need to be removed in the spring the aparagus will grow through. The beds originally started at 3-4" above ground and now seem stabilised at about 15" - 18" above ground level We have checked and the lowest root is /was 36" below ground level. We assume that because the soil is so rich and being well drained yet at the same time being water retentive the roots do not need to go down very far.