• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

Growing asparagus and strawberries together?

 
Posts: 15
Location: Eastern Washington State
10
forest garden composting toilet homestead
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I have a theory that strawberries and asparagus could be good garden bed mates, but I am wondering if anyone has experience growing them together? Would the strawberries steal all the nutrients? What are your thoughts on this pairing?
 
pollinator
Posts: 239
Location: S. New England
111
fungi foraging trees chicken bee wood heat homestead
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've had some success planting them together. My strawberry roots tend to be around 2-6" deep while the asperagus is much deeper, more like 6-12".  
In my case, the strawberries performed the best out of the pairing. I didn't have as much luck with the asperagus, but that was mainly due to the presence of asparagus beetles.
Or perhaps the beetles attacked the aparagus plants because they were weakend due to lack of nutrition (??). FWIW, I'm still getting a few spears here and there after 4 years.

I'd say it's worth a shot, especially if you are short on space.

 
gardener
Posts: 3249
Location: Cascades of Oregon
815
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My strawberry asparagus trial last season was cut short when the chickens got into the bed. The chickens didn't hurt the asparagus but decimated the 150 strawberry plants the wife put in. I might try it again but we replaced the strawberries with marigolds and some basil starts and reinforced the surrounding netting. Marigolds loved it basil did quite well.The basil might have done better if it wasn't a mid season effort.
 
author & steward
Posts: 5295
Location: Southeastern U.S. - Zone 7b
3078
5
goat cat forest garden foraging food preservation fiber arts medical herbs writing solar wood heat homestead
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've read (somewhere, long, long ago) that strawberries and asparagus make good companions. I did indeed try this, but my problem had nothing to do with any antagonism between the two. My problem was that wiregrass (invasive Bermuda grass) took over and choked everything out. I say go for it.
 
Posts: 99
Location: North Thomas Lake, Manitoba
8
forest garden trees
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I planted them together last spring. Seems to be going well so far, other than deer munching on the strawberry plants.
Just be sure to keep the strawberries away from the shady side of the asparagus.
 
Stacey Lindsey
Posts: 15
Location: Eastern Washington State
10
forest garden composting toilet homestead
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Thank you for sharing your experiences! The thing that strikes me from each of your replies is that gardening is challenging for so many reasons, whether that’s insect pests, invasive plants, chickens or deer. Often the plants get along relatively well, it’s all the other factors that we have to manage. I am going to give it a try this spring and see how they do together.
 
pollinator
Posts: 2339
Location: Denmark 57N
598
fungi foraging trees cooking food preservation
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
How are you all planting them together? Asparagus is such a large plant and makes such deep shade under itself that by August I think the strawberries would be totally shaded out wouldn't they? I need to move my one year old asparagus plants to a permanent bed, and I also need somewhere to put my wild strawberries.
 
steward and tree herder
Posts: 8380
Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year
3973
4
transportation dog forest garden foraging trees books food preservation woodworking wood heat rocket stoves ungarbage
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I have asparagus growing in my polytunnel in two short rows (it's a but windy outside for it here)  on the downhill side I have a row of strawberries.  These are constrained by a board bed edge and don't seem to send out runners.  Both are doing fine, last year was the first I have harvested much asparagus.  The asparagus took a few years to get established, and since we are generally pretty mild never seems to die back properly in winter.  I mulch around the asparagus with plant material from the tunnel and cut it back in early spring, other than that I water around both with dilute PISS during the growing season.
 
And now this tiny ad wants to get married
A rocket mass heater is the most sustainable way to heat a conventional home
http://woodheat.net
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic