New asparagus bed

Just wanted to make a quick post showing a new asparagus bed I made.  This is just one way of course.  There are lots of ways, some may be better for your circumstances.

I put this one in on a slope along my driveway that gets good sun on the very southern edge of my food forest.  It will be expanded in time.  Currently it has a dozen asparagus plants and is about 14 feet long.

The ground here is heavy clay with a couple inches of topsoil.  I used a grub hoe and a pointed hoe to tear up the sod and do most of the digging, and broad forked after the sod was gone.  I kept broad forking, removing soil, broad forking, and so on until I went down ten inches or so.  I filled back in with some sandier black dirt we hauled from my in-law's house.  They had some earth moved for some project or other, so we had access to a couple truckloads.  After I filled in 4 or 5 inches with that, I put down a couple inches of compost with biochar that I had left from last year.  I will add a couple more inches later this year when I have more made.

My chickens have learned that any time there is digging going on, all sorts of worms and other yummy soil critters will be available, so as soon as the first dirt is moved, they show up.

I dug the bed on May 6th and the first asparagus came up two days ago, the 17th.

Looks great Trace!  We are on year 2 of our asparagus bed, so we had 4 meals this spring before letting it grow shoots and go to seed.  I have never had such delicious asparagus in my life and can't wait for the abundance in years to come!

Joshua LeDuc wrote:Looks great Trace!  We are on year 2 of our asparagus bed, so we had 4 meals this spring before letting it grow shoots and go to seed.  I have never had such delicious asparagus in my life and can't wait for the abundance in years to come!

I will put in a lot more asparagus in this year and next.  I would like to have at least 5 or 6 dozen established in different beds.  As perennials go, it's definitely a favorite of mine.  It's delicious and a well-tended patch lasts decades.   Asparagus beds are a very worthwhile investment in my mind.  Glad yours are doing well.

I started building raised beds because I wanted a designated space for asparagus. ( Gophers have made It impossible to plant in the ground.) Planted several asparagus, in the fern looking stage in the fall of 2021.  They all look the same at this moment.  I have never grown it before, so I hope all goes well so we can eat asparagus in a couple of years.