Planting Asparagus in mixed border

Gardening books usually tell that you have to dig a deep drench and fill it gradually as the asparagus grows.
I haven't got this kind of bed ready and I want to get some crowns in this year, but I have got the bed ready which is at the side of the terrace.
I plan to grow some roses there together with artichokes, maybe a parsley border, some perennial onions and maybe some asparagus and flowers. The back of the bed is our vegetable cage were I will plant raspberries. I know I can't grow white spears there but how about green ones? Would they grow in a mixed bed like this?

yes they would, asparagus loves growing on the edge of things. and no you don't have to dig a pit. i start asparagus from seed every year. 80% of that seed is just tossed into the forest garden where it germinates, grows, and in 3-4 years i have a patch i can eat from for the next 20.

The funny thing is everyone thinks that asparagus must be very difficult to grow because it is expensive to buy.
I never grew asparagus, but the thing is when you grow white asparagus you must hill it up and then the harvesting is backbreaking and labour intensive. I like the white one too, but I start out with the green one and will implement a patch of white one later.

my asparagus is gorgeous and it is growing in a mixed bed in my perennial garden.
There are cherry trees in the bed, also rhubarb and iris, grapes and roses up an arbor, and I mix in a few annual vegetables/fruits each year. Right now there are peas up a lattice on one end and some cole crops and some vine crops as well as some onions and a few herbs

The asparagus doesn't mind as long as you are not having to DIG a crop out

I have never cultivated asparagus, but I have cut wild asparagus each spring. It seems to do very well on it's own.
kent

Could it grow in the semi shade? I may plant some among some small hedges.

edible, I cannot tell what part of the country  you are in but in my area it seemed to do well no matter where it was planted in my garden (or thrown after I got tired of it). 

I found that it was too much effort and time for the amount of food it returned.  However a mixed bed such as yours might be more productive.  I would wonder if the asparagus 'ferns' might crowd out some of the other plants. 

Maybe the rasberries and asparagus can co-exist at the back of the bed?  I would love to see a pic down the road when this bed is established.

i have a rather small asparagus planting and I get enough food for my husband and I for a meal of it every other day for several weeks, we have been eating it since the season started here and I picked it again yesterday, although it is getting to where there is less available daily now..I still should be able to pick it for another week..at least.

most crops don't yield so well with no real care other than some compost and mulch.

and I love it raw..yesterday I stood in the garden pulling weeds and ate 4 fat spears raw from the garden, what a blessing to not have any chemicals on the garden !

I find asparagus to be one of the most rewarding plants to grow, and I grow over 100.  Once established, the only work is harvesting them. 

I have found that some of the newer varieties (jersey Knight, etc.) while all male, couldn't handle our wet winters and died.  Martha Washington always grew like a champ, so after moving I'm going to replant Martha.

We grew ours in a long line for easy harvest and I like that method. Many other plants nearby.
John S
PDX OR

We are walking heads downside. And we are in what they call cool climate. I think it is cool temperate with winter nights occasionally up to -5°C. And more or less cool summers, because we are at 1000 meters high. That means we have much more sun than you would expect.
Here they say that you could grow asparagus in semi shade, but it depends were you live.

Hi,

I've tried growing asparagus with rasberry and foudn that the rasberries overshadowed it too much so this year I have dug it up and will e replanting it. Asparagus seems to compete really well with grasses. Might help you decide where to put it.

Tim

I have my asparagus planted with my strawberries.  They are very happy.  I let them seed-out and continue to propogate themselves.  The bonus they bring to my strawberries is, they form a "canopy" that keeps the birds at bay.

Has anyone had experience growing them in FL? My wife loves asparagus. Are they perennials here in FL? Do they just die out in the winter? Here in FL it might be good to maybe stagger them to grow before the tomatoes, so the they don't compete for space. I assume the companion benefits would still apply even if they are not growing at the same time right?

Tim Eastham wrote:Has anyone had experience growing them in FL? My wife loves asparagus. Are they perennials here in FL? Do they just die out in the winter? Here in FL it might be good to maybe stagger them to grow before the tomatoes, so the they don't compete for space. I assume the companion benefits would still apply even if they are not growing at the same time right?

I've just read that if your winter is not cold enough, asparagus might not go fully dormant and can killed if it gets a frost. This info came out of the "Johnny's Selected Seeds" Catalog. I wonder if mulching the heck out of it before danger of frost would help. Just uncover in the spring and grow. Maybe?

I would start from seed. There is no need to trench for strong plants when seed grown. That and seed grown plants are stronger and produce longer IMO

I am planting 45 asparagus plants this spring - mixing them in perennial beds, putting them out in the hay field-becoming a food forest, placing a few near the back door, etc

At my old place, they were lovely at the back of the relatively formal flower beds by the front door of my business - and productive too in only about 6 hours of sunlight a day in the summer months. What a great plant.

Manitoulin Mary