Alex Gardener

The asparagus and strawberry pairing seemed a good enough idea that last year I tried it. The strawberry runners quickly filled in through the deep straw mulch, and neither the asparagus nor the strawberries seemed bothered by the other. What had me pulling my berry plants out over the winter is that I couldn't beat the earwigs and slugs to the ripe berries. I'd like to keep the deep mulch, and anyway the less bug-friendly mulches like sheet plastic aren't really asparagus-friendly. I love strawberries and these ones were productive, just I didn't get any. This year I'll try to be satisfied with my two months of blackberries.

This looks like an awesome approach. Last summer I grew two varieties of potatoes right on the surface of the soil with drip irrigation and under 8+ inches of straw mulch. The yields would have been much better if not for the savagery of the pillbugs and earwigs that share my garden. This summer I'll cover the seed potatoes with about an inch of compost plus the same deep mulch and hope for less insect damage but the same ease of harvesting. Seeing the success in these posts with drought I might try a patch with no irrigation besides what's required to get them going. Could it be possible to mostly dry farm potatoes in a super-hot, dry California climate?