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Question

Africanaussie
What do I do with my asparagus bed at the end of season?

Answer

Asparagus has a harvest season of up to eight weeks depending on your location and climate. It is important to stop harvesting (in the early summer for most people) so that the young spears can grow foliage that will help the plants develop the food reserves they will need for next year's harvest. The recommended way for putting an asparagus bed to bed is to cut the plants within an inch or two of their base once they have turned yellowish at the end of the season. Remove any weeds that have taken up residence in your bed and then topdress your bed with 2 inches (5cm) of organic compost or mulch.

Question details

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Joel LeGrand
Hi, If you plant them12" - 16" apart, then mulch them & wait for spring. IF you plant them 15"-20" apart, you can put in some elephant garlic between the asparagus, no plant should be closer then 12" so stagger when need to keep the plants spaced 12"(30cm?). the garlic shoild make while the asparagus sleeps. A few tomatoes Plants  in spring will keep asparagus beetle away.
Africanaussie
My asparagus has not really stopped growing, we are having a very warm winter, and I cut the tops back a little bit, but not sure if I should cut the whole plant back in order to rest it before the next harvesting season begins. 
Joel LeGrand
One school of thought is to plant twice as many crowns as you need. Only harvest half of them(February/March here), then about three months later(May/June here) mower the other half of the plants. These plants will be 4-6 feet tall, mow them down then water. In a few weeks you will have fresh asparagus spears, harvest as you do in the spring. NEVER: Harvast from the same plant, spring & late summer, the plant needs to gather food for next years crop. So I would say cutting them back, after the late frost date  for your region would be fine.
sandi1959
A good way to help keep the weeds out of the asparagus bed is to use rock salt. Sprinkle generously threw out the bed in the early spring.   
Africanaussie
Wow Sandi, that sounds great as I have been gathering seaweed to use as mulch - does that mean it is not necessary to rinse out the salt?
sandi1959
No it is not necessary to rinse the salt out. I have ran a test using rock salt on one bed and not on another. I get more asparagus from the bed the rock salt is used on. It must be because the asparagus is not competing with the weeds.
Africanaussie
I have just read the book carrots love tomatoes, and she suggests growing tomatoes alongside asparagus.  I thought asparagus detered other plants in the area (allopathic?) but am going to give it a try this year as that is a sunny area.  I also realised that is a bad area to grow onions, just tried shallots there and they seem to be doing fine....   
Bruce Izzett
Hi there, We have just moved and have an established asparagus bed. When we arrived most of it had gone to seed and now are towering near head height. What is the best thing to do with them? Should I trim them down? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Bruce Izzett
Hi there, We have just moved and have an established asparagus bed. When we arrived most of it had gone to seed and now are towering near head height. What is the best thing to do with them? Should I trim them down? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Bruce Izzett
Hi there, We have just moved and have an established asparagus bed. When we arrived most of it had gone to seed and now are towering near head height. What is the best thing to do with them? Should I trim them down? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Allotmentmanyork
Hi Bruce I prefer to leave the growth in place through the winter. Firstly it feeds the roots and the more roots you have the more shoots you get next year. Secondly all the dead growth provides places for the good bugs to live and breed through the winter, and lastly once the growth is dead and dry in the spring it is a lot easier to remove and put on the compost heap. Happy Gardening. Glenn
Bruce Izzett
Hi Glenn, Thanks so much for that. Sorry for delay in replying. Our internet went down for a few weeks! Very helpful! Thanks again!! Bruce

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