My Asparagus Bed

This is a picture of my asparagus bed. The bed is located on the south side of my house, and is 2' wide and 10' long. A few days ago I cleaned up my asparagus bed, put down a nice thick layer of chicken manure over the crowns, a thick layer of compost on both sides of the manure, and then new straw on the pathway. This is going to be nearly weed-free all summer! Now, I just wait until the little spears poke through and I will have some good eating! (There is a little asparagus frond at the front of my box; I think it overwintered, protected by the larger, dead fronds that I cleaned out).

Asparagus

I planted these asparagus plants early last spring on the south side of my house. They are starting to turn yellow and then will turn brown. It's time to cut them down to ground level once they turn brown. Asparagus is a heavy feeder, and if you want to have lots of asparagus to eat next spring, you need to feed them this winter. I will lay down a thick layer of composted manure where the foliage was cut off, and then mulch heavily around the plants. This will keep the soil nice, the weeds out, and feed the earth worms and asparagus roots.