Topic: Help with asparagus for newbie please!

[oakmore2]

I've just taken on an allotment around 6 weeks ago which I've been clearing and digging over slowly. When I strimmed the plot I accidentally took the top off some asparagus which was hiding amongst the chest high nettles. I said a little prayer, and sure enough it's been growing back with a vengeance. My problem is that the ground around it is thick with nettle roots and grass. So far I've been clearing around it and leaving it unbothered to let it grow back, just pulling weeds by hand to give it some daylight. I'm worried though that if I do nothing with the ground it's growing in that it'll ultimately end up being crowded up by the weed roots, I'm also worried that if I attempt to dig it carefully that I'll just trash the asparagus.
I wondered if anyone has any advice on the best way to handle this, or the best time of year to have a go at digging?
Any advice gratefully received!
Thank you.
xx

[caroline7758]

It's almost impossible to weed around asparagus without damaging it. I failed to clear the weeds properly before planting mine two years ago (or is it three?) and now they are completely swamped and i'm plnning to dig them up in the winter, clear the weeds and replant them. I did get some asparagus this year but nothing like the crop I got last year.

[oakmore2]

Thanks for the advice - sounds as though I may have to move mine too. Forgive me for sounding stupid (never grown asparagus before), but does the fern die back in the winter? I guess what I'm worried about is whether it will be obvious which bits are plant, and which are weeds! Also, once I've moved it, should I then leave it for a couple of years before taking any asparagus to eat, or would it be OK to harvest on the basis that it's been growing for years, albeit in a different position?
Thanks again for the help, this site is amazing!!

[Robert_Brenchley]

It dies back in winter, and this is definitely the time to lift it. Get the weeds out very thoroughly before you replant! My own asparagus is in its first year, so I'm not the best person to advise, but I'd leave it at least a year before I'd start cropping again.

[adeymoo]

oakmore2

the ferny growth replenishes the stores of energy in the roots for next year. The ferns should be cut around ground level in autumn. I agree about nettles, they are b*****s. If you leave them for later I can tell you that the roots become a lot thicker and tangled and will pull out what they have grown around. My advice is to prepare a new bed now totally clear of weeds - I do this by double digging and sifting the soil, buying 2 year crowns for planting this autumn and covering the roots with the sifted soil. Asparagus want sifted soil as this gives them a better chance of a weed free home. Do not be put off by sifting tonnes of soil as the asparagus crowns only need covering with soil when planted and more sifted soil as the spears poke through until the bed is filled. Hope this helps. My biggest problem is the neighbours dog prunning along the bed and snapping off bits of fern- they are delicate.

Hope this helps

[oakmore2]

Thanks for your help everyone - I shall leave them where they are for now, and prepare a bed to move them into in the winter. If they don't survive the move then I'll have to start again.
Thanks everyone!
xx