Topic: rasberries growing in my asparagus - how to get rid of them?

[anthea]

My asparagus is in its 3rd year, doing well, and I'm looking forward to picking it for 1st time next  year. But I allowed a raspberry plant that escaped from my neighbour's plot to grow alongside my asparagus bed and now it's putting up several new shoots in amongst the asparagus (the asparagus bed is raised).

I've been pulling the shoots out, but they just grow up again. I feel nervous of digging as I don't want to damage the asparagus. I'm more than willing to sacrifice the raspberry plant for the asparagus, but can anyone suggest, what's the best way to get the raspberry shoots out of the asparagus bed please?

[saddad]

If you don't want to disturb the asparagus you will probably have to poison them...  :'(

[Robert_Brenchley]

Or keep pulling till it gives up. It will if you persist.

[anthea]

Thanks for these two suggestions. I prefer the pulling out method to poisoning if it really will work, but I've seen how determined the raspberries are to pop up all over the place in other parts of the allotment, and wonder if pulling the shoots out just means they'll creep all the way through the asparagus bed?

If I have to do poison (I've never used poison before) what do you suggest? And will it have any effect on the asparagus?