Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: the-goodlife on January 29, 2009, 14:35:50
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need help on this, i have made an asparagus bed dug it out a little but im a bit unsure on what to put back in with the soil i have got loads of muck ready to go in but should i mix anything else in too :-\. my roots are year olds in sand in my warm green house ready for planting.
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You've got the time, so put in some Hoof & Horn, and some seaweed (unwashed, if you can get it) also add sharp sand for drainage, (if your soil needs it) ;)
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The important thing about an asparagus bed is that it's going to stay put for at least twenty-five years. All you're going to do from now on is top-dress and hand-weed. So get the drainage right and add goodness to the soil now. And - most important of all - get rid of all deep-rooted perennial weeds. You don't want to be trying to prise docks & thistles - or, even worse, comfrey - out of an established asparagus bed.
I double-dug my beds - proper double-digging, with the entire top spit removed & barrowed off and the spit below bastard-trenched - and added barrowloads of stable manure, plus sharp sand in the top spit as it was replaced. It was hard work, but that was about six years ago and all we have to do now is to pull out a few annual weeds by hand.
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and make sure you plant them the right way up ( had a person on here who planted them upside down ) ;D
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Do as Trevor says - we've had ours six years and there are so few weeds in the bed now that it takes about 5 minutes to weed - and I only have to do that about twice a year!