Opinions welcome.

baby's breath would be nice and I never have much trouble with it coming back (i wish!). I know that it likes alkaline soil, but don't know what your asparagus would like.

I put some holly hocks in with my asparagus, but I only grow it for looks, so that might be a bad idea for you!

good luck!

Perhaps this is a different kind of asparagus I'm thinking of?

Hi Vgkg, The tomatoes will be growing near for the very reason you mention.

Shirley, same asparagus, I'm sure. The reason for companions with asparagus is because I thought the fernlike plumes would look nice with an annual like the cosmos mentioned by ohiovalleygirl, great idea. The cosmos are also a beneficial garden plant, I think.
I am not looking for plants that will compete but rather something attractive that will complement it.

Userse, WOW...sorry to hear you've had no luck growing my favorite veggie, could it be the soil? I'd get a soil sample. It's quite hardy here in zn 6.
Snavl, hmmmmmmm...comfrey eh? Hadn't thought of that one, sounds interesting.

Thanks to all...

An asparagus lover,
Suzanne

I'm planting dutch clover (and/or New Zealand) between asparagus rows and amongst other perennials such as artichokes on the assumptions that 1) it grows low and stays fairly managable, 2) it will help supress weeds, 3) it adds nitrogen to the soil (asparagus is a heavy feeder), 4) it attracts benificial insects, and 5) should self-seed to a thick carpet, blocking out all but it and the desired perennials...(two caveats: first year for this trial, so I can't yet vouch as to efficacy....and, I don't suggest this with strawberries).

Sabi - at Bearpen Farm in beautiful western NC mountains

Hi,
I can't believe this thread is still alive. My asparagus is in it's 3rd year now and I've grown cosmos, wave petunias and parsley over the last 2 years. This year I'm planting alyssum beneath it and I still wanna try the comfrey. That ones not so easy to find.

I don't think it matters that onions are grown 2-3' from asparagus. I believe it's just when you grow it side by side.

I don't know about creeping mint though, all mints are so aggressive that I don't grow it at all unless I can contain it.

Btw, my asparagus is Jersey giants. I have a few females, but not many. I get to harvest lots next year.

we live in western washington and ordered 1 yr old jersey giant male crowns. we got 20 and 14 of those same up beautifully and ferned. two were very late, though. i'm ordering more for next year to fill in current bed and start a new one.

all we did was dug up the grass to make a bed 4x8', ordered the crowns, then i planted them. eventually the "spears" came up and they are ferning now. i can't imagine what the problem could be with yours. we got our crowns from park seed i believe. all i ever did to that bed was watered and used MG fertilizer. where did you get your crowns and where are you physically located.

vgkg - i knew that tomatoes were a good companion and i had 5 volunteer plants, kind of small and scraggly. i put them in my 1yr bed. amazingly, they have just shot up and are on the big side, close to sprawling. i want to move them now to my just cleared bush bean bed. think it will be ok?

kerri

Any advice would be much appreciated!

I wouldn't use landscape fabric in my vegetable garden OR flower beds. Instead, try using a few inches of shredded leaves. They make an excellent mulch and are much more natural than the awful landscape fabric. That stuff will outlive your asparagus patch and your children.

Anyone?

It looks like asparagus:-) Sorry, I'm not being wise but the gus spears emerge 1st and the ferns soon follow. It's kinda strange looking really with nothing but the spears poking out.

Year 3: planted yellow cosmos in my gus patch this spring and it looked great. They must be planted before the gus ferns out tho or it'll shade the cosmos.

I started putting shredded leaves on my bed in the fall and spring and I've had no weed problems. I love using leaves on my beds because they look so good and they're *free*.

Peggy, formerly penny_md6

With all due respect - please don't try growing comfrey anywhere in the garden, especially not in the asparagus patch. Maybe it dies back in very hot climates. Here in zone 5-6 it is a brute that spreads and is virtually impossible to eradicate.

I read up on the comfrey some time back and decided against that long ago.

I just mulched my gus bed with shredded leaves as I do every fall. With the exception of a little clover, I virtually have no weeds in the bed. The leaves are excellent for smothering weeds while adding organic matter to the soil.

This thread has been around for awhile hasn't it?

since everyone has had years of experience by now, could someone please advise me on some ideas- are they good, bad, not so good but might work, etc...

here goes. i don't not like asparagus. hey, don't shoot me, that leaves more for the rest of the world. while i am at it, anyone have ideas on how to get the smell off my hands after picking. i wash my hands three times and i still smell of asp juice! sorry, again i don't find tht too pleasant. i would like to grow asp for dh, much easier than foraging the countryside, so here goes (again):
#1.5 i do not have the room for asp patch, nor do i want to devote any spot to asp. can i interplant it into my flower garden? will it take over during the reseed time? the garden is clay in almost full sun that also receives reflected heat from the house. i have always liked the idea of interplanting flowers and veggies.
#2. if it doesn't work there, how about on the southside of a privacy fence? however, it is very dry right next to the fence.
#3. is asp toxic to grazing cats or dogs? i am especially concerned bc the neighbor on the other side of the fence has a dog. i would hate for it to come up on their side and be blamed for making their dog sick (i would also feel i deserved the blame)
#4. if it spreads more than i like, how can i control it? there is only one person in the house to eat it, so we only need a few.
#5. i hear not to eat the tiny skinny spears, to let them go to seed. are these the males or the females?

thanks!

For me, it was a BAD IDEA to plant hollyhocks anywhere near my asparagus, because the hollyhocks developed rust and then it spread to the asparagus. Ouch! Can't solarize that soil now!

This is just my first year with the Jersey King hybrids, and hoping they'll be OK if I just keep on dousing them with the neem.

My asparagus bed is looking a little lonely, and I tucked some garlic in there early this spring before it popped up. So far, they're all doing good. After reading here, I'm thinking of yanking out the garlic.

Has anyone tried growing strawberries in their asparagus beds? I have some left over and need a place to plant them. I was thinking asparagus and strawberries might make nice companions.

Sunday, I staked out my first asparagus bed, ten feet wide and eighty-three feet long. Wierd in zone five, mid-Febuary (was actually turning soil in main garden next day). I only plan twenty-eight asparagus plants, to make room for companions. Tomatos, peas, basil, parsley, oragano, greens and nastirtiums should be mutally benifical to each other and the asparagus.

In clay soil, I will dig three foot diameter circles one foot deep, in three rows, spaced two and a half feet apart with each hole staggered in relation adjacent row. Each plant, in common rows, will end up being eight feet eight inches apart. Compost, soil and manure will be added to each hole until mounded into a hill on which an asparagus crown will be planted. The hill will then be mulched.

The herbs will be planted around the asparagus hills to form a circle with diameter five feet. The voids left by the circles in the over all bed will be planted with sixteen tomato-pea pairs, and randomly filled out with nastirtiums. Greens and herbs seeded around parimeter will help keep weeds out.

Any advice on this plan would be greatly appreciated.

Peace, Pat

I am planning for my next farm with the seed. I plan to grow it in pots. I have found that terra cotta pots buried 3/4 of the way in the ground (sand here) makes for a lot less needey plant that a normal potted plant, which I usually let not do so good.

How large of a pot will the plants need as they grow?
Thank you

I'd really like to see a picture of this!!!

To All:

When is the best time of year to plant asparagus?
I moved to Central WA after living in Western WA and feel like I need to learn how to garden all over again.
Last year I planted herbs in containers and they all died from lack of water, I just couldn't keep them irrigated enough!

This year I plan to put in drip and mini sprinklers to mist when needed on timers!

Live Light!

I did not plant the strawberries with the asparagus. As a matter of fact, I've lost one asparagus bed to root rot, and the other I'm waiting to see if it comes up this year. The garlic is still in there. I can't believe it's been three years already!

The strawberries have outgrown their bed and are popping up along every crack and crevice around the garden beds. I was thinking of moving them, saw the post about the asparagus, thought that was a neat idea, then saw my name mentioned later down the page referencing strawberries in asparagus.

LOL

I think it's time to move that garlic now . . . and maybe sock some strawberries in its place.

All that mulch was down to the soil level again, so I dumped thick grass clippings on it again. Watered that down, and WOW, more 'gus popped up! This is my new system for fertilizing the asparagus patch. Next fall I'm going to plant more crowns to fill in better.

I have noticed it 'crawling'. I'm watching its growth habit. It doesn't seem to come up in exactly the same spot, leaving an empty place from last year.

I also like some of the flower companion ideas to complement the summer ferns. Thanks for all your ideas.

Thanks!!

Of course last year was a drought year, so they've both been unhappy :-( I'll be topdressing with compost this spring, and we'll see how they do this year.