New asparagus patch

[Tim redenbaugh]

I planted a new asparagus patch this spring and surprisingly,(for me) it's doing really well. I know you are to wait till the 3rd year to harvest. I've heard you can spread salt to keep weeds down and it won't hurt the asparagus. Is this true? And if so, when should I start this? Any thoughts?

 

[oneeye]

I planted a new asparagus patch this spring and surprisingly,(for me) it's doing really well. I know you are to wait till the 3rd year to harvest. I've heard you can spread salt to keep weeds down and it won't hurt the asparagus. Is this true? And if so, when should I start this? Any thoughts?

No, it's not true if your spread salt around any plant it will suck the water out of the plant. In chemistry class, we learned that water always follows salt and never the other way around. So if you have more salt in the soil than in the plant it will suck the water out of the plant causing a claw, shape in the leaves.

You say your asparagus patch is doing really well. Keep doing just what you are doing and don't try to fix or speed anything up. The trick to growing asparagus is patience.

 

[Meadowlark]

... I've heard you can spread salt to keep weeds down and it won't hurt the asparagus. Is this true? And if so, when should I start this? Any thoughts?

I checked this out and found that indeed "Asparagus has a higher tolerance for salt in the soil than many weeds do, so an old practice used to be to pour the salty water from the ice cream maker over the asparagus bed to kill weeds."

I would have never guessed that...but I still wouldn't recommend doing that practice because your salt application would have to perfectly be mixed to kill weeds and not Asparagus. That seems at best a risky proposition.

 

[MiniOrchardDude]

If you worried about weeds just mulch it. It will help keep weeds out, feed your asparagus and hold moisture. Works great for me. Rarely do I need to pull weeds.

MOD

 

[skinyea]

Did not want to start a new thread but I have a random question.

I have never considered this, but talking to my neighbor, he grows a cover crop of Austrian winter peas over his Asparagus bed every year.
have any of you heard this? I alway put chicken poop down in the spring and fall, compost and in fall just cover with leaves.

 

[Meadowlark]

I really like those Austrian peas for winter cover crop...very winter hardy and very effective soil builders...but I haven't used it over Asparagus myself.

 

[skinyea]

I really like those Austrian peas for winter cover crop...very winter hardy and very effective soil builders...but I haven't used it over Asparagus myself.

I think I am going to wait and see his bed this winter and more importantly next summer.