I have asparagus seeds I've been mulling over where to plant. I have three possible places in two different beds.
First bed has a small amount of room for planting, but probably will have room to spread, or part of the asparagus dug up for transplanting elsewhere. I planted some strawberries along a chain link fence so it would have a lot of air and a lot of sun. I left a 3'x3' area between the strawberries and the next half of the bed, where I will be growing blackberries. The first blackberry bush is easily 3 feet away from the beginning of its bed. The plan is to trim the blackberries and the suckers so they all continue to grow on the east side of this blackberry bush - which means away from the strawberries and also away from the small 3'x3' spot I'm considering for the asparagus. There is a lot of space on the east side of the blackberry bush. I plan to add some goji berry bushes next to the blackberries so I can't put the asparagus on that side. I don't mind the asparagus spreading a little into the strawberries. The chain link fence runs from east to west along the north edge of the yard, but it gets a whisper of shade just from the fence as the house is too far away to provide any shade.
The other bed has more room for growing. It is along the west side of my squash and melon bed. This area gets FULL sun. There are no trees or bushes for shade. I saved a 3' strip behind the melons and behind the squash, to allow planting something that would provide the melons and squash with some shade. That strip is where I hoped to plant the asparagus. I think it is at least 15 feet long.
There is a short 3' wall all around most of my yard. (There are two spots that have chain link instead.) I already discovered last year that the short wall does not provide enough shade for the melons and squash. This ends up being the driest spot in the entire yard because it gets so much sun. So, I planned to plant a few stands of comfrey in that 3' strip between the short wall and the melons and squash bed. In between the comfrey, I want to plant the asparagus. The comfrey is supposed to be a good companion plant for asparagus.
I'm not looking to grow a ton of asparagus as I do love it, but it is just for me. I know it takes a couple years to start harvesting the asparagus, but I'm willing to wait. I have a variety of other veggies I'm growing, but really look forward to eating something that will be a perennial I can hopefully count on each year. I prefer to plant the asparagus along the west short wall so it will also give some shade to the melons as I understand they can grow tall. Also give some shade for me when I'm weeding and working in that melon bed because it is like an oven all day long in that spot. From what I've researched, I haven't discerned that asparagus has tender stalks that need protection from the wind. If it does need protection, along the short west wall would again be the best place. I'm also considering planting some parsley along the end where the squash is growing.
I have a lot of borage seeds sowed throughout my squash and melons. I also added some white clover on the east side of the patch. The herb bed, where there are a bunch of different herbs, is between my melon patch and the veggie bed. The squash is on the side closest to the herb bed. But there is a little more than 3 feet of rocks between the herb bed and the squash.
One of the concerns I had about planting too close to the short wall is slugs. So far, I haven't seen any slugs anywhere in my yard. Even the east side mini-yard seems to be slug free. I have been looking. I think the slugs may not like the west wall because it is very short and there is about 10 feet of rocks on the other side. Not ideal for slugs? I thought interspersing the different plants; asparagus, comfrey and a bit of parsley, would hopefully deter most problems. With various herbs planted everywhere in my garden, including the ton of borage I planted a few days ago, the asparagus should be happy growing along the edge of this melon bed. I have just enough compost left to work into the soil before planting the asparagus. I already amended the soil before planting the rest of the bed, but I don't think a bit of extra compost will hurt.
Is there anything else that people add to the soil for asparagus?
Also, I would prefer to direct sow the asparagus, but I've seen that most people seem to start seeds in a pot in spring, then plant in the ground in fall. Will transplanting set the plants back? Anything else I should consider?
