I so agree with the advice to "select and prepare your asparagus bed with care" !! I would highly recommend planting in a spot that you've already been gardening in for at least a few years, improving the soil and eliminating weeds (particularly grass and the like). Asparagus is the first veggie that's ready in my garden -- in other areas that may not be the case -- and there is nothing like picking and eating those first spears (usually in May for me). I usually stop picking around the 4th of July but went a bit longer this year because spring was very late... but you need to stop picking once the spears are the size of a pencil, no matter when that happens; and leave the tops to grow until they die or freezing weather sets in, because they will feed the roots for next year's crop. Just ate the last of our asparagus with dinner tonight, and it was still delicious!
