any asparagus growing out there? some advice needed please. what is the
best prevention for asparagus beetle? also, what is the best way of
keeping the asparagus bed weed free without too much manual labour?
thanks.

wrote:
any asparagus growing out there? some advice needed please. what is
the
best prevention for asparagus beetle? also, what is the best way of
keeping the asparagus bed weed free without too much manual labour?
thanks.

the answer to the second question is: wood chips, and perhaps a mowing
strip (a one foot strip of topsoil removed, with weed blocker at
bottom, and gravel to fill) if your bed borders a lawn. The strip is
there to minimize rhizome-propagating weeds, such as grass, from coming
in. The chips at my site (about two inches per application) will
successfully eliminate (or nearly eliminate) weeds for two years. If
you are worried about nitrogen, a bit of urea before each application
will help, though I find that they don't create any apparent N
deficiency if applied on top.

never had a problem with asparagus beetle whilst actually picking the
stuff. they only seem to be apparent once the plants go to seed.

to remove weeds - pick ALL asparagus then spray with round-up weed
killer. round-up is not active in the soil, so only weeds will be
affected.

this isn't an ideal method - any other suggestions anyone??

i've also heard of spraying the asparagus bed before the growing season
with a stronger weed killer. haven't worked what to use as yet though.