Asparagus: Early, Easy and Excellent

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“To avoid disease problems, choose a site where corn or asparagus did not grow the year before,” Ngouajio says. If you can plant a cover crop, such as sorghum or rye, in the area where you plan to plant asparagus, you’re in luck. “A cover crop [turned into the soil before planting] will increase the soil’s organic matter, which is very beneficial to asparagus,” he says.

Native to warm climates, such as Asia Minor and the Mediterranean region, asparagus thrives in full sun and rich, well-drained soil. Incorporate plenty of high-quality, aged compost into your asparagus site to improve drainage, boost soil fertility and reduce the chance of soil-borne fungal diseases, such as fusarium crown and root rot. If you don’t have compost, add grass clippings or shredded leaves. Planting in raised beds also will improve drainage.

You may want to test your soil to be sure the pH level is in the neutral range of 6.5 to 7.5. Plant pathologists have found that lower pH values may promote fusarium disease in asparagus. If the tests show a low pH, the testing lab can tell you how much limestone to add to your soil in order to neutralize the acidity.

3. Get a jump on weeds. They can be one of the biggest challenges for organic asparagus growers. To reduce perennial weed problems, be sure to eliminate them from the site before planting, and be vigilant about routing them out in years to come.

“Before we planted our new asparagus bed, we prepared the soil carefully,” says Charlotte Johnson, co-owner with her husband, Glen, of Mother Flight Farm in Mt. Vernon, Wash. The Johnsons decided to start a new asparagus patch after their previous, 15-year-old patch became hopelessly invaded by quack grass and thistles, possibly brought in with some straw mulch.

“After tilling the area, we allowed the dormant weed seeds to germinate, then burned them off with a flame weeder before we planted the asparagus.” Now that their patch is becoming established, the Johnsons stay on top of any new weeds by flaming the entire bed in late fall to winter, after the asparagus has gone dormant.

Other growers find that a combination of cultivation and mulching does the trick. In a five-year trial of organic versus conventional asparagus culture, conducted by Mark Hutton, extension vegetable specialist at the University of Maine, weeds were kept at bay by applying a thin layer of bark mulch around plants and cultivating between rows. “After the final harvest this year, we also did a shallow (1½-inch deep) cultivation with a tiller over the entire area to eliminate grasses,” he says.

In cold locales, such as Gene Thiel’s Prairie Creek Farm in Joseph, Ore. (elevation 4,150 feet), black plastic mulch not only stops weeds, but also warms soil and conserves moisture. Thiel says the 4-foot-wide perforated plastic, used between rows, warms the soil enough to allow him to harvest spears two weeks earlier than usual in the spring.

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