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  • From: John Ferree <john AT seldomseenfarm.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] organic asparagus
  • Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:32:42 -0400

we've got two 5' beds that are 100' long. planted on 30" centers and
~18 inches. if i recall that is a good deal denser than recommended.
haven't had a problem with yields at that density. in fact, i think it
compete out weeds. you actually get a closed canopy. we harvest as
long as is needed, then hit it with a mower as low as possible. then
everything shoots up and closes canopy very quickly and suppresses
weeds. we then mow the edges the rest of the season. if weeds are
abig problem while still picking, we will go in with a chopping hoe to
knock perennial weeds back. for a home scale this has worked well for
us. . . we're also burning residues in march. (z5-6) our perennial
weeds there tend to be goldenrod, canadian thistle, cottonwood (trees).
we did mulch the first year, but had crazy spears with the free tree
trimmer mulch. . . and that mulch tends to have a good deal of walnut in
it here.

i have also heard of people using a rotary tiller to scar the surface of
the ground in the same manner that we mow. Flaming might be another
option if you have fewer grasses than we do.

john

Rachel Evans wrote:
> We're in our first year of growing organic asparagus, five 200-foot
> rows.
>
> We didn't mulch it right off and now we're facing the question of,
> really, what are we doing?
>
> With the high cost of straw, is it really the only option for growing
> organic asparagus? We can get woodchips free from the city and I want
> to start using those to mulch in the paths in our perennial flower
> beds, but I"m nervous about using them elsewhere as mulch, lest they
> suck all the N out of the ground.
>
> Is anyone growing asparagus without mulch?
>
> We're thinking we'll plant Dutch white clover in the paths as a
> permanent cover and then just have to bite the bullet on the cost and
> mulch it heavily with straw every year in the beds themselves.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> (Sorry to bring things back to such mundane matters after all the good
> conversation re seeds)
>
>
> --
> Rachel Evans
> The Sunshine Farm
> 37 Highway 97A
> Chelan, WA 98816
>
> 509-670-8958
> rachel AT sunshinefarmmarket.com
>
>
>
>
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>
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