Asparagus - To feed or not

[Beryl]

I have now finished cutting my asparagus and leaving it to grow fern. I have never fed it other than when the fern is cut down in the autumn given it a good mulch with rotted compost. I've always had a good healthy crop.

It has now been suggested to me to feed using either blood fish and bone, which is out of the question too many animals will be digging it up or to soak chicken pellets in a bucket of water for a few days and water in.

Anyone have any thoughts on this. Are there any real benefits?

Beryl.

[Westi]

Hi Beryl

I just dress the bed over winter after I cut down the stalks with well rotted compost and if very lucky some fresh seaweed. ( I'm finding this harder to get as the OH put his foot down about collecting it when little crabs were running around the car!)

Westi

[Nature's Babe]

I'm not an expert on it Beryl but like you I just mulch with organic manure / compost in autumn throwing some straw on top to protct crowns from any hard frost, and this year we had lovely thick and tender spears very early, mine are a bit weedy at the moment, helped along by the constant rain - all I will do is pull up the weeds before seeding and leave them as a mulch to conserve moisture and let them decay back into the soil.

Westi you could try a large bucket with a lid

[Beryl]

Thank you Westie and NB. I don't feel it is necessary to feed but nice to know your opinions. Thanks.

Beryl.

[Johnboy]

Just a timely reminder that as soon as you get the fern appearing is the time that the dreaded Asparagus Beetle begins its activities.
Be alert and you can knock them out at the larvae or even earlier at the egg stage as both will appear on the fern foliage. Either cut the affected portions away and destroy them or squish on the plant.
JB.

[Beryl]

Already on the alert JB. The do appear even before then. I find running my closed hand from bottom to top of the spear I can take most of them off and squash before they fall off and start again.

Thanks
Beryl.

[Johnboy]

Hi Beryl,
They are ever present but they rely on the foliage to lay their eggs and then you carry on as you have described. The good thing is that they are really visible so although you may not get the lot you can seriously reduce their numbers.
JB.

[Tigger]

We dress our beds with well rotted manure mixed with chicken pellets. On a few occasions, we've added sea weed when we've had a winter trip to the coast. The dreaded beetle is a menace but so far we've avoided them.

[Beryl]

Thant sounds a better idea Tiger. Soaking pellets is a very smelly job.
I might add a few in the autumn and see if it does make any difference.

Thanks
Beryl.

[Nature's Babe]

chicken and duck bedding gets included in my compost, if you don't have poultry thats a good idea.

[Beryl]

Thanks NB. If the wild life break any more off there will be none left to feed.

The Grumpy Old Woman (Beryl.)