Kitchen Garden Forum

i took over my allotment 16 months ago and rather too hastily decided to plant an asparagus bed. the trouble is because the plot was such a mess and i had such a lot to do i probably didn't remove the weed roots thoroughly enough and over the year it has reverted back to a weedy mess in the corner so my question is is there any chance of rescuing it or should i just dig it up and start again or just plant something else? thanks

Hi Meow,
I take it that these are deep rooted perennial weeds. My only suggestion is to use a solution of Glyphosate and protect the Asparagus and use a small paint brush to apply the Glyphosate. If you isolate the Asparagus with polythene wrapped around them no harm should be come to them.
JB.

it didn't look like any of the asparagus spears came up so i strimmed the weeds. could it be dead?

Hi Meow,
If there is no show of fern foliage now, when there should be, I would forget it and start afresh.
JB.

I would be extremely cautious of any advice to use weedkillers containing glyphosate in any food garden situation. There is plenty of documented scientific evidence of glyphosate's harmful effects. One of the most recent summaries can be found here:

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/glyphosateTolerantCrops.php

What's perhaps of greatest concern to kitchen gardeners is that glyphosate can move from the roots of plants it has killed, and affect those of adjacent plants - which might be crops you are eating. This is highlighted in the section of the report sited above entitled 'Glyphosate poisons the soil for all plants':

Glyphosate released through the roots of dying plants (weeds) is transferred to living plants not treated with glyphosate via the roots...

This report talks about experiments with ryegrass and sunflower seedlings, but could equally be applied to asparagus (or whatever) and any weed you care to name...

John Walker was the included link actually the one you intended to post or not?

I ask because it appears to concentrate on the (un)lovely GM crops engineered to withstand glyphosate, which as I understand it get hosed down with the stuff. Though I guess that would be the main target given the volumes used.....

Not disputing the research, but the writing quotes a lot of effects that potentially happen in all usage circumstances while talking about the GT growing regimes which overuse glyphosate by any standard other than the manufacturers.

Any broad spectrum chelator hosed around would have a similar effect on the chemical balance of the soil, the question on my mind is, would judicous and limited use by paintbrush on bindweed growing in softfruit fed manure by the ton twice every year, have such effects as described.
Personally I cannot currently find a workable method other than glyphosate for that situation, I welcome suggestions though.

PS on the asparagus, give it up, prepare a new location with better weed removal and transplant any survivors over winter, removing all soil and non-asparagus roots.

The link is the right one to accompany my previous comment. Although it discusses the use of glyphosate on crops genetically modified to withstand its effects, the general points to take from this piece is that glyphosate is not restricted solely to the plants it is used on, but can effectively move from a dying plant to affect an adjacent one - which might be something you are eating. There is also the effect on soil microorganisms to be considered. Suggesting that using glyphosate sparingly won't do any harm is clutching at straws, and just because you can see no other "workable method" doesn't alter its proven effects.

Thorough cultivation and long-term light-blocking mulches are a more earth-friendly way of clearing perisistent perennial weeds - with no risks of contamination of food crops by glyphosate. In the case of a crop like asparagus, I agree it would be better to scrap the weed-infested patch and start again.

The often cited claim that glyphosate is 'environmentally friendly' has everything to do with spin from chemical companies and little to do with reality. Unfortunately, it is a claim that those running allotment sites also often use to justify its use. To add to glyphosate's less discussed aspects, it is also one of the most carbon-intensive of all garden chemicals.

I say again that I would treat any advice to use weedkillers containing glyphosate in any food garden situation with extreme caution.

I think a good idea to transplant in the winter to a less weedy patch and if you mulch with straw / grass clippings there will be less weeding in spring and some protection from snow in winter. If you lose some plants, the cheapest way to grow more is from seed, and they grow easy, though you have to wait till the third year before you can cut.
In agreement with you John, very little weeding to do on beds that are well mulched, less watering too.