Asparagus bed design

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Asparagus bed design
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Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 21 8:07 am Post subject:

I know it has to be 'charged' otherwise it will take water and nutrients out of the soil. I sometimes add it to my compost heap or use some liquid from the wormery on it. I always add humus to our soil in the form of compost or run off from the sumps in the woods, which is rich in humus, as our soil is chalky and light. Seems to work quite well. I know manure is better, but don't have easy access to it.

Potassium is the most mobile cation so has to be added as needed pretty well.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6614
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 21 10:08 am Post subject:
You ready for a controversial statement? There is no such thing, or mostly no such thing as humus, unless you mean in the latin sense of organic matter rich topsoil. Much of what we used to call "humus" is an artifact from the laboratory procedure used to extract organic matter from soil. Most soil organic matter consists of relatively small compounds, not vast complex ones.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 21 7:48 am Post subject:

I will accept that Slim, but my knowledge of chemistry suggests that if you can provide those small components in a manner in which plants can utilise them, the plants will grow. Having plenty of organic matter as well as trace elements gives the plants the opportunity to pick out the parts that they need. For instance, if you dusted an area with red phosphorus, the plants might not be able to take it up, but provide it in a form they can absorb, and it helps.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 21 8:59 am Post subject:
white is a bit exciting for fertilizing

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 21 9:08 am Post subject:

dpack wrote:

white is a bit exciting for fertilizing

But it would make gardening more exciting.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 21 9:08 am Post subject:

Nick wrote:

dpack wrote:

white is a bit exciting for fertilizing

But it would make gardening more exciting.

Very briefly.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 21 9:45 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16004

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 21 8:19 am Post subject:
It's also very toxic, so I would forgo the excitement.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 21 10:45 am Post subject:

Right. Surround created and positioned. Weed control fabric cut back and removed. Soil dug to the depth of one spit, as us gardeners say, old victorian patio removed. Why do I listen to you sods? Six inches of good organic stuff and then six inches of good topsoil on top. Raked smooth as a Zen garden and awaiting crown delivery.

4/6 beds done and dusted. Half a ton of soil left. More compost to be collected.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 21 11:11 am Post subject:
that sounds good, thing with asparagus is it is hard work but only once a bit of light weeding, beetle patrol and choosing the most perfect stems is light work for the next few years

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6614
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 21 11:27 am Post subject:
It's the wrong time to ask this, but did you refill the beds prior to crown delivery?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 21 11:44 am Post subject:
the half ton and more compost on top?

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6614
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 21 12:29 pm Post subject:
I thought was to fill up other raised beds....

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 21 12:54 pm Post subject:

quite deep is a good start for crowns

a trenching tool (other gardening tools exist, but that is my go to trowel for such things)could make a suitable hole fairly easily to give a nice deep nest for each of them

iirc once my seeds had become small crowns i planted then about a foot deep and then top dressed for a while

deep is good, fermented manure is good and can add depth as well as the other vital stuff for sparrowguts(my eldest as a toddler had a problem with the name but no problem snapping them off and eating them

)

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 21 1:46 pm Post subject:

Slim wrote:

I thought was to fill up other raised beds....

This bed is good loam soil, high water table but not heavy, broken up to a depth of about a foot, up to ground level. Then there’s a 12” wood raised surround. In this is perhaps 4-6 inches of compost/organic matter and then a similar depth layer of good topsoil, also blended with compost. No crowns yet. Intend to plant into this, mixing as I go, and top up. I think they’ll be a mixture of one year olds crowns and older, at a depth of 8-10 inches.

I also need to top up some of the other beds. They seem to be bottomless when it comes to wheel barrows of stuff. Not a problem; there’s no rush, the stuff is essentially free, time is something I have and, there’s always a shop to buy vegetables in.

Last edited by Nick on Tue May 18, 21 10:33 am; edited 1 time in total

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