asparagus

Cleaning up the Asparagus bed

After producing all spring, asparagus benefits from a clean up and some fertility. First, weed the bed carefully using a knife and your hands. You want to cut the weeds out and gently remove them without disturbing the asparagus roots.

After weeding.

In order to not disturb the roots later in the season, it is important to prevent weeds from growing during the summer. I laid down cardboard along both sides of the row. This is a young asparagus patch, and still growing in a row. If yours is older, it is likely much wider than this or growing in a circle or oval. If that is the case, mulch the whole perimeter with cardboard.

I use Perennial Blend and compost from VT Compost Company. The Perennial Blend covers the cardboard, which will later break down, turning into soil along with the Perennial Blend. The compost is applied right to the crown of the asparagus and will feed the plant which will in turn feed the roots to make a great patch for next year.

The darker compost is in a strip right over the asparagus crowns. The lighter soil is the Perennial Blend. It hides the cardboard (which blocks out the weeds) and both will break down to feed the soil and the asparagus.

Late June Garden Chores

Plant now for this look later in the summer.

Plant now for this look later in the summer.

IN THE GARDEN

—> Keeping up with the weeds after the rain is a priority. They will all bounce up and make a carpet in no time. For best results, cultivate when the weeds are young, once the soil has dried out.

—> Fertilize onions, leeks, and shallots because this is when they put on the most growth. I use Compost Plus and water once or twice with fish emulsion during the weeks of late June and early July.

—> Stake and prune tomatoes. Keep the suckers pinched off, and the foliage off the ground. Doing this now will keep the plants disease free for much longer. If you have not yet, I recommend mulching under the plants to keep the soil from splashing up on the leaves since this is one of the ways disease can spread. We will show you how to do this on our July 1st Plant Walk.

—> Now is a great time to put in a strawberry or asparagus patch. We have both available as bare root stock and our retail team can explain how to do it if you are not sure.

—> I have planted all the required staples such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc, and now I am ready to plant the electives. This week it is the cut flower garden. I have the following combos planned for different spots in the new display garden (which you can see on our First Thursday Plant Walks).

  • -Marble Arch Mix Salvia, Cosmos, Zinnia ‘Benary’s Giant White’

  • -Verbena bonariensis, Zinnias ‘Benary’s Giant Mix’ and ‘State Fair Mix’, Rudbeckia hirta

  • -Statice, Strawflower, Gomphrena, Celosia, Amaranth (all for drying)

  • -Sunflowers - a crazy mix of all of our varieties