started the process of weeding in the asparagus patch 1st. this stuff is deeply entrenched. it's almost like it's one single organism. hand weeding is my only option around the asparagus but I'm writing off the rest of the garden. I'm potting some tomatoes & peppers. the rest I mowed & tilled & will work on the rest of the summer & fall to get this sedge under control. my thinking is that this will save me a lot of effort in years to come. this stuff is unbelievably tenacious. on the lower end of the garden I have a row of straw bales to prevent erosion. the sedge has traveled under it & up threw it. I've read that after repeated weeding the tubers ( nuts ) will eventually lose the ability to reproduce. so my plan is to till the garden & try solarization for 2 weeks, till, solarize for 2 weeks, till.....repeating all season & a heavy planting of buckwheat & alfalfa in the fall for a green manure. i'll also use limited chemical warfare in hard to work areas. also-I'll never use leaf or ground tree mulch from local municipalities. I'm sure that that's where this crap came from. if anyone has any other techniques I'm open to suggestions. http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fruits/veg/pubs/GFVGA%202007/documents/Johnson-11.pdf

I too am EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to poison ivy and recently broke out in a similar rash after being careless while propagating my all time favorite plant, the philodendron micans. I also suspected that had to be it so I took a fresh cutting and dabbed the sap several times in my arm and didn't wash off for a few hours. Somewhere between 12 & 24 hours later, I started feeling that familiar itch and watched as my test patch gradually spread out the size of a dime and rose up with the little tiny bubble pattern I'm used to seeing with poison ivy rash. THIS SUCKS! I'm in the middle of battling it right now and in my research found this helpful article. I also read another helpful tip that said the sap from these plants can somehow penetrate through standard medical gloves so thicker gardening type gloves should be used when propagating and caution should also be taken when refreshing propagation water. I plant to purchase some thick, SOLID rubber gloves that can easily be thoroughly washed. NOT those gardening gloves that have a breathable section at the back of the hand and wrists! You should also clean the tools you use and the work area. Rubbing alcohol AT LEAST 70% grade is known to be effective for cleaning tools that have come in contact with poison ivy so I plan on implementing that. As well as never shortcutting again by taking rushed cuttings and not doing the basics like laying out a protective mat and immediately washing my hands afterwards. I lazily let my NUMEROUS cuttings drop to the floor (CARPET!) and I know I didn't wash my hands right away like I normally do. A couple hours later I laid on this floor in a tank top and got a mild rash a day later across my upper back and shoulder area as well as my ear lobes which I believe is from handling my earbuds right after propagating my favorite plant. PLEASE MAKE MY PAIN WORTH IT AND LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU... PUH-LEAZE!

I think they actually sell agricultural fabric and plastics with the express purpose of doing that but it's been so long since I put one in the raised bed that I cannot recall. With raspberries they won't spread as fast as mint, so no worries, but you shouldn't have to worry about it taking over the garden. I planted one in the ground and had it there for about 5 years. It grew to a nice size, produced nice fruit, but it started getting out of hand so I had to remove it. Then for the next several years I had to walk very carefully there (I like to be barefoot) as new plants kept popping up. In the end I had to dig out about 4 feet square and 3 feet down just to make sure I got every last bit of root.

The crowns should only be about 2 inches deep in the soil. I don't add soil when they grow, and just plant to the proper depth in the beginning. If its a fragment of a crown, and its sending up a spear, leave it alone so it will grow to maturity. Crowns enlarge very slowly and can take several years to get to a foot in diameter. Asparagus loves sunlight. Just let it grow even if its near the eggplant. Once planted, 'gus plants should not be moved or relocated, unless they were just planted a few weeks ago. Even for that, if they have new spears already showing up, it may be too late to relocate them. The 'gus I have is all mixed. If you see round, green, pea sized pods, they hold a few black seeds inside. I pluck several off and let them sit indoors in a small dish to dry out some. The green skins turn red, and then start to shrink. This is when I split them open and remove the 2-4 black seeds inside. It appears that you have female plants due to the seeds you mentioned. I have a few that also have tiny yellow flowers. If you want big spears, a all male variety is a better choice. Cross pollination can only happen if there are flowers. If there are more than one type of 'gus and they are female and male mixes, its hard to know what will be the result. the single purple plant I have is a male with no seeds or flowers. Normally regular asparagus has a purple tinge when small. The pruple variety was originally 6 plants but the rest have never shown up. For white asparagus, you cover the plants with something to block any light. Then harvest. They are naturally very light white, and once exposed to sunlight they start to turn green. Young 'gus plants may just have foot tall ferns, but mature plants can get ferns up to 6 foot tall! Because your soil is a mix and mostly clay, it is a good idea to go down about a foot to add these ammendments. If you have weeds sprouting in there, use a stirrup weeder. I love those as you just drag the blade over the surface of the soil and it slices off any weeds from their roots. The addition of corn gluten twice per year also helps to not only reduce weeds, but also feeds the 'gus plants a very good source for nitrogen. Many write about puny, thin spears, but if they added nitrogen fertilizer or the gluten, the spears would soon become much bigger. Once in a while I see a very small spear sprouting nearby my bed, which is probably due to a few seeds getting planted. These don't seem to make it after their first year, because they are so young, and our winters are just too much for a very small 'gus plant. If you have small seedlings, you can leave them be, or relocate them to another area. Be sure to dig down deep, about 8 inches or so, so you get most of the fine roots. Once in a while I get spears that are twisted and gnarly, and these are OK, but were probably due to some bug in the soil, or my accidentially stepping on a crown. Never add the asparagus ferns to a compost pile. There is a beetle that can do damage to the 'gus plants, so removal of the dead ferns in late fall is when you put these someplace else, away from the bed or compost pile.