Well, I have a 4x8 bed lined with hardware cloth and am overwhelmed with gus right now! We planted our first about 5-6 years ago, then added some more when a couple failed. They weren't planted the 12-18" that was advised, but with adding soil and compost each year as things settled, things are going fine! Now, I'm sure we didn't get the same variety, I wasn't paying attention at the time, but I've had no problems. We apparently got some females in one of the batches, cause we get some bright red berries in the fall and get a few "babies" here and there. But it doesn't concern me! Asparagus is asparagus! Yum! Others might be more picky! Nancy

Hi Dan, I dug through my computer history and found the page I loved so much about asparagus roots. I've switched from gardening my veggies next door in the sun to only my own yard recently, so have been useing my beloved computer. Let's start with .. remember asparagus gets REALLY tall. The ferns come up to my shoulder height and are so beautiful I'm thinking about useing my new planting as a background for a perennial bed this time 'round. Maybe. So be sure your spot is not going to shade anything that wants sun. I'm wondering about your soil too. The newer , popular varieties , all male, start with the word Jersey ! So maybe your in the most perfect spot ever to grow this ? Jersey Giant, and the other two I forget, but they both start with Jersey. Asparagus wants alkaline soil, so here in my slightly acid soil, it's the only thing I use dolomite lime for. I would definitely skip the peat moss.. super acid. Vermiculite : I'm not a big fan. Pick up a piece and squish it between your fingers. No rebound. It's just lays there flat as a pancake. Vermiculite retains moisture nicely, so it's a good addition to a seed starting tray, but other than that, it's always seemed like money for physiological gain only. What you want is fiber. Your compost is perfect. When I need more, I tend to use fine pumice..but what with those roots going two feet the first year and a total of ten feet later, I'm not too sure they need that sort of help. ;) They are heavy feeders.. so well aged manure fits the menu. I do use on occasion a mix a local fuel company sells, of our city yard compost and mushroom compost. It's such nice stuff ! There are those that will not use any city compost due to residents use of lawn ferts and such, but with my mix it's so dilute and I got to thinking my own tree leaves..and I have too many.. are filled with car pollution. Uck.. but it's the best I've got. Balancing out all the pollutants I do avoid, and those I can't ... I have tossed some of this around veggies now and then. Mostly when I'm short of the home made stuff. Mushroom compost is pre-limed BTW. Maybe go to a local specialty nursery and see what they recommend for your area? This time of year they really need the business and have time to help with questions like this. Mid-week is best. Your county extension service might also be a good source, and easy to Google. Looking forward to learning all about Jersey asparagus. Here is a link that might be useful: asparagus roots, ten feet down !

I have my asparagus in a raised bed just outside of the house. It is actually too close to the house because it doesn't get sun until about 11 am during the spring. Also, there is another building just about 40 feet West of it that knocks off the afternoon sun by about 4 pm. I started with a small raised bed of about 2 feet by 4 feet constructed with treated 2X8 lumber. The asparagus in that bed came from the big box store and I have no idea what they are. There are about 5 crowns in it and they are mixed between very thin stalks that are about 1/4" diameter and some other crowns that make stalks about thumb size diameter. We enjoyed them so much that we decided to devote the remainder of the raised bed to more asparagus. The larger segment is 4 ft wide by about 16 feet long. I got the suggestion from a couple of friends that grow Aspagus commercially (1-1/2 acres and 2 acres !!!) to order Hybrid UC-157 Variety from Womack Nursery Co. in De Leon Texas. Phone number is (254) 893-6497. I ordered two of their special package of 10 crowns each for $7.25. These were set out early last spring and by mid summer there were several shoots coming out of the ground. From late Fall until just several weeks ago, I let the things fern out and the ferns were about 4 feet tall and really thick. The ferns feed the plants for next season's edible shoots. You are supposed to let the shoots go without cutting for the first 2 years. The second year you can harvest lightly and after the 3rd year, begin to harvest everything that comes up. The harvest will last about 6 or 7 weeks in the spring and it is incredible how fast they grow. A shoot that just has his head above ground this morning will be ready to snap off for the table by tomorrow evening. You can almost stand there and watch them grow. You mentioned having a hinged lid for the bed. I do not know why you would need anything like that at all. Just build the raised bed out in the yard so that it will get full sun and be ready to put up with a very thick and tall fern growth from about June until it begins to die off in December when you mow it down. You will have to watch closely to keep grass out of the bed so that it does not take it over. In my bed, I had been growing tomatoes and peppers for a couple of years and I had pretty well whipped the bermuda grass out of it. Mulch is very important and the Asparagus are heavy feeders so a good dose of triple 13 or some Ammonium Nitrate in the middles - not over the crowns is best. Womack will send some planting and fertilization instructions with the crowns and it is very informative. You will need to get an order in to them post haste to be sure they get your order in for this year before they run out. The crowns remind you of an octopus and when you set them out, you will dig a deep area with a raised hump in the middle of it. Drape the octopus over the hump with it's tentacles hanging down all the way around. You will now cover the top of the crown with about 4 inches of dirt so you can see that they are set pretty deep. The Aspagagus will easily live 15 to 20 years and by 5 or 6 years, the roots will be down 3 to 3-1/2 feet deep. Cold will not bother them at all. We won't get much Asparagus from the new crowns this spring, but next year, we will be rolling in them much to the delight of my wife and I and our daughter and her family up in Moore. Good luck with it. Bob

Chicken math? I googled that phrase which confused me more!00! I love the nipple idea and i am actually studding pooping right now... Have a pic of poop management here some where from a BackYardChickens member... KC of: kissofnaturesoap.comBackYardChickens is where i have done most of my research for the last 3 years. Anyway KC says most all poop goes into that screened box. That coop is on a concrete slab but i want a dirt floor (all ready have one made) 4x4 perimeter with hardware cloth shirting out a foot or so under the grass to prevent digging. Build up the floor with... something semi hard but absorbent. Still have some fine tuning to do. I intend to start from scratch and hatch fertile eggs from the tractor supply down the road. I cannot have a rooster here long but there is always someone who will take him off my hands. I have little faith in world economy so like to hatch a rooster or two each spring then sell or give-a-way when noisy... now i'm rambling... where was i? oh, is your coop on the ground or elevated? Got to run... look at the time! tks for the assistance!