Garden Bed 13

 Asparagus, asparagus, asparagus, and strawberries, too!

This is a dedicated perennial asparagus bed, with strawberries on top.   

Asparagus likes acidic soil, and comes up early in the spring.  As the spears emerge, the ones fatter than a pencil can be harvested and eaten.  The skinny ones are recommended to leave, as they will photosynthesize and support a strong and healthy root system.  Don't let too many go, or you will have an unruly asparagus forest.  The spears get about 6' tall and sometimes want to fall over.  When they get top heavy, they need tethered to help them stay upright. 

Asparagus does not get along, reportedly, with onions.  When onions sprout in the asparagus bed, they are considered obnoxious weeds and removed.  There is a grid of 2x4's over the bed which can be used (carefully) as a walkway to access the center.  

Beetles are the pest which aggravate these plants.  Asparagus beetles look similar to ladybugs but are orange and not so round.  Their escape plan is to drop, so if you sneak up on them, put one cupped hand underneath them, and bring your other cupped hand over to catch them, it will usually drop and fall into your hand and try to hide.  Then you have to squish them dead.

Weed out the onions and other weeds, monitor spears as they come up, harvest and save until you have enough to grill, saute or eat raw (etc.), tether as necessary, and hunt asparagus beetles. That pretty much sums up this bed.  Since Asparagus is so highly exotic, haha, and it can take awhile to establish and produce well, it is a highly coveted crop.  Once you acclimate, orient, plug in and make yourself valuable, you can earn a share :-P.  It is sooo totally worth every minute of contribution made.