I seem to be wasting a lot of time and energy weeding my asparagus, then struggling to keep the bed from drying out. I realise the traditional way to grow it is to keep it asparagus only, but wouldn’t it benefit the asparagus to have a non-weed, shallow-growing ground cover, such as wild strawberries?
I agree with you wholeheartedly, but all my attempts to grow asparagus with other things have failed. Asparagus seems to resent any sort of competition – though clover may work if the asparagus is really well established.
My mother had amazing beds of asparagus that were more than 50 years old when she first found them under 5ft of weeds. Large parts of my childhood seemed to be dominated by watching her on her hands and knees, lovingly hand weeding them back into life. Once free of competition, they truly did thrive. She poured compost on them, and I think that is the answer to keeping asparagus plants moist. Try adding lots and lots of compost in autumn and again in early spring – that should do the trick.
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