[Lesmiserable]

A question from an allotment newbie here....
I took over a nice but overgrown allotment back in January. it's divided into nine beds, of which I've got eight back into shape and relatively weed free. Some I dug and some (two strawberry beds and a soft fruit bed) I hand weeded.
The one remaining bed is a mass of thistles, dandelions, creeping buttercup and other weeds (like the other beds were) but I've left it to last, because my allotment neighbours  told me it is an established asparagus bed, and obviously deep digging would have ruined a valuable resource.
I noticed yesterday that the first spears are starting to poke through the weeds so:
Should I take what I find between weeds for now and start weeding after the main cropping finishes?
Or, try my best to hand weed now and risk damaging a few spears?
Or, spot weed the main culprits with a glysophate stick (I'd prefer not to use chemicals)?
Dig it all up and start a new bed elsewhere?
Any other suggestions?
Many thanks

[Hampshire Hog]

Hi there congratulations on having an established asparagus bed! They take several years to establish so don’t dig it up and start again. I would suggest very careful hand weeding at this time in the season. Unless you are particularly heavy handed any spears you damage will be replaced rapidly by new ones. Asparagus isn’t keen on weed competition so you will improve this year’s crop by removing them. You could also spread a little growmore or chicken manure pellets to give the crop some food.
Good luck and enjoy your asparagus
Cheers HH