[Jo Loves Veg]

hello, I just thought I'd ask the allotment people: I have just bought some 1 year old asparagus crowns, and I am making a new bed for them in my allotment (of 10 months) of heavy London clay. The earth was very compacted and we are making the bed from new ( as far as i can tell). Can I add compost? Even seed compost - mixed in?? I have a huge bag of carbon gold seed compost and was thinking of mixing some of this and also some more regular compost, in with the heavy clay. What do you think??

[Trillium]

Yes, add loads of compost and anything else that will add bulk to the soil. Some even add sharp builders sand (different from soft play sand), and rotted manure is good too. When planting out the crowns, mound some sand at the bottom and set the crown head on that so there'll always be good drainage for it because waterlogging is death to asparagus.

[fatcat1955]

AS the Asparagus is going to be there for 20 odd year's you need to get this right. Start by double digging the bed and remove ALL perennial weed's. Make a trench 1 foot wide and 6 inches deep. Make a 2 inch mound and place your plant's on this mound spreading the root's as you go. Place 2 inches of soil over the root's and as the plant's grow cover with more soil so as by the autumn the bed should be level. Each year top dress with 2 inches of well rotted manure.

[Jo Loves Veg]

thank you very much! I will indeed add some sand. And I am halfway through preparing the bed. I will definitely do it properly, as I would like 20 years of asparagus if possible