Asparagus Bed Buddy Plants

It might look empty, but asparagus crowns can spread to a couple of feet across, and much of the root system is comparatively shallow. There's not much time to grow anything quick and shallow-rooted where the spears should be coming up, and later in the season the ferns tend to shade out anything between rows (if you have more than one row.)

It takes several years for them to grow to their maximum diameter though, so if yours are only a few years old you could possibly squeeze in a few radishes or salad crops. My asparagus bed is 10 years old and if I wasn't short of space I wouldn't bother, but I do grow onions along one side, and strawberries the other, but they are both about 2 1/2 feet from the centre of the crowns.