[brownp]

I am wanting to have a try at growing asparagus. I was thinking of planting them in a large tractor tyre that I have on my plot. I don't really have room to dedicate an entire raised bed to this usage. I read somewhere that growing asparagus in containers would only yield about 3 rs worth of cropping compared to 20yrs in the ground. My question is...if I place the tyre onto bare ground then fill with good soil etc and plant the spears - will this be the same as planting into the ground? An advantage of the tyre I thought was that the top of the tyre will provide some protection from wind whilst the plant is young.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Phil

[Snoop]

I'm intrigued: why not plant the crowns in the area where you're proposing to put the tyre? A tractor tyre is a pretty big item and a lot of ground will be wasted simply by being covered with rubber.

It's true that the tyre might provide a bit of protection from wind, but it will also cast a lot of shade and will be subject to significant temperature variations. It will likely get extremely cold in winter and take a long time to warm up in spring, holding back your plants' development, and in summer it will get extremely hot.

The only advantage I can see is that essentially you're providing the asparagus with a kind of raised bed, but you could build one of those and have more potential planting space, and not such difficult conditions for the asparagus crowns.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has done what you propose, though.

[ptarmigan]

I'm not convinced about the tractor tyre idea. They are big plants, that take up a lot of space and you don't get very much from one plant.  I'm on year 4 of mine, I think, and got about 24 spears across 8 plants - very widely spaced in timing. Didn't actually get enough for a full meal at any point!

I'd try a raised bed.  They take a lot of room, you may get a brilliant crop if your conditions are good but equally you may not, it's one of those crops I think it is best to commit to!