[courgette]

hi

I've got 2 asparagus plants that I bought from a nursery which are about 2ft high & I also planted 2 crowns in the same raised bed.

Is it a good idea to put some bark chips down? If so shall I fill the whole bed or just around the plants?

and is it ok to place over where the crowns are (as not grown shoots yet) or will this mulch prevent them from coming through?

I dont really understand how mulch prevents weeds etc  ???when they come through quite happily where there's any soil/compost and even concrete in some cases! 

[paintedlady]

Many seeds need light to germinate which most people become aware of every time they turn over the soil when there's another crop of weed seedlings springing up!  So mulching acts like a carpet to exclude light.  It won't stop established perennial weeds like bindweed, marestail & couch grass - they just keep on growing through and push their way to the top.  If something like dandelion lands on it and starts to germinate, you can usually pick them off quite easily (their roots can't seem to get a good grip) before the big tap root dives down

I'm not 100% sure about the suitablility of bark chippings over asparagus (I don't think it'll hamper it too much as established spears are chunky things and the right shape to push up, although if they are 1 year old crowns they may struggle)  I've usually spread well rotted manure over my asparagus bed and then picked out any weeds as they come up.

[Trebor]

I have new crowns this year and the shoots coming up are very thin – for this reason I wouldn’t recommend a heavy mulch over the crowns this year. Looking around at other plot holders the spears are much thicker after getting established and so mulching should be ok then – I guess the catch is that you get most weeds in year 1 so that is when you would most want a mulch!

[courgette]

Thank you both for the advice, appreciated 

[Janeymiddlewife]

my one year old crowns are just beginning to poke through and very spindly they are too. They're in a "lazy bed" topped up with composted manure and at the mo I can easily pick off the weeds - next spring I will have to be careful if i forget exactly where they are though!