What do you do to your asparagus bed in the Fall?

I am trying to figure out what to do with my asparagus bed this Fall. It is a new bed, crowns planted in Spring, full ferns standing right now. Do you cut the ferns back? Add compost? mulch?

When I grew asparagus, I used to cut the ferns off close to the ground level and then mulched the entire bed with about 6 inches of shredded leaves.

I have a bed that is about 3 years old now. You cut the ferns back when they turn brown. Remove the cut ferns and the mulch heavily. We put ash from the woodstove in the bed all winter and they really seem to like this. Also mulched grass clippings and leaves.

Thanks Suzieq and Lettuceman!

My asparagus ferns are still very green, so it sounds like I should wait a bit before cutting back and mulching. I wonder if by mid/end of November whether or not my asparagus will be brown - if not, can I cut the ferns back if they are still green? I have plenty of leaves/grass clippings, so the mulching should be no problem!

Thanks again!

My Asp. is green also. It has been pretty mild here so far this fall. I hope that doesn't mean we will get hammerd this winter.

I leave mine standing until spring. They catch the snow and I just let the snow, then in the spring when the snow melts the asparagus gets a good big drink of water.

I have a question about my first year asparagus too! Since mine are still green and VERY TALL almost 4 ft tall and I live in Texas which has hardly any winters sometimes...I did not realize how much the ferns from these plants could take over a small garden like mine...I planted them in front of everything and now I wished I had of isolated them more to one side of the garden in order to walk thru without having to practically fight my way into my garden towards the back...would it keep or hurt to move a few now to where I need them to be? I really would love to know so I can prepare my beds for Spring!! Thanks!

Can you handle another question about Asparagas? I planted some this last spring in a raised bed. Now I am questioning the intelligence of that decision. Raised beds become warmer in the spring because the soil is warmed by the sun. Stands to reason that they get colder in the winter because they are not insulated by the surrounding soil. The beds are made of cinder blocks that are 8 inches thick and filled with gravel. I live in a zone 4b and it can get -20 degrees here. What should I do?

Linda, my asparagus is in a raised bed too. I just planted them this Spring, so I can't share any experience about how they did over winter. However, I remember reading somewhere last Spring that they were pretty hardy and that raised beds were ok. I would be interested to hear if anyone has been successful growing asparagus in raised beds.

I planted a couple of earthboxes with asparagus (without the plastic covers) this spring. The extra winter chill is one thing I'm hoping for, as it is tough to get decent production here with our relatively mild winters. My hunch is yours will do well, Linda