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SQWIBB · February 22, 2018

February 1st, 2016

Asparagus bed

In an effort to grow more greens without more hassle, I looked into Perennial Vegetables and was extremely happy to see that Asparagus was a Perennial Vegetable. Asparagus is one of my favorite green veggies for cooking, followed closely by Broccoli.

But the problem was, where the hell would I plant asparagus? I literally have no room.

I think I may have found a place that gets good-OK sun, it is directly in front of my AC unit, it's tight, but with a little construction, I think I can get a decent bed of 10 plants. It Is a small area, maybe 3' x 4.25' (12.75 sq.')

I have always disliked this part of the yard, between the slope of the hill, the AC, the trashcan, the neighbors hemlock hedge, the area that nothing will grow in and the Bradford Pear roots tearing everything up I just hate it. I plan on fixing this up somewhat, clean out the roots, put in a raised bed next to the Asparagus bed and install pavers in place of my spray painted (GHETTO) roof tile.

With a plan in mind, I ordered 10 Jersey Knight Asparagus crowns in January from American Meadows. The Asparagus crowns are shipping the week of April 4th, so I do have plenty of time but want to get this knocked out ASAP.

From what I have researched these are supposed to be an all male variety and will produce more and last longer than their female counterparts.

The weather may be half decent this weekend so I'm gonna try to get my son outside away from Black Ops 3 and jump on building the bed.

OK, I'm going to need a 2"x10" x 12', some deck screws, and loamy soil...whatever that is! I also picked up two 5/4" x 8' decking planks, I decided at the last minute to cap it, figured since its gonna be a permanent bed, I might as well dress it up a bit.

Dam I'm gonna need more 2"x12", oh well back to the store, picked up another 2"x12" but an 8 footer, dam again, it was supposed to be a 2"x10" not a 2"x12", oh well, I'll use it to my advantage.

First I cleaned out the area, removed the river rocks, removed the three pavers then cut the concrete slab that the AC rests on.

I didn't realize but this slab had concrete mesh which made the job a tad bit more of a pain.

Next, I trimmed the 4x4 on the walkway with a sawzall.

Then I dug out about a foot of soil.

The frame is assembled with 3" decking screws, dropped in place and leveled.

Buckets of dirt and concrete are tossed in back of the truck to dispose of. I'll use the dirt to fill in a few holes in our lot at work.

The raised bed is capped with 5/4" deck board. This will be stained in the fall. The bed does tidy up the area a bit.

February 22, 2018	#1
SQWIBB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Philly 7A Posts: 739	SQWIBS Raised beds and Hugelkultur Beds. February 1st, 2016 Asparagus bed In an effort to grow more greens without more hassle, I looked into Perennial Vegetables and was extremely happy to see that Asparagus was a Perennial Vegetable. Asparagus is one of my favorite green veggies for cooking, followed closely by Broccoli. But the problem was, where the hell would I plant asparagus? I literally have no room. I think I may have found a place that gets good-OK sun, it is directly in front of my AC unit, it's tight, but with a little construction, I think I can get a decent bed of 10 plants. It Is a small area, maybe 3' x 4.25' (12.75 sq.') I have always disliked this part of the yard, between the slope of the hill, the AC, the trashcan, the neighbors hemlock hedge, the area that nothing will grow in and the Bradford Pear roots tearing everything up I just hate it. I plan on fixing this up somewhat, clean out the roots, put in a raised bed next to the Asparagus bed and install pavers in place of my spray painted (GHETTO) roof tile. With a plan in mind, I ordered 10 Jersey Knight Asparagus crowns in January from American Meadows. The Asparagus crowns are shipping the week of April 4th, so I do have plenty of time but want to get this knocked out ASAP. From what I have researched these are supposed to be an all male variety and will produce more and last longer than their female counterparts. The weather may be half decent this weekend so I'm gonna try to get my son outside away from Black Ops 3 and jump on building the bed. OK, I'm going to need a 2"x10" x 12', some deck screws, and loamy soil...whatever that is! I also picked up two 5/4" x 8' decking planks, I decided at the last minute to cap it, figured since its gonna be a permanent bed, I might as well dress it up a bit. Dam I'm gonna need more 2"x12", oh well back to the store, picked up another 2"x12" but an 8 footer, dam again, it was supposed to be a 2"x10" not a 2"x12", oh well, I'll use it to my advantage. First I cleaned out the area, removed the river rocks, removed the three pavers then cut the concrete slab that the AC rests on. I didn't realize but this slab had concrete mesh which made the job a tad bit more of a pain. Next, I trimmed the 4x4 on the walkway with a sawzall. Then I dug out about a foot of soil. The frame is assembled with 3" decking screws, dropped in place and leveled. Buckets of dirt and concrete are tossed in back of the truck to dispose of. I'll use the dirt to fill in a few holes in our lot at work. The raised bed is capped with 5/4" deck board. This will be stained in the fall. The bed does tidy up the area a bit.