Asparagus Advice Please

Can I get some Asparagus Advice Please I planted these last year about mid summer and this is what they look like now do you think they have died out?

and if yes any advice on where I'm going wrong please?

 

Look fine to me, they should throw up new shoots around April. I would cut the dead material off at ground level, weed, mulch and then apply some fertiliser when you see some new growth.

 

Oh right that's cool then whats the best thing to use as mulch? some grass clipping maybe? grass could use a quick trim

 

I was thinking more of well rotted manure or good home made garden compost.
Asparagus need plenty of feeding to develop the crowns and produce good thick shoots, the grass clippings will take nitrogen out of the soil as they break down.
I would think you are a couple of years away from being able to harvest any.

 

Will have to see if theres anyone local got some going free as dont have room for composting

 

ok will grab a few bags and cut them down and weed it thanks

 

thanks guys

 

thinking about it even if I do weed it they will be back again in a week or two, there a nightmare in our gardens
might be best just to cut them back rather then taking the risk if hurting my Asparagus roots?

 

All weeded and cut back and put some organic manure on top, got few coming through already,

Does asparagus spread? are should I plant some more?
not sure how many have made it spring will tell I guess but it looks loads better now

 

2nd year? Don't pick/cut no more than 2 spears per plant.

 

Controlling weeds is very important at this stage. Getting rid of weeds among asparagus is nigh well impossible and weeds will spoil the crop.
I would use a glyphosate spray or gel to treat weeds throughout the summer. This should eliminate perennial weeds.
You can make a good mulch by mixing mpc and dried manure/chicken pellets. Grass cuttings, in my experience, simply creates grass weeds, robs nitrogen from the soil at a time when nitrogen is needed and make a slimy, unattractive and smelly surface.
Be ready to stake your asparagus too to avoid root rock

 

Hang on, Verdun, think about this.....even assuming that glyphosate is still available (it was withdrawn from sale here on 1/1/19) you'd have to be very, very careful using it around emerging or actively growing asparagus shoots! Gel painted on dandelions or bindweed, perhaps, but even that is risky.
As for knocking stakes into the ground, if the crowns are correctly planted with the roots splayed out, it's a sure recipe for root damage! For a small row, it would make more sense to run a couple of strings or wires between two stakes, one at either end of the row.
I've got a 100m row of asparagus, been in 12 years now, and it's kept clean by a combination of mulching, careful use of a claw type cultivator on annual weeds and hand weeding.
I'd add to lowrider69, you've done a beautiful job on your asparagus bed, just keep an eye open for little, elongated red, white and black beetles and squash them on sight! They sidle round the stems to hide when they see you coming If you see rows of tiny black 'sticks' on the stem, rub them off. They're beetle eggs. You really don't want to see what they turn into if you leave them to hatch
Asparagus beetle / RHS Gardening
All you need then is patience