You could do 2 rows 25' long with the plants 10-12" apart but no closer. 3 rows on 3' wide bed would be too crowded. Stagger the 2 rows of plants.

X - X - X - X

- X - X - X

Assuming adequate feeding and all the crown head will rapidly expand to fill that 10-12 inches within 5 years. And the massive root system will fill the bed in about that same time so over-planting/over-crowding needs to be avoided to avoid die-off.

Link below shows a guys hand holding what looks to be a 2 year old crown. Just scroll down the page a bit.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Asparagus

Hey dirt

What a great site you linked me to. Evidently, the asparagus crop has a larger economic impact in Virginia than it does here in Louisiana. Our extension service has a skimpy one-page article.

I'm kinda worried about the water table issue. The site warned about having a water table less than 5 feet from the ground's surface. Sometimes, the water table is less than 2 feet deep here. I guess that's why hurricane Katrina put 13 feet of water in my house. We live below sea level.

I am seriously reconsidering growing asparagus.

Asparagus crowns can be planted up to 8 inches deep. Why? Deeper planting will result in fewer but larger, disease-free spears. Use the staggered spacing described by Dave above, but also: for each staggered row make a trench about 12 inches wide and 8 inches deep. Mound up soil in the bottom of the trench--use loose, manure-enriched soil--this mound will be about 3 inches high. Spread the claw-like asparagus roots gently on the mound, spaced 12 to 15 inches apart. Then cover the crowns with 2 inches of light soil. When the shoots emerge later in spring gradually over the season fill in the remainder of the trench with soil--never fully cover the growing tips. Continue until the end of the season when the trench is filled, then cut off the foliage. Next year--first limited harvest year--you will begin to reap the benefits of this method: stronger plants, thicker spears.

Here is a link that might be useful: HarvestToTable.com

I'm kinda worried about the water table issue. The site warned about having a water table less than 5 feet from the ground's surface. Sometimes, the water table is less than 2 feet deep here.

You can still grow it. You are building a raised bed, right? Can you just make it more 'raised'? Make it a foot or more deep instead of just 6 inches and then plant at 6". It's a little more shallow than recommended but you can add more filler as the plants grow. As long as it is filled with a fairly well draining mix you'd be fine.

Dave

I planted my asparagus bed 20 years ago in clay soil and it is still doing well. Only later did I learn that lighter soil is recommended. Yours may do okay even with the high water table, especially if you have a raised bed. Perhaps you can give it a try with a smaller bed first.

Lots of people have no idea what "grown up" asparagus looks like or how it grows. At least you're willing to learn and give it a try. My husband thought you could plant seeds like you do with most veggies and harvest the asparagus a few months later. He was very surprised to hear it would take several years from seed and even a year or two with crowns/roots.