Asparagus

Here's a picture of the raised bed where I planted 10 crowns of asparagus, variety guelph millenium. Asparagus really needs to be free of weeds but I doubt if that will be the case here. I'm not keen on using any chemicals to kill weeds so I didn't prepare the ground very well. I will probably have to keep this free by hand. Three weeks after planting the first asparagus tip has appeared. However I must resist temptation. Asparagus should not be cut in its first year. And even in the second year it's wise to harvest exceedingly sparingly. It will be 2011 before I get the full benefit of this years planting. The wait will be worth it though!