Asparagus beetles/eggs. Help?
Earlier this year I had my first go-round with asparagus beetles. Sevin on the foliage seemed to do the trick, but now I'm seeing them on the increase again. Does anyone know if Sevin works on their eggs and larvae, or if there is something better to prevent another population surge? I've just removed the worst affected stems and re-sprayed with
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She says tomatoes will protect your asparagus from asparagus beetles. I'm not certain how many tomato companion plants you need to have, or rather to how many asparagus plants a single tomato plant can be an effective companion, but from what I remember of the sketches or diagrams of various types of gardens illustration in the appendices in her book, you would be planting a tomato "every so often" in each asparagus row and you'd want to stagger them so the tomato plants don't line up across the rows of asparagus (creating a kind of plaid effect, I suppose: you want to avoid that.)
Assuming you've already cleared your average last frost date, you can put your tomatoes in with the asparagus now; otherwise, you would typically plant the tomatoes in late spring after the last frost date and also, as it happens, after your asparagus harvest.
You can also plant some parsley to go with the tomatoes, if you like, but that's in addition to the tomatoes and not instead of tomatoes.
ETA: Also, basil, calendula, nasturtiums and tansy are supposed to repel asparagus beetles.
Personally I love solutions such as this because it makes for efficient use of space, is organic (never mind whether your toms or your asparagus is organic to start with, it's an organic solution), and you have, potentially, three food crops all growing happily.
When the asparagus foliage dies back this autumn, remember to clean it up so the beetles have no shelter in to overwinter.
HTH!
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