asparagus beetle & killing weeds?

the answer to the second question is: wood chips, and perhaps a mowing strip (a one foot strip of topsoil removed, with weed blocker at bottom, and gravel to fill) if your bed borders a lawn. The strip is there to minimize rhizome-propagating weeds, such as grass, from coming in. The chips at my site (about two inches per application) will successfully eliminate (or nearly eliminate) weeds for two years. If you are worried about nitrogen, a bit of urea before each application will help, though I find that they don't create any apparent N deficiency if applied on top.

never had a problem with asparagus beetle whilst actually picking the stuff. they only seem to be apparent once the plants go to seed.

to remove weeds - pick ALL asparagus then spray with round-up weed killer. round-up is not active in the soil, so only weeds will be affected.

this isn't an ideal method - any other suggestions anyone??

i've also heard of spraying the asparagus bed before the growing season with a stronger weed killer. haven't worked what to use as yet though.