Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I have a part of my garden where i've decided to put asparagus. (they're just wee sprouts so i have some time). the bed i've planned for them is resting, but it used to have a type of cassava-like potato that just won't die no matter how often i dig them out, and a type of leafy green that also just won't go away. both are the kind of plant that grows from root fragments, and there's always some fragment that escapes attention.
I understand that once asparagus gets established it's hard to get weeds out, so i want to take care of it first. any ideas on how i can get rid of these pests?

ugh. we had fennel take over our garden when no one was using it. it took a couple years to get rid of it. we just kept pulling it up wherever we saw it. i think we finally got the mother root last year. seriously, michael just kept digging and digging this one piece until he got as much of the root as possible. it still pops up here and there, but nothing like before.
so no advice other than to dig down and get as much root as you can when you're pulling pieces out.

if there's some magic secret to removing this kind of stuff, i'd love to know, too.

Like Esme says, it takes diligence. So wait as long as you can before planting and keep removing the culprit pieces ASAP when you see them. If you keep removing top growth before it stores more energy the root pieces will slowly die out. There's also an industrial strength vinegar solution that is a fairly effective spot-treating herbicide that could help too. http://www.unitedstatesag.org/Vinegar.html

Good luck!

I remember seeing some hand tool once that was basically a huge weed root crowbar type thing.

right-o, i guess i need to get out there and dig a bit more often. thanks!