Length of Asparagus Roots

[2cents]

Can anyone tell us how long the root of the asparagus plant spread out during its life?
I was in Western Peru, one of the most arid places on the planet.
They have large asparagus farms and chicken farm, with large expanses of vacant(inhospitable) desert between them. Nothing between.
Certainly those plants received very little water, so they must have very deep root systems.
How deep and how wide do the roots grow.
And how long can Asparagus go without water/rain??

[cynthia_h]

Those asparagus plants receive snowmelt water, which would otherwise go to villagers and the flora and fauna of the desert. I Googled "asparagus Peru" and found this:

https://presbyterian.typepad.com/foodandfaith/2009/02/deserts-and-asparagus-in-peru.html

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[2cents]

Cynthia,
Thank you for your efforts.
Can anyone tells us how deep the roots of asparagus grow?
I've heard different answers. Dad said he planted his roots 2 feet below the surface in a ground level row.
Mine are at ground level in an 8 inch bed.
I've heard they go as deep as 4 feet. Can this be true?

[cynthia_h]

A second internet search using "depth of asparagus roots" yields the following as Hits #1 and #2:

From North Carolina State University:

https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-2-a.html

And another study of the plant (whose source, unfortunately, I cannot ascertain):

https://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010137veg.roots/010137ch6.html

cynthia

[rainbowgardener]

thanks so much Cynthia for both posts. It's interesting that asparagus roots can in the right circumstances get 10 feet deep, I didn't know that. But the real message is that they are heavy feeders and take a lot of water. That means a lot of added fertilizer and water. And then being shipped thousands of miles... Eat locally! Investigate CSA's (community supported agriculture where you buy a share of the produce of a local farm).

[2cents]

Cynthia,
I must need a new search engine.
10' deep, that is the deepest I've heard.
Thank you so much.