In my opinion they will move up year after year. Maybe if you put a foot of stuff you may forego next year's crop, but by 2016 you should be fine. Build some kind of retention so it is the last time you have to do this.

If I started over with new crowns, I'd forego 2 years' crop at least, so raising the bed would be better if I only lost one. Asparagus are hard to kill, but flooding might do it.

After only 3 weeks, this bed is giving up for the year.

Another option is to make a french drain, taking the flood water away from your gardens.

My neighbor and I discuss this proposition often, but drainage people, confronted with the situation, shake their heads sadly and mutter about grade, suggesting that the water would have to flow uphill.

It's always been this way, but it's the only open land I have available.

It's actually very simple. The water goes to the lowest spot, there are many ways to accomplish this,you could dig a small ditch lower than your land, you could roll your land to slope it away from your house and gardens. It could get as simple as grabbing a shovel, digging a ditch directing the rain elsewhere.

The simple fact is that this is the lowest spot. My solution has always been to raise the areas where I want to plant.

What i'm trying to get across is that you need to dig a drench lower then your gardens, or find someway to slope(grade) your land away from your house and gardens.

"My neighbor and I discuss this proposition often, but drainage people, confronted with the situation, shake their heads sadly and mutter about grade, suggesting that the water would have to flow uphill."

What do the "drainage people" suggest? Of course water can't flow uphill, that's why you have to make a ditch, or french drain LOWER than your land.

You have a few options here.

1. Talk to the "drainage people" and find the proper fix to the problem. Probably just rolling the ground to the right slope/grade.

2. Stop talking about it and grab the shovel and dig that ditch!

3. Continue to talk to your neighbor and get nothing done.

All you have to do is direct the water elsewhere. You could do that a million ways, find the best way that fits your situation.

If i was you, I would do something about the problem. I wouldnt just discuss it with your neighbor who probably doesnt know too much about it. Worst comes to worst, at least get out there and try a small ditch, you would be surprised how much that would help your problem. The problem is the empty ditch soon fills with debris and clogs, that's where the frnech drain comes in, where you lay perferated pipe and stone so debris couldnt clog it.

Get to work, I don't want to see soggy asparagus mext year my friend, don't make me crack the whip! ; )

No in all seriousness, it is simple, but a lot of work by hand, good luck!

Nature, I really have researched this problem and spoken to contractors. The problem is one that I share will this neighbor, so it's in our mutual interest to find a solution. Also, the drain would have to run along our property line.

You can't drain water onto another person's property. The only legal direction is towards the street, about 200 yards away, and the grade between the back, where the garden is, and the street is rising. So the drain would have to stop at the street, where it would be lower than the existing drain by about 3 feet.

That's the information i'm looking for! You could make a pond to hold the water? You have to understand, it's extremely difficult to try and imagine your situation. Do you have neighbors sorrounding you from all sides? You in the sticks, next to city hall, or what? Pictures would be very helpful. i'm sure there's a halfway easy, reasonably cheap fix to your problem. You could just make a new drain, but that will probably cost a fortune.

See I have a ditch running right behind my back fence. I plan on putting In a little orchard in my backyard. The problem is water pooling. Peach trees hate standing water, some even go out the way making individual raised beds for their trees. I was planning on just digging a ditch in my backyard, directing the water into the other ditch right behind my back fence. That seems like the easiest fix for me, it would be for you, unless you have neighbors on all sides and don't have any ditches for the water to go. I guess you would have to pay a mint to have them regrade your entire property, or perhaps just around the gardens and house. What are your options you considered with your neighbor?

It strikes me that "flooding" may be the problem with my asparagus. It has been doing well for five years, but this year, the lower half (lower as compared to the higher side) did not produce much. I was thinking to blame it on the carpeting that I put around the bed, to make a path and to stop weeds, but maybe the bottom half of the bed flooded. Anybody agree? We have had a phenomenal amount of rain here in SW PA.