When to cut back asparagus plants?

[NurseNettie]

I'd love to cut them back now and weed out the bed, but some references are unclear about when it's "ok" to do this. We've had some heavy frosts and the plants are brown now, no longer green. Will I hurt them if I cut them down now? I know it got quite weedy this year and I'd like to clean out the bed now- but don't want to hurt next year's crop.
Thanks!

 

[me&thegals]

Now's the time If the foliage is dead, there's no way the crowns are still reabsorbing energy from it. So, thanks for reminding me of what I need to get done here, too!

 

[NurseNettie]

Now's the time If the foliage is dead, there's no way the crowns are still reabsorbing energy from it. So, thanks for reminding me of what I need to get done here, too!

Super, just what I wanted to hear! I've got work to do this week!

 

[bills]

I'm in the same boat, the majority of ferns have gone brown now. I'm hoping next years harvest will be a bonus, as I really let a lot of spears go to fern this year. I still had plenty to eat, since I am the only family member that really loves asparagus, so I only harvested the large spears.

Last fall I collected the red seeds from many of the ferns. In the early spring I squeezed out the small seeds, and planted them in the greenhouse in pots. Later in the summer, I planted these small ferns into the bed that had some bare spots. They did very well, and am hoping that my yield should be increasing over the next few years.

Anybody else plant thier seeds?