Farmers Weekly Review

I think of vegetables and fruits from our gardens like a calendar. For me, there is always one standout plant for each of our growing months. October is for pumpkins; September, apples; tomatoes, July; and April is for Asparagus!
Asparagus is one of the three perennial vegetables we can grow here in Northern Illinois (the other two are rhubarb and horseradish). And anyone who grows asparagus in their home garden can tell you there is absolutely nothing like the flavor of freshly harvested asparagus. But why don’t we see more asparagus planted in home gardens?
I think if people knew it is a “two-fer” – not only a delicious vegetable that once planted can be harvested for 15 years in the same place, but hardly anyone knows the he wispy, tall canes make a lovely landscape border that turns a brilliant yellow in fall.
Asparagus is grown from a budded root system called “crowns.” The edible part of asparagus, the spears, are technically the stems of the plants and emerge before any foliage does, usually in April. The harvest season for asparagus is about 6 weeks, depending on the age of your asparagus bed and the weather.
Planting is done in early April, or as soon as the soil is workable. Remember, since this is a perennial vegetable, really take time to evaluate a good site for it since it will use this space for many years. There are several varieties to choose from, and I am usually all for trying old as well as new varieties of vegetables. But not when it comes to asparagus. Go new with these.
Asparagus plants are dioicous (meaning they have separate male and female plants). There is no value for us to use the female plants because they waste energy in the production of seed (you will see berries on the female plants). The berries drop to the ground and grow seedlings, but they are more weedy than practical. Most of the new varieties we see in stores and in seed catalogs are all male. That means all their energy goes into producing those delectable spears; no wasting energy on seed production.
When you get your asparagus crowns, they appear octopus-like with a central crown and many long roots. Asparagus needs some space to grow — you need to dig a trench 12-18 inches wide and plan to separate each plant by one foot. You will want to keep that soil you dug out for the trench nearby as you will backfill with additional soil as the plants emerge.
You want to have the crown planted slightly higher than the roots. Cover the crowns with two inches of soil and be sure to water immediately. The crowns should not dry out during planting. Soon thin, tiny spears will start to emerge. After a few weeks, you can backfill the rest of the soil you had removed from the trench. Be careful to add that soil gently, as the new spears are fragile. And remember, the most important goal for a perennial vegetable is to focus on strong establishment early on; not harvest.
As we all know, gardening is not about instant gratification, and with asparagus, this is particularly true. You should not harvest any spears until the third year; and then only harvest for one month. Once you are in the fourth year, you will have two months of harvest every year.
To harvest asparagus, look for well-developed spears with tight tops five to eight inches tall, grab them by the base and snap them off. They will naturally snap just where the spear becomes too fibrous. I think of it as if the plant is telling us the edible part. Commercially harvested asparagus isn’t cut, and that is why you will usually have to cut off those tough bases of the spears before cooking.
Asparagus is one of those vegetables that doesn’t keep well. It starts to go downhill after picking. That is why growing your own will give you an entirely new appreciation of this spring vegetable. But just imagine, if you like store-bought asparagus now, how much better home-grown will be?
I also want to dispel a myth about the thick-speared asparagus, often shunned, because people assume it is “old” or past its prime. FALSE! The spears are the thickness they are right as they emerge from the soil. So don’t pass those by. Also, the male asparagus plants produce a thicker stem, but tenderness is not affected.
Besides being such a delicious vegetable, asparagus also gives a great landscape show after the picking time is done. The beautiful, fairy-like, wispy ferns of its foliage look like a levitating light green cloud hovering over the landscape. And if that weren’t enough, come fall, asparagus turns a bright yellow.
It is not only beautiful, but a good reminder that soon it will be time to cut the foliage down in fall. Just remember when planting to site your asparagus on the north edge of the garden so the subsequent four-foot shrub it becomes, doesn’t shade the rest of your plantings.
But now onto the burning question, everyone has about asparagus: What about that smell? When you go to the bathroom?? Is that normal?
Well, yes, it is. When asparagus is digested, asparagusic acid is broken down into sulfur compounds, that rotten egg smell, comes out in urine and evaporates almost immediately.
And there you have it, asparagus delicious, beautiful and extremely interesting!

Baked Asparagus Recipe