asparagus

FarmerJamie

Mr. Sensitive
Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Messages
9,878
Reaction score
18,563
Points
393
Our soil here is heavy clay. I've amended it with grass clippings, mulch, compost, chicken poo, and peat moss. I have it in a 4'x'8'x8" raised bed. This is the third year for the crowns, so I'm looking forward to it - last year wasn't too bad, except my chickens loved to eat off the tips.

We eat it drizzled with oil and a little salt and broiled in the oven.
 

Bimpnottin

Lovin' The Homestead
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
291
Reaction score
0
Points
64
Location
35 NW of Green Bay, WI
We also love to coat long stems in olive oil, salt and pepper and grill until crisp tender. :drool

My 2-year-old ate as many as she could. The 4-year-old only wants hot dogs and peanut butter right now, so veggies aren't her thing. "I'll eat them, but I don't like them!" :lol:

I'm still digging through the posts on here, but anyone pickle their asparagus? The neighbor and my Dad each gave me plastic grocery bagful on the same day. I never thought it was possible to get sick of asparagus, but we're getting there.
 

freemotion

Food Guru
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
10,817
Reaction score
90
Points
317
Location
Southwick, MA
You can pickle anything! You can also blanch it and freeze it.

This thread inspired me and when I spotted crowns at the farmstand when I went to pay for my weaner pigs, I grabbed up a bunch....fifty cents each! I thought I got 10, but there were four more little ones hiding amongst those crowns. I planted them all and so far 12 have come up. I hope to be sick of asparagus, too, in a few years! Then I'll sell or barter it for something I need, after freezing enough for us. It is so nice to have more and more of my garden space devoted to perennials....so much less work in the spring.
 
S

sunsaver

Guest
I've been growing asparagus for years and i love it. To get decent harvests on a regular basis, you need about fourty plants. They never sprout all at once, so you'll get one here and over there. I have a hundred foot row of asparagus plants that are spaced 1 foot apart. i planted them just below the soil level, but i add composted chicken doo and mulch every spring, which i making them a little deeper every year.The purple asparagus is the biggest ive ever seen. The ferns get up to 9ft tall and spears are up to one and a half inch across. Jersey Giant or Supreme are two other good varieties. Don't waste time with Mary Washington. They seldom get very big.
I started with 8 asparagus plants back in 2002, but i quicky realised i was only going to get one spear per week. So i bought fifty, then fifty more. Now i can and do eat asparagus every day in the spring until i get sick of it, and let it fern out. Hard to imagine i could get sick of my favorite vegetable, but too much of a good thing....
 

valmom

Crafter
Joined
Apr 4, 2009
Messages
1,515
Reaction score
16
Points
173
Location
Vermont
We finally got asparagus put in! Yea! Someday we will be eating it. I got 60 crowns. Unfortunately, I have only seen 2 sprouting so far. :/ I hope they survive.
 
Top