Freezing veggies

[Bird]

Freds, I never heard of cooking it in the oven; sounds good though.

And Egon, yes, once established, it's easy to grow, just keeps coming back from the roots. One of my brothers decided he wanted to get a pretty good sized bed of asparagus started about 5 years ago, so he read up on the instructions, bought a bunch of mail order roots, borrowed my tractor to dig trenches a foot deep, put the recommended mulch in the trenches, the roots, etc. After a couple of years, he did get some asparagus, but not much. But then he sold the place, so I don't know whether the new owners have a good crop or not. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Chuck52]

Clostridium botulinum can grow in the anaerobic environment of improperly processed canned foods. Home canned green beans were once one of the major causes of botulism because the beans, as opposed to tomatoes for example, have a relatively neutral pH, meaning they aren't acidic like the tomatoes, and that favors the growth of the bacterium. Frozen foods could potentially be a hazard if they weren't kept frozen, but I don't think Clostridium botulinum would be the most likely organism to cause problems because it prefers an anaerobic environment like what is found in the canned beans.

Chuck

 

[Freds]

I caught the oven method on a cooking show that comes on around dinnertime and haven't steamed them since.
Here's another way I used to do. I say USED to do because I never have leftovers anymore /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Get some butter and flour going in a frying pan, add a little milk or cream, add the asparagus long enough to heat it through and pour over toast. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Chuck52]

Bird and others,

I've had really good luck growing asparagus. I followed the directions from a horticulture site at Ohio State.

<a href="http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1603.html" target="_blank">http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1603.html[/url]</a>

Before I found that site, I'd read some very complicated instructions involving deep trenches, compost and other additives, careful adjustment of the roots in the bed and such. I was getting tired just reading that stuff. Then I found the Ohio State site. It basically says not to dig the trench too deep, throw in a handful of superphosphate, drop in the roots and cover them up. Anyway, the simplicity appealed to my lazy soul, and it also worked. I've got one four-year-old 20 foot bed that makes more asparagus than we want to eat, and I planted two more 25 foot rows last year because we may build a green house where the old bed is. We picked enough from the new bed last month and earlier this month that we were giving it away. That was another point made at the Ohio State site...you can pick some the first year after planting. Many other instructions I've read said not to pick any until the second year.

Chuck

 

[Chuck52]

The creamed asparagus sounds good. I may try that for dinner tonight. I usually saute the asparagus in butter or olive oil with a lot of garlic, but we've gotten kind of tired of it this spring, so a different recipe might help. It's good in pasta dishes too, like in chicken fettucini Alfredo.

I'll also have to try freezing some. I should still be able to pick a few pounds before I need to let it go to ferns.

Chuck

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( makes more asparagus than we want to eat )</font>

I'm jealous; I've never had more than I wanted. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Chuck52]

I let the new beds go to ferns this week because you're not supposed to pick for more than a couple of weeks from a new planting. The ferns are getting huge, so I expect we'll have truckloads of asparagus from that planting next year. I was going to let the old bed go, too, but the wife told me to pick at least one more batch since she's got a week off from work starting tomorrow and figures she'll have time to get inventive in the kitchen. So, I picked a pound or so yesterday and will probably get another pound over the next couple of days. I really do like asparagus, but it's just like the green beans last year when we were flooded with them. I bet I could even get tired of prime rib if I could get enough of that....or maybe not!

Asparagus really is an easy and inexpensive permanant crop to get in, if you don't fall for the overly complicated old-style instructions for preparing the bed. Maybe it's due to new varieties, but I suspect that I have some of the old Washington variety in my old bed and it does fine. I bought what was supposed to be Jersey Knight, but that's an all male variety and I have one plant that continues to make berries, so I bet I got a mixed bag. Anyway, it all tastes the same to me, and the shoots get huge and are often tender for more than a foot. I wish I had as good luck with everything I plant.

Chuck