RobS
Super Member
Anyone grow white asparagus? Is it the same, just shaded from the sun? I've not seen it fresh, only canned in the stores /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Harvesting asparagus
- Thread starter Chuck52
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Terry,
I left the spears from one plant because they were pretty skinny. Figured it could use some growth. I had to replant half my bed this year because half the crowns I put in last year were a poor choice and didn't come up. Not knowing what they should look like, I bought some boxed crowns at a hardware store which already had ferns. Then I bought some more really good crowns at a local plant store....bare roots, but nice and fleshy. The latter all came up and that's what I'm harvesting this year. When I started doing the bed last year I was all ready to do it the old-fashioned way. Dig a deep trench, put in mulch, put in the crowns a foot deep, gradually fill in around the developing ferns. Then I did a search on the web and found a university horticulture page which basically said, "dig a 6" trench, throw in some super phosphate, throw in the crowns, and bury them." I like simple! Plus it said I could harvest lightly the following year rather than wait another year. From the growth I'm getting this year, it appears simple works fine.
Bird, are those your blackberries in the picture? I don't think I'll get enough asparagus for pickling this year....maybe next. I'm about to put the okra in however, so I'll get to pickle something anyway!
Chuck
I left the spears from one plant because they were pretty skinny. Figured it could use some growth. I had to replant half my bed this year because half the crowns I put in last year were a poor choice and didn't come up. Not knowing what they should look like, I bought some boxed crowns at a hardware store which already had ferns. Then I bought some more really good crowns at a local plant store....bare roots, but nice and fleshy. The latter all came up and that's what I'm harvesting this year. When I started doing the bed last year I was all ready to do it the old-fashioned way. Dig a deep trench, put in mulch, put in the crowns a foot deep, gradually fill in around the developing ferns. Then I did a search on the web and found a university horticulture page which basically said, "dig a 6" trench, throw in some super phosphate, throw in the crowns, and bury them." I like simple! Plus it said I could harvest lightly the following year rather than wait another year. From the growth I'm getting this year, it appears simple works fine.
Bird, are those your blackberries in the picture? I don't think I'll get enough asparagus for pickling this year....maybe next. I'm about to put the okra in however, so I'll get to pickle something anyway!
Chuck
Bird
Rest in Peace
Yep, blackberries in the foreground. And my okra has sprouted; a couple of inches high, but won't really get to growing good until it gets hotter weather.
Richard
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I’ll fess up to something here..not only am I not a fan of asparagus, I have found out, I’m clueless as to how to prepare it.
Dinner party at my house w/in-laws. Everyone LOVES asparagus. Father in law & myself get voted to prepare it. He likes to shave off the little “nubs” off the stalk and showed me exactly how he likes that part done.
Keep in mine, I’m helping in part because his arthritis slows him down and I have quick little fingers. Ok, since the TIP of the asparagus looks just like a bundle of nubs, I continued on and in my busy body fashion, sharpened about ½ of the entire lot..making each stalk look like it was professionally inserted into a pencil sharpener and had a nice point where the tip used to be. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif
As dinner approached and my faux pox was outed. They all had a major laugh at my expense.
The jokes continue on till today about how I’ll take asparagus and turn it into a pack of pencils. /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif (I think we need a dunce award face?)
Richard
Dinner party at my house w/in-laws. Everyone LOVES asparagus. Father in law & myself get voted to prepare it. He likes to shave off the little “nubs” off the stalk and showed me exactly how he likes that part done.
Keep in mine, I’m helping in part because his arthritis slows him down and I have quick little fingers. Ok, since the TIP of the asparagus looks just like a bundle of nubs, I continued on and in my busy body fashion, sharpened about ½ of the entire lot..making each stalk look like it was professionally inserted into a pencil sharpener and had a nice point where the tip used to be. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif
As dinner approached and my faux pox was outed. They all had a major laugh at my expense.
The jokes continue on till today about how I’ll take asparagus and turn it into a pack of pencils. /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif (I think we need a dunce award face?)
Richard
RobS
Super Member
ROTFLMAO /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
On a related note, how many of you suffer the "asparagus syndrome"? For those of us who do, it is noticible in the bathroom shortly after eating the stuff. Apparently, it's hereditary and not everyone suffers. I sure do /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
On a related note, how many of you suffer the "asparagus syndrome"? For those of us who do, it is noticible in the bathroom shortly after eating the stuff. Apparently, it's hereditary and not everyone suffers. I sure do /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
RobS
Super Member
Can't say I've noticed a similar affect due to coffee, but then I've only been drinking the stuff for a couple of months now /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
rancar
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Chuck,
<font color=blue>Do you pick all the spears for a while and then let all develop into ferns, or do you just pick some right along?</font color=blue>
I don't think you can pick all at the same time since all shoots aren't growing at same rate. We pick all of ours sporadically during the first three weeks of the growing season...when the shoots are about 9-12 inches high, before their buds blossom, and before they become too thick. Then we feel we need to let the patch grow and blossom to maturity into a bush for the survival of the patch. This method has been used on this patch for approximately 50 years and the plants still sprout like youngsters each Spring. They're wonderful plants. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Regards,
Bob Ancar
Cambridge, NY
<font color=blue>Do you pick all the spears for a while and then let all develop into ferns, or do you just pick some right along?</font color=blue>
I don't think you can pick all at the same time since all shoots aren't growing at same rate. We pick all of ours sporadically during the first three weeks of the growing season...when the shoots are about 9-12 inches high, before their buds blossom, and before they become too thick. Then we feel we need to let the patch grow and blossom to maturity into a bush for the survival of the patch. This method has been used on this patch for approximately 50 years and the plants still sprout like youngsters each Spring. They're wonderful plants. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Regards,
Bob Ancar
Cambridge, NY
TerryinMD
Veteran Member
Rob,
White asparagus are stalks that have been protected from the sun. I do not know the actual method to do this but I can imagine that you might be able to do it with a lot of straw piled on the asparagus row. Looks like another Web research project.
Inital research - <A target="_blank" HREF=http://ohioline.osu.edu/b826/b826_8.html>White Asparagus</A>
Terry
White asparagus are stalks that have been protected from the sun. I do not know the actual method to do this but I can imagine that you might be able to do it with a lot of straw piled on the asparagus row. Looks like another Web research project.
Inital research - <A target="_blank" HREF=http://ohioline.osu.edu/b826/b826_8.html>White Asparagus</A>
Terry
