A good time to grow asparagus

It’s About Thyme
by CHRIS WINSLOW

One very important vegetable to consider for your garden this year is asparagus. It has a delicious flavor when served with melted butter, is very good for your health and will be productive for 15 years or more.

Garden asparagus, named from the Greek word asparagos meaning sprout or shoot, has been cultivated since ancient times. The world’s oldest surviving recipe book (from the third century) even refers to it.

This culinary vegetable is a genus in the lily family. It grows a lateral primary root and then sends its shoots above ground when the weather warms up in the spring.

Establishing an asparagus row in your garden is fairly easy. Since it takes two to three years to mature from seed to edible size, you can save a lot of time by planting ‘crowns’ that are already two years old. (These are available in local nurseries and garden centers.)

Locate your plants in a well-drained, sunny spot. Since they are perennials, usually a sunny location along a fence line or along an edge of the garden is best. This way they can be left alone when you dig up your vegetable patch between seasons.

The asparagus row itself should be tilled or plowed to a depth of 12 inches. You should blend adequate organic matter, such as compost and fertilizer, with the garden soil. Fortunately, asparagus thrives in our alkaline soil.

Make a deep trench one foot deep down the middle of the row and plant the asparagus crowns at 12 to 18 inch intervals, spreading the side roots out along the trench.

Cover the crowns with two to three inches of soil. Firm around the roots and water in.

As the first season progresses, add soil to the trench until it is full by fall.

With the asparagus crowns as deep as 12 inches, the surface of the bed can be cultivated and lightly tilled to control weeds without hurting the crowns.

The shoots grow to a height of two to four feet. They then open into feathery foliage which has small greenish-white flowers.

The spears are usually harvested in the spring at a height of four to six inches. As harvesting continues, the spears will become more thin and wispy.

When they become smaller than the diameter of a pencil, harvesting should stop. This will enable the shoots to grow into feathery branches that will supply renewed energy to the roots.

In the fall, after the first frost has browned the foliage, the stems should be cut back to ground level.

You should then heap generous amounts of organic fertilizer upon the asparagus row or bed. The rains of winter will carry the fertilizer to the roots which will grow and produce edible sized “spears” in the spring.

Rule of thumb: a 100 foot row will adequately feed a family of 5.

After harvest, asparagus is usually boiled or steamed until tender. Traditionally the spears are served with a sauce like hollandaise, or served with melted butter and drizzled with parmesan cheese.

This vegetable is rich in folic acid. This helps make the blood healthy and strengthens the liver. It is low in sodium and calories, has no fat or cholesterol, and is a great source of potassium and fiber.

The only disease associated with asparagus plants is rust. By planting disease resistant varieties, this should not be a problem. Two varieties to look for are U.C.72 and U.C.157. Both of these will produce early, and are prolific.

Happy gardening everyone!

If you have a gardening question, send it to me via email: iathyme@yahoo.com. (Please put ‘Ask Chris Winslow’ in the subject line.) Or mail your letter or postcard to: Ask Chris Winslow. It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748