And now I am literally reaping the harvest of the first Asparagus I have ever grown!!!! It was a beautiful ferny plant each of the past 2 years but I waited patiently/impatiently, depending on the day of the week, until this year. Doing some piddling around in the back yard I glanced over at the pot and there were 4 stalks just waiting for me to grab and cut. I couldn't find my cutters (which is nothing new) so I used my thumb nail to do it. I know I said four stalks but did you really expect me to make into the house without eating one!!
Congrats.! I had a wonderful asparagus garden for three years. The year after that? Nothing. My only guess is moles pigged out on all thirty plants. It's the only thing that makes sense. I've since planted that area with tomatoes and such with nary a problem.
No way Toni. I'm just amazed that three survived to make it into the house. I have a feeling though that there's nothing left now and that the spears tasted really special.
I am going to get more this Spring and pot them up, hopefully if these stop producing the new batch will be ready to take their place. Well, I did have to take the photo but then those little darlings couldn't get away from me. I have loved Asparagus since I was a kid, but in those days it was the canned type that my Mom would buy. I have bought fresh at the grocery store and tried eating one before cooking but it tasted awful. These were absolutely delicious ..... and now they are gone. But it appears I have some prolific plants cause there are about 3 more breaking the surface out there.
I bought 'fresh' from a store a while back Toni but really got put off by the taste and texture. I'd had some cooked in restaurants so thought we'd have it for a home cooked meal - big mistake. I don't know what the store did to it but it was stringy and hard. Maybe I'll get Ian to pick up a few young plants and try them here - got to be better than the rubbish ones I bought.
you got to love home grown asparagus shame they only a spring treat. ours have been around for 12ish years....everytime you think you have culled out all the female crowns, nope another one pops up next spring...
They do not store well once cut. The stores keep them nice looking buy plopping them in crushed ice. What you can do is use a potato peeler halfway down the stalk to get rid of the stringy portion, or just sacrifice that part by chopping it off. Also, most store bought asparagus are picked much later so people think they are getting a nice plump stalk. In reality you really want them just like the photo in Toni' first post. A little floppy will result in the best taste.
You did well only eating one on the way inside Toni! Mine would have been long gone by the time I made it inside! The plant will continue to push up new stalks, but only pick them until they are the width of a pencil. There is nothing like the taste of freshly picked asparagus!
I know, I am totally hooked on fresh....home grown fresh that is. Having grown up with store bought canned I had no idea it could taste totally different and better than that. The last two years they would come up, get fat and turn into pretty ferns. I will miss those ferns as I stand there eating the new stalks that come up this year.....but not much
The first stalks are always eaten raw, in the garden, at our house. Our asparagus patch is 5 years old now and last year we were able to eat fresh asparagus and I froze about 35 packages so we are still enjoying it. I hadn't thought about removing the female plants but I'm going to thin them out this fall. They seed everywhere.
Ummmmmm, how do you tell the sex of an asparagus plant? Would I have to sneak out in the backyard in the dead of night so the neighbors don't see me doing it? Hubby doesn't like asparagus but oldest daughter does so I am hoping to have enough to treat her with some too....provided of course I don't eat them on the way to her place.
Toni I found this in one of my gardening books. "All asparagus plants (male and female) will produce blossoms. The difference is that males will produce male flowers and the female plants will produce female flowers. After a month or so the female flowers turn into berries. That's when you will know if you have any females." It also said that the spears of both plants were edible. I presume it's the females you get the seeds from if they produce berries. Hope this helps you to sex yours.
you can tell the difference between m/f while producing, males are usually fat and the females are usually like pencils. for tender asparagus pick them once they get around 6-7" this will trigger the crowns to start producing more,over 7" the stalks start to get woody. and become less palatable.plus they get over that they will start to <fern> you want nice tight tips. like in toni's photos. yes both sex's will fern out and flower with yellow flowers. only the female will produce those evil red berry's. which is not half bad if you want to take a crack at starting your own, heck you have a 50/50 shot. as i know there is no way of telling the sex. of course you do not cut them back till all the ferns have died back in the late fall.. once they have gone to <fern> they are storing food for them to survive the winter to expand and start producing in the following spring. for good production a good shot of nitrogen early spring, can use either. nitrate of soda..16-0-0 or blood meal 12-0-0 mixed in with a balanced fertilizer. don't skimp on the water asparagus love water. once they are done producing, mid season give them another shot of fertilizer. now with said you can pick all that is ready into a plastic grocery bag, place them into the fridge till more are ready. that should only be a couple days. if you missed a few that have gotten to big, no worry.... save them, freeze them in and make a pot of cream of asparagus potato soup during the winter. fyi the type called "purple passion" even thou they are purple will turn green once cooked, just as most purple vegetables do once cooked...
