Quiet Creek Corner--Green Goodness

          Warm spring days filled with the songs of migrating birds, prompt us to keep an eye out for the early edible visitors.  Multiplier onions, morel mushrooms, dandelions, and burdock garnish our Quiet Creek table.  Another most-welcomed perennial is asparagus.

          This spring staple has been enjoyed for over 2000 years by Egyptian pharaohs, Roman soldiers, and Greek philosophers.  An early written mention of this delectable treat occurred in 1719 in an American advertisement for English Sparrow Grass Roots.  We don’t particularly care for English sparrows, but we fully endorse grass root efforts.

          Fat heads of asparagus have pushed out of the soil and onto our dinner plates due to the added heat of the hi tunnels.  Our favorite variety, purple passion, is an heirloom variety from Italy with a beautiful pronunciation of Violetta di Albenga.  Nothing matches its tender sweetness when enhanced with a sprig of tarragon.  We’re anxious to try our latest variety, Jersey Supreme.  This one boasts of being “all male” with only thick spears.

          It is important to identify the difference between the female and males when harvesting asparagus.  Females are pencil-thin which open up to graceful ferny boughs and red berries as the season progresses. 

Try planting those seeds in the fall or spring for more green goodness.  Purchasing one to three year old roots will jumpstart your asparagus patch so harvest comes sooner.

Be patient and make cuts only on the second year to male plants for two weeks.  After the plants mature to three years, you are welcome to harvest four full weeks.   When planted in rich organic soil initially and dosed with compost annually, your asparagus harvest will last a lifetime with expansion happening continuously.

Natural weed control is best, although if the crabgrass gets ahead of you, try mowing the patch before the first spears arrive in the spring.  Keep the female boughs intact while mowing around them every few weeks. 

The great taste of asparagus is accompanied by a powerful nutritional punch.  It is high in carotenoids, B complex, Vitamins C & E, as well as minerals of potassium, zinc, and iodine.  With its large amount of ruten, asparagus prevents small blood vessels from breaking.

Truly a spring tonic, albeit short lived, asparagus is a treat worth the wait and the effort.  Happy spear picking! 

Rusty and Claire Orner, with their two sons, Walker and Ashton, are stewards of the non-profit educational organization, Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living in Brookville, Pennsylvania.  They can be contacted at www.quietcreekherbfarm.com  Quiet Creek © 2008