Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Asparagus gone wild!

I've mentioned in previous posts that we found asparagus on our property when we moved here.  This property was farmed for hundreds of years, and I have no idea when the original "gus" was first planted.  I'm always learning something about this property; it's so interesting. 

The asparagus is growing very well after all these years, the stalks from the original patch are huge and come up every spring.  The asparagus patch is in the middle of a field in our back yard.  When we moved here the field grass was chest high.  Now we keep it mowed, but we don't mow around the asparagus patch, we have to cut that by hand in the spring.  The below picture shows at least 4 asparagus stalks growing in the grass.  And this is just one section; there are more large stalks growing all around.  (The grass needs some hand-trimming when I took this pic!)


There is a second smaller patch of asparagus that is at least 3 years old.  We believe this patch came from seeds from the larger patch.  The stalks are thinner, but are not bad!


Here's one of the larger asparagus stalks that I cut.


This spring we planted some new asparagus roots.  We tried 2 different varieties ~ Jersey King and Mary Washington.  And they both are growing in just a few weeks!  You can see from the pictures below why they say you have to wait several years before you can harvest from new asparagus roots ~ the stalks are so very tiny!!!  I'm holding the big asparagus which I cut so you can compare the baby asparagus stalk to the grandpa stalk; the little stalk is in front of my fingers. It's easy to miss!


Here's another little asparagus stalk.  When I looked around I could see them everywhere, they are just so small.  In quite a few years, we'll have more asparagus than ever!   

11 comments:

Gail said...

I love asparagus. We have had our first mess for the season. I believe Marcy's breaks her young stalks off so the roots will be stronger.
Enjoy

frugalmom said...

Ha! That is one large asparagus.....and then some teeny tiny ones....I dont think I have ever seen asparagus so small.

Toni aka irishlas said...

That's huge asparagus!

DayPhoto said...

I love asparagus. I can hardly wait for the ground to warm enough I can go find some in the fence rows. Lucky you!

I love to eat raw and cooked and right on the spot.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/

Carla said...

My goodness, I had no idea they got that big.
I wish my family liked asparagus, but I'm the only one who'll eat it.

Country Girl said...

Does asparagus sprout up new shoots by itself? When the guys were putting in the new fence around the play yard out back they plowed down our asparagus which was right outside the fence. It has never grown back. - Maybe we can plant some at our new house?

Razzberry Corner said...

Gail ~ I read different ideas about breaking off the very young stalks so the roots will be stronger. Some people say to break off the stalks, some say not to, some say to break them off only for the first 3 weeks of growth for such young asparagus as our. I'll think I'll break them off for 3 weeks.

frugalmom - I didn't realize at first that those little sprouts were asparagus!

Toni - Yes, it is huge! But even the large ones like that are so tender & good. They are very old roots, which produce huge stalks.

Linda - I like asparagus raw, but I like it better cooked! I really like green beans raw, and always find myself eating them right out of the garden when they are in season!

CeeCee - I didn't used to like asparagus, but then for some reason I changed my mind, and now I love it! I think for me it was an aquired taste. But I still don't like brussel sprouts!!

~Lynn

Leigh said...

I was curious about the tenderness of the large stalks too, but I see you answered that. I know one thing, springtime and asparagus seem to go together!

Robin said...

Yummy! How small the new stuff is. Now I know what to expect if mine come up.

AJ-OAKS said...

WOW, that is one big aspargus! And the teeny babies ones are so, well, teeny.
That is so cool that you find hints of history on your place.

Razzberry Corner said...

Leigh - Yes, springtime & asparagus do go together!

Robin - have yours started growing yet??

Cindy - Thanks! I also love the history that I find here! It's pretty neat.

~Lynn