Asparagus: A Waiting Game
Sharrah Orchards
Why does asparagus really epitomize Spring?
Asparagus offinialis is a perennial plant, which means it isn’t replanted from seed every year like tomatoes or green beans.
Whereas other items sold at market in early spring, like lettuces and radishes, can be “forced” to grow indoors or in protected settings, we have to patiently wait for tender asparagus spears to show themselves each spring.
It feels like we wait a long time every year for those first asparagus, for that first sign of spring, but as you’ll find out below the waiting game is much longer on the farm.
Down On the Farm
Sharrah Orchards
Unlike other crops, asparagus is rarely grown from seed. Why? Because asparagus relies on male and female plants to reproduce. Seeds produce a 50/50 ratio of male to female plants. But, for a greater yield of asparagus spears, you’ll want primarily male plants. (strange, right?)
So farmers purchase rootstock, usually called a crown. To us, they look like the hairy bottoms of scallions but with much longer, and more tenacious, whiskers.
Farmers plant the crowns, and then they wait...and wait… and wait….for up to three years!
That’s right. It takes two to three years of waiting until you get a single asparagus spear for dinner. That’s how long it takes for the crowns to establish themselves in the fields.
And by year five you’re really cooking - plant yields go up exponentially each season.
A nerdy fact: according to Penn State Agricultural Extension, new crowns shouldn’t be planted where you’ve grown asparagus in the past, so it’s best to really think about where they go in the fields and to plan ahead for future beds.
According to most farmers, the plant will start to give out completely after ten seasons although, every once in a while, you do hear some legends of local asparagus males that have stayed in production for twenty years or so.
What is White Asparagus?
White asparagus is the same variety as green asparagus. The only difference is that white asparagus is grown completely under the soil or covered with plastic. It’s never exposed to sunlight and so never develops the chlorophyll that makes the typical asparagus green.
You won’t find many local farms growing white asparagus although you will see the purple varieties at the markets at this time of year, right along with the green spears…but don’t get too excited, purple asparagus turns to green when cooked.
A Few More Fun Facts
Beechwood Orchards
Asparagus is related to the onion, leek, and garlic family.
Some research suggests that eating asparagus can help with hangovers – but we wouldn’t really know anything about that…
New Jersey is usually ranked 4th in production of asparagus by state.
Oceana, Michigan is the self-proclaimed “asparagus capital of the world,” home to the National Asparagus Festival in June.
Schwetzingen, Germany also claims to be the world’s capital for production (spargel is the German word for asparagus); their annual festival focuses on the white asparagus.
Popular varieties to grow are named for the Garden State: Jersey Supreme, Jersey Giant and Jersey Knight, named after the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
Cooking with Asparagus
When we talk “asparagus” at the market, everyone agrees that fresh-from-the-market asparagus, blanched briefly then drizzled with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon is, well, heaven on a plate, and you don’t really need a recipe for that.
Marsha Pearson, a member of the Farm to City marketing team and a former manager for the Ambler and Chestnut Hill farmers’ markets, fondly remembers a recipe she made with asparagus a few years ago on a very memorable Pi Day (March 14th [3.14….]).
“I experimented with a quiche recipe from my mother’s old worn recipe box,” Marsha recalls. “I made a fantastic asparagus quiche and am excited to share the recipe with you.”
Do You Have a Favorite Asparagus Recipe?
We would love to follow up with another post of your favorite asparagus recipes and preparations. Just email to info@farmtocity.org
The following farmers grow and sell asparagus at Farm to City markets:
Rineer Family Farms
McCann’s Farm, from Elk Township, NJ: Jefferson and Gorgas Park markets
Fruitwood Farm, from Monroeville, NJ: The Fountain and Dickinson Square markets
Beechwood Orchards, from Adams County, PA: Rittenhouse Saturday and Swarthmore markets
Berry Patch Produce, from Honeybrook, PA: Swarthmore market
Rineer Family Farms, from Pequea Valley, PA: Rittenhouse Saturday and Tuesday and Chestnut Hill markets
Sharrah Orchards, from Adams County, PA: Media market
Frecon Farms, from Boyertown: Ambler, Bryn Mawr, and Rittenhouse Saturday markets
Goose Lane Egg Farm, from Trickling Springs, PA: Bryn Mawr market