Asparagus!

FINALLY! It's been 3 years of waiting, but the wait is over. We have asparagus to eat!

Asparagus is one of the perennial vegetables. Once you put it in, it's there to stay. Which also means you have to select a spot that you don't mind losing. I chose an outer side of one of the vegetable plots - not along the fence. Why wait 3 years you may ask? Well you have to let it develop and grow strong - that's about as scientific as I'm going to get with it. Here is an article about growing it: http://www.gardeners.com/Growing-Asparagus/7343,default,pg.html I chose Jersey Supreme, which is a new variety. Traditional asparagus was called Mary Washington. You had to dig very deep trenches and wait for a while for it to grow. This newer variety is closer to the surface - you dig a trench about 6-12" vs. 2 feet down. You do still slowly fill the trenches as the asparagus grows in the first year. Here is a picture from the first year, 2010. By June the trenches were full and you just let the asparagus grow without cutting it.

Last year we were able to eat it for about 2 weeks. It wasn't much so we didn't really give it away. You eat the really fat ones and then let it go for the rest of the season. It does take up space as it grows tall and looks like bamboo stalks! So this is our first year of an abundance of asparagus! We can eat it until they start to be thin - I'm told once they're the width of a pencil to stop picking. I picked the first ones on Tuesday April 17. I only cut 3 down that day. I went away for a few days, had more crazy April weather - meaning warm - and came back to an asparagus plot growing crazy!

It's still very early in the season and they're just starting to come up. I think it's safe to say that we'll get our fill of asparagus and we'll be sharing lots! So come one, come all and get your asparagus! I can't wait to eat it.

One last little thing... look at what else I came back to:

Peonies gone crazy! This is a good 3 weeks ahead of any other year. It's a good thing I didn't plan a party in June with the peonies blooming!