Asparagus

Asparagus grows like a Fern, and is quite a pretty plant. It gets to about 4 feet tall, with fine stranded greenery. It is a perennial, so regrows every year. This needs to be taken into account when deciding where it will be planted.
The Fronds start off as the stems of Asparagus which you will recognise as Asparagus

It is these stems which are harvested. Some must be left to develop into the full grown plant to allow the root to store energy for the following year.


Planting
We made up a wooden box to plant our Asparagus root in, and dug deeply into the existing soil. On top of this we added some well rotted manure and compost.
The roots of 5 plants went in about 8 inches deep

Maintaining
We try and keep the bed moist and weed free as much as possible, and every year we add some chicken pellet manure at the end of the season, this breaks down over the winter to provide nutrients for the next growing season.


Picking
It takes a good few years before the Asparagus is established enough to get a good crop. Estimates vary, but seem to average out at 7 years.
We picked our first stem after 3 years, but only an odd one to taste.
The Asparagus on our plot are now 8 years old, and give 5-10 stems a week for about 6 weeks.
To harvest the stems, you need a sharp knife, and you cut the stem about an inch under ground. There are special knives available to do this, I just use an old kitchen knife.

Pests
Slugs love Asparagus ( what don't slugs love?)
Take a belt and braces approach to keeping them off the Asparagus, or you won't want to eat whats left. Strangely, they don't seem to bother the mature plant.
Occasionally we see greenfly, and these we squirt with a weak mixture of washing up liquid and water. I assume greenfly don't like being washed, because it seems to get rid of them.

Cooking
Kate loves Asparagus when it is lightly steamed over whatever vegetables I am cooking for her tea. The smaller stems are sweeter. Longer stems get cut in half, and both halves cooked. The stem with the top on looks nicer, but both have good flavour. If you cook them for two long they become mushy, which is a waste. 3-4 minutes leaves them bright green and still with a little crispness. We don't make any sauces, just pick them up and eat. Delicious