Asparagus: An Exercise in Patience (and pay-off)

  |  May 5, 2015
asparagus

When I put an asparagus plant in my garden bed last spring, I knew that waiting would be the hardest part. Nope, no instant gratification here. I would have be patient for at least year until I’d experience the crunch of a stalk or the toothsome tenderness of the spear, if not two years. It takes a while to establish asparagus, but hey, they say it’s worth it.

Asparagus spears began to push through the soil about a week ago, and I was shocked at how excited I became when I saw their little pointy noggins reaching for the sun. “Honey! Honey! Look! The asparagus is here! It’s here!” I jumped up and down in front of my front porch while my husband looked at me like…well, like I was someone who doesn’t get out of the house much, which is entirely accurate. Dragging him over to my small raised bed, I made him look at the purpley-green shoots, my newborn babies. I couldn’t believe it. The wait paid off. I had bona fide asparagus. And we all lived happily ever after with grilled asparagus in a lemon butter garlic sauce. The End.

Just kidding about that last part.

Asparagus grows freakishly fast so I pruned it quickly lest it start to frond and sprout wispy branches, asparagus’ equivalent of “going to seed.” My spears were willowy and delicate, not at all the luscious stalks I envisioned. But am I disappointed? Have I been deterred in my quest to cultivate my favorite perennial green vegetable, the first thing you can harvest from your garden in spring? Absolutely not. Apparently, a well-tended asparagus root system can produce for over 20 years. A couple years’ worth of patience, and you’ll have tasty asparagus that your grandchildren will be eating from the same root, and I think that’s pretty cool. Until I have to move, that is. I live in an apartment, and I won’t be here forever. Which reminds me: Has anyone ever tried to move an asparagus root system? When I leave, I’m taking that damn vegetable with me. You’ll have to pry it from cold, dead hands.

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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