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Asparagus.
Asparagus is supposedly a
favourite luxury vegetable that is widely cultivated and native to
western Asia and Europe, although some of the offerings in greengrocer
shops in England come from as far a-field as Peru. Records of it being
grown go back to 3,000 BC where it features as an offering on an
Egyptian freeze. Asparagus also features in the earliest remaining copy
of a recipe book dating to 300 AD and more recently, history records
show it being grown by French Monks in the 1400’s and apparently records
also show it being grown in England during Henry the 8ths reign around
the early 1500’s, although it is said that the Romans brought it over to
England long before that. With this long history of cultivation it is
little wonder that it has been credited with all sorts of health
benefits some of which are born out by modern science.
Claims that it is an Aphrodisiac have never been substantiated, but it
seems that it can help cure hangovers as it helps flush toxins from the
Kidneys and also break down toxins in the liver by improving liver
function. Added to this Asparagus is a diuretic that can help those
suffering from Edema and high blood pressure by assisting in the removal
of excess salt and fluid from the body which can also help prevent
kidney stones.
However, Asparagus contains Asparagusic Acid that, is high in sulphur,
and is released when the Asparagus is digested which this results in
making your urine smell very strongly. The effect can happen within just
15 minutes of eating Asparagus and can last for anything up to 14 hours
later.
As with many cultivated plants there are quite a few varieties, coming
from the different regions of the plants natural habitat, with totally
different appearances and uses. A couple of types from Africa spring to
mind as my mother used to grow and sell them as ornamental house plants
at her garden centre many years ago. Asparagus Sprengeri and Plumosa are
forever popular pot plants that look like indoor ferns, but are not
related to ferns at all. Indeed they, like all Asparagus, belong to the
Lily family and are closely related to Garlic, Onions and believe it or
not, to Tulips. However, in many ways Asparagus, with its feathery
foliage, both looks and behaves a little like true Ferns, although non
produce Spores and some even produce small bulbs. As Ferns will
sometimes discolour and burn, some Asapargus varieties will often go
yellowish in the full sun because they prefer a little shade. Also like
some Ferns, Asparagus grows well in free draining, even sandy soil,
because it is in fact a seaside plant. However, Asparagus can grow very
quickly, up to 10cm a day here in England, and as such is a greedy
feeder. When planting it as a vegetable, it is always recommended to
liberally add plenty of manure around, but not on, the roots and when it
is established it should be fed with either some sort of feed, or
ideally, mulched heavily which will also suppress any weeds. This will
have the added benefit of preventing the need for digging to weed and
the possibility of damaging the Crown of the plant.
Asparagus is a fairly easy plant to grow as a crop, as long as it
doesn’t become water logged over winter because this will even kill
mature plants. It is a good idea to dig in plenty of Horticultural grade
grit when planting and it is worth making the effort to plant them
properly because plants can easily live for 20 years after planting, so
you shouldn’t need to grow more and replant every year. Indeed, it is
recommended not to crop any newly planted specimens for 2, or 3 years
after planting to allow the plants to bulk up and build up decent energy
reserves.
After the crop is taken every Spring, plants need to rest and re-energise
ready for the next season. To do this they should be allowed to produce
their fluffy, green, candy floss like growth, throughout the Summer
until the late autumn frosts take it and the dead growth can then be
removed. Sometimes flower arrangers like to cut a little of this foliage
for use in making up Bouquets and other arrangements.
There is just one word of warning when growing asparagus and that is
that their bright red berries are poisonous to Humans and should never
be eaten.
The method for growing Asparagus is different in most of Europe, because
Europeans prefer their Asparagus to be of the white kind rather than its
natural green. It is said to have a milder flavour and is sometimes
called the “Vegetable of Kings,” “Edible Ivory,” or “White Gold.”
To turn the stems pure white, growers “Earth Up,” the rows in giant
ridges somewhat like our farmers do for Potatoes. In this case though,
the rows are also covered in black plastic film so that, as the Spears
grow out of the ridges and are ready to cut, they don’t turn green. To
cut the Spears the harvester has to plunge their arms down into the soil
ridges to get a decent length. This makes harvesting much more time
consuming and laborious resulting in a much higher price for the crop.
If you want to easily grow white Asparagus in an Allotment, I have found
that simply placing an upturned, black, builder’s bucket, over the
Crown, will achieve the same effect. You may want to put a brick on the
bucket though to hold it down,
Asparagus is one of the first vegetables to produce a crop in the new
year so much is made of the start of each new season here in the UK.
Traditionally the new season starts on the 23rd April, or St Georges Day
and then goes on for some 8 weeks until Midsummer’s Day, which this
year, is the 24th Of June. However, with modern growing facilities and
the wonders of the Poly Tunnel, some UK harvested Asparagus, is sold as
early as February when it has been grown under cover. The Vale of
Evesham is where the majority of English Asparagus is grown and where
celebrations, with a big charity auction, are held to mark the start of
each season. The season is much the same in Germany where the
Spargelzeit, or white asparagus season kicks off with a Spargelfest,
Asparagus festival, on the first Saturday of May.
 
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