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AEuell can stalk the asparagus too...

4/6/2019

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Asparagus can be found in most grocery stores this time of the year as one of the earliest spring veggie crops

If you are old enough you will remember a book called "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" by Euell Gibbons. It is still available here. Euell also promoted Grape Nuts back in the day. Which reminds me. I think I need to buy some next week.

Asparagus should be purchased and consumed as soon as possible. Select closed budded stalks that are still crisp. Thicker spears are more tender than the small ones and are super good grilled or roasted in the oven.

Here are my five ways to eat asparagus.
1. Raw in salads
2. Blanched and chilled. Boil in salted water till tender and then plunge in cold water to stop the enzymes from leaching all the flavor.
3. Grilled -- Toss 1 pound asparagus with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place over a grill preheated to high heat and cook, turning occasionally, until well-charred and tender, 5 to 8 minutes. If desired, cut lemon in half and place cut side down on grill until charred, about 3 minutes. Transfer asparagus to a large plate, drizzle with remaining olive oil, sprinkle with lemon (if desired), and serve immediately.
4. Oven Roasted – toss with olive oil and seasonings and place on cookie sheet in 500 degree oven … toss with parmesan cheese.
5. Braised – sear in pan with a little oil, toss in a lump of butter, cover and steam. Drizzle with lemon juice…

After enjoying asparagus, you may notice that your urine has a "haunting" smell. It is not known why some people are more prone to this than others, but worry not. It is actually pulling toxins from your body.

Rather than stalking the wild stuff, you can grow your own. It is a perennial and best planted from stalk, not seed. It takes a while to establish an asparagus patch and the male plants are better tasting. Female plants are the ones that spend all their energy on berries.


 Here's some advice from the Farmers Almanac folks on growing your own asparagus.
(https://www.almanac.com/plant/asparagus#)·      

Plant crowns deeply to protect them from the deep cultivation needed for annual weed control. 
  • Dig a trench of about 12 to 18 inches wide and 6 to 8 inches deep. If digging more than one trench, space the trenches at least 3 feet apart.
  • ·Within the trench, space asparagus crowns 12 to 18 inches apart (measured from root tip to root tip).
  • The traditional method of planting asparagus goes as follows:
  1. Add a 2-inch-high mound of rich soil to the bottom of the trench and place the asparagus crowns on top of the mound, spreading their roots out evenly
  2. Add about 2 inches of soil over top of the crowns.
  3. As the season progresses and spears grow to be 2–3 inches tall, add 2 more inches of soil, being careful not to bury the spears completely.
  4. Once the spears again grow through the layer of soil, add an additional 2-inch layer of soil. Repeat this process until the trench has been filled to ground level. Depending on how deep you dug your trench, you may need to add soil one or two more times throughout the season.
  5. After you’ve filled the trench completely, mound the soil slightly to prevent water from pooling around the emerging spears.
  • Rather than fill in the trench little by little, some gardeners prefer to fill it in all at once. While it’s thought that the traditional method results in stronger plants overall, gardeners don’t typically have any issues result from the “all-at-once” method, either. As long as the soil is fairly loose, the spears won’t have a problem pushing through to the surface. 

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    Sue B. Balcom

    Writing, or maybe talking, comes naturally to me and under the guidance of a great newspaper editor I have acquired skills that led me to author four books.
    I now return to my two loves market gardening and weaving.

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