10 facts on
ASPARAGUS
by Philip McIntosh
Like asparagus ? Plant some seeds and wait a few years .
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Formerly classified as a member of the lily family , the common garden asparagus , Asparagus officinalis , has a whole plant family named after it — the Asparagaceae .
Other well-known members of the Asparagaceae are agaves , yuccas , spider plants , and snake plants , most of which are not highly prized for their edibility ( but you can make soap from yuccas and tequila from agaves ).
The tender , green , scaly asparagus shoots that emerge from the ground are called “ crowns .”
Growing asparagus from seed takes patience . The crowns aren ’ t ready for harvest for at least two , and often three years , if everything goes right .
Let ’ s say you can ’ t wait three years to eat your asparagus . In that case you can reduce the time to two years by using one year-old rooted crowns , or even down to one if the crowns are two years old .
Should you harvest any first-year asparagus that come up ? No . Let them grow and develop a strong root system and harvest half the crop the second year and then you can get the full crop from then on .
Once your asparagus stand is established , your patience pays off . They will continue to produce for up to 30 years .
Asparagus is not a tropical plant . Found naturally in coastal areas with salty soils , these perennials do best in places with long cold winters .
Asparagus is one of the first garden vegetables to appear in the spring , coming up when the soil temperature reaches about 50 ° F ( 10 ° C ).
Nutrition wise , around 100 grams of asparagus contains 5-20 percent of the daily requirement of vitamins A , C , and E , potassium and phosphorus , but , hold on — about 35 percent of folate and a whopping 60 percent of vitamin K .
58 Maximum Yield