I finally feel like it spring – our asparagus is up!
This asparagus was the first vegetable we planted when we moved into this house. I had just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and I was inspired remove at lot of the perennials and plant veggies instead.
After looking for a local source (and not really knowing where to start) I finally ordered our asparagus crowns from Vesey’s. We have 8 plants – and they have all survived – which is amazing because the first year we planted them, a nefarious skunk or raccoon kept digging them up!
After 3 long years of waiting – this is the first year we get to sample our asparagus! I’m a little nervous about our first harvest – I don’t want to kill what I’ve waited so long for. This year we’ll take just a small harvest. our favorite way to eat asparagus is sauteed in olive oil with a tiny bit of kosher salt sprinkled on. It’s the quickest, easiest and tastiest way to eat asparagus that I have found to date.
I also have plans to companion plant strawberries with the asparagus this year. Since strawberries and shallow rooted and asparagus are deeply rooted – aparently they can live happily together in the same plot. Given our limited space – it’s worth a try!
What companions have you planted in your garden?
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I’m waiting for my order from Vesey’s to arrive, but I’m already worrying about the placement in my garden. Did you choose a spot off to the side for your crowns? I’d hate to mess up the planting part, given how long I have to wait for a harvest.
I recently read someone’s blog post about successfully growing asparagus, raspberries and strawberries in a small area under a tree. I decided to try Alpine Strawberries because they don’t have runners.
I also read that anything from the Brassicas go well with asparagus.
I planted them towards the back of the yard – but if I had to do it over, I might have chosen another location – I didn’t really have a plan when we began. If I had known more at the time I would have dug a trench to and gradually`filled it.
I’m so jealous, mine are only a year old. Only half my crop survived the first year because of a classic newbie error of planting the crowns upside down as well! I’ve planted 10 more this year to make up for it. Enjoy them!