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  • From: keith bellinger <bartermn AT epix.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] over-wintered vegetables
  • Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:49:08 -0400

EarthNSky wrote:

<>Wow, keith, give me a rundown on how you did the asparagus from seed...


Bev,
I remember a post of yours about asparagus and meant to send this:

Seeds for Spears
By Keith Bellinger

8/18/2006

Bob is in his eighties and planted a small patch of asparagus, "... over twenty years ago." Earlier this year he asked if I wanted some spears. I told him that I didn't care for the vegetable but admitted I was a third-grader when it was forced on me. He laughed and proceeded to tell me how delicious it is. I accepted a handful of spears reluctantly, "Maybe they can be pickled. Anything is good pickled."

Being a poor country boy, I didn't know that pickled asparagus is gourmet food and a spear is often used as a swizzle stick in a Bloody Mary. I learned that I liked them (asparagus, not vodka in tomato juice) enough to want a patch of my own and asked my friend for some seeds. Bob said, "Please, take them all!"

That was a month ago; I brought home a green berry-laden branch and stuck it in a small empty vase on my windowsill before proceeding to read everything written about growing the perennial vegetable. Most references, including the excellent one here at Farm and Garden written by Gregg Banse, recommend starting with crowns instead of seed, as it takes several years to establish a productive patch. If a backyard gardener has one virtue it is patience. The wait doesn't bother me but many guides suggest using all-male hybrids. That just doesn't seem natural. I became determined to carry on my old friend Bob's legacy.

Just this morning I noticed the berries in my vase had turned from green to orange. I thought, "The seeds inside cannot possibly be mature."

From The Seed Starter's Handbook by Nancy Bubel: Asparagus: To save seed, cut the ferny plant top when the berries are red, and hang it to dry. Soak the berries in water to soften the skin, then wash them and rinse off the pulp. Spread the seed on a tray and keep in a warm, dry, airy place until thoroughly dry.

Jackie Clay, Backwoods Home Magazine on-line columnist, suggests, "To save {asparagus} seed, just wait until the berries are orange in the fall. Then pick them and let them dry well. When they are dry, crush the berries by rolling them between your hands."

I jumped in the truck and an hour later returned with several dozen orange/red asparagus berries in a paper sack.

Half of my berries went into a cup of water; the others left in the bag. Tonight I mashed the berries in the cup, strained them and dumped the seeds onto a paper plate.

Just for fun I reached over to the windowsill and plucked a berry from the month-old branch in the vase. It split easily with only a fingernail and five dark seeds rolled out. They cannot be distinguished from the others. Maybe they are mature. Keeping them separate from the others, I will let them dry further, package and label them and in the spring do a little experimenting. Wouldn't it be fun to learn that the seeds can be harvested from green berries?

Springtime may seem a long way off right now but I aim to be prepared.

There are differences of opinion about how big an asparagus patch to plant. Douglas C. Sanders from the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University recommends 10 crowns for each family member or, "If you are especially fond of asparagus or want a surplus to can or freeze, plant at least 25 plants for each family member."

Neil Moran at gardenguides.com suggests that, "A ten foot square bed will support about ten plants which is a good start for a family of four."

Hmm, Bob's patch is less than a hundred square feet and he said it produces more than he can eat but he has forgotten how many crowns he originally set. I'll start small and fill one of my five by six foot beds; if spaced according to my county extension office's guidelines of two inches apart in four rows that will be 120 seedlings. They will remain in that nursery bed until the following year at which time I will have a permanent spot prepared. I will transplant the best crowns and twenty years from now maybe a young gardener will ask for some berries to start his own patch.

My favorite pickled asparagus recipe: from Chef John Folse, "Louisiana's Culinary Ambassador to the World." (http://www.jfolse.com/recipes/appetizers/vegetable17.htm)

20 stalks trimmed asparagus spears
2 ½ cups white wine vinegar
10 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. grated nutmeg

Wash the asparagus in cold water, and then soak in lightly salted water for 4 to 6 hours. Blanch the asparagus in boiling, salted water for 1-minute. Remove and drain on a clean dishcloth and cool. Place the vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaf and nutmeg in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a low boil. Cook 5 minutes. Remove and cool thoroughly. Pack the asparagus in a sterilized wide-mouth jar, standing the spears upright. Cover with the cold vinegar mixture and seal. Refrigerate and hold 2 to 3 weeks prior to serving.
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