Homestead mailing list

[keith bellinger <bartermn AT epix.net>]

EarthNSky wrote:
> I recall that someone posted how to process the seeds a while back.  If 
> anyone has that handy or remembers when it was posted, I'd appreciate 
> the tip to reduce the time needed to search the archives.  If anyone has 
> any other suggestions, feel free to speak up!
>   

Hi Bev and all,
I cut spears from ours for the first time last week, delicious. Here is 
an article about growing them from seed, maybe the one you remember:

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.