Aphrodisiac Asparagus
The main objective of my first proper allotment session after the festive season was to tidy up my asparagus plot.
Asparagus is a wonderful vegetable to grow for a variety of reasons. For a start, it is perfect for the lazy, tight fisted gardener. This is because once planted it will be productive for between 15 and 20 years without complaint. Where else would you get such dedication to service? Even apple trees have to be pruned occasionally. Also, the received wisdom in gardening circles is to not bother with the hassle of trying to produce a plant from seed, but to simply go to your nearest (sophisticated) garden centre and buy them already potted up. At about £3 per plant they are amazing value. Even my investment colleagues at the bank couldn't offer this kind of investment value, and asparagus are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
A word of caution. As with all new vegetable based investments of the perennial kind, you should harvest sparingly during the first three years. You can take one or two spears, but the emphasis should be on allowing the plant to get settled into its new environment, and to put down some solid roots.
Asparagus are a rare delicacy as they have a short productive season of around 6 to 8 weeks from about mid May until the end of June. As a consequence you find yourself eating quite a lot of asparagus during this period. From July onwards the spears become progressively more spindly and are not worth harvesting. Having said this, my plot has been surprisingly productive all summer which I put down to season confusion caused by global warming.
So, the only job I had to carry out at the week-end was to chop back the decorative foliage to an inch above the soil, put a layer of manure on top of the plants, and then leave them alone until next spring.
In many ways asparagus is the ideal tonic for the post festive season. They have detoxifying effects and the spear fibres help clean out the gastrointestinal tract. They contain the phytochemical glutathione which has antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties. So fill yer boots if you've over indulged over the past few weeks!
In some countries asparagus is even taken as an aphrodisiac so the reasons for indulging in this super vegetable are now complete.
Enjoy!
Asparagus is a wonderful vegetable to grow for a variety of reasons. For a start, it is perfect for the lazy, tight fisted gardener. This is because once planted it will be productive for between 15 and 20 years without complaint. Where else would you get such dedication to service? Even apple trees have to be pruned occasionally. Also, the received wisdom in gardening circles is to not bother with the hassle of trying to produce a plant from seed, but to simply go to your nearest (sophisticated) garden centre and buy them already potted up. At about £3 per plant they are amazing value. Even my investment colleagues at the bank couldn't offer this kind of investment value, and asparagus are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
A word of caution. As with all new vegetable based investments of the perennial kind, you should harvest sparingly during the first three years. You can take one or two spears, but the emphasis should be on allowing the plant to get settled into its new environment, and to put down some solid roots.
Asparagus are a rare delicacy as they have a short productive season of around 6 to 8 weeks from about mid May until the end of June. As a consequence you find yourself eating quite a lot of asparagus during this period. From July onwards the spears become progressively more spindly and are not worth harvesting. Having said this, my plot has been surprisingly productive all summer which I put down to season confusion caused by global warming.
So, the only job I had to carry out at the week-end was to chop back the decorative foliage to an inch above the soil, put a layer of manure on top of the plants, and then leave them alone until next spring.
In many ways asparagus is the ideal tonic for the post festive season. They have detoxifying effects and the spear fibres help clean out the gastrointestinal tract. They contain the phytochemical glutathione which has antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties. So fill yer boots if you've over indulged over the past few weeks!
In some countries asparagus is even taken as an aphrodisiac so the reasons for indulging in this super vegetable are now complete.
Enjoy!
Labels: Asparagus