Remember our asparagus patch?
Actually, it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a “patch”, as it’s only a tiny rectangle of dirt the size of a large planter box.
When we first started the garden, our friend the Spice Girl gave us a small asparagus plant. Pete somehow managed to divide it into seven pots, which we planted out the following year in the little garden bed next to the driveway. Last year, they grew into the mass of ferny leaves that you see in the photo above.
We were supposed to let them die back before cutting them down, but they never did. We’ve had the weirdest weather in Sydney – a mild winter, followed by a wet, cool summer, followed by a very warm autumn. All the plants are completely confused. So on Easter Sunday, after looking at the foliage for over a year, we cut it down to the ground.
Exactly one week later, I took these photos:
I couldn’t believe asparagus could grow that fast! The shoot at the bottom of the photo below was as thick as my pinky finger…
It gets better…this is what the bed looked like the next day…
More thick spears were starting to emerge at the other end of the bed…
Asparagus is supposed to grow in spring, so I have no idea why it’s shooting now in the middle of autumn. Pete wants to give the plants a chance to get really well established, so we’re only harvesting the thicker stalks this year.
Day three…I cut the spear in the middle just after this photo was taken…
The ones at the top of the bed had grown a couple of inches overnight…
And here it is – our very first, homegrown asparagus! We washed it, took a photo, and then ate it raw – all within minutes of cutting it…
I have to admit, as asparagus growers, we’ve been flying by the seat of our pants. We really have no idea of what we’re supposed to be doing, or when, but almost magically, the plants seem to be growing brilliantly. Given all the things that won’t grow in our garden (tomatoes, apples, strawberries, just to name a few), we’re overjoyed that these are doing so well!
Edit: Just raced out to take a photo to show you – here’s the patch this morning, three days after the last photo was taken. We’ve eaten half a dozen spears in the interim!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 