Once Asparagus starts pushing up its spears they grow very rapidly - several inches in a day is not unusual. Sometimes I inspect the Asparagus bed before I go out to work in the morning and think "No, there's nothing there that's worth cutting", yet when I get home in the evening a whole load of them are ready!
These spears posed on a dinner-plate give you a good impression of how big they are. When you buy Asparagus in the shops it has always been trimmed. The lower parts are generally considered too tough and fibrous to be worth eating - though you can use them in vegetable stock, or possibly in soup as long as you're planning to pass it through a fine sieve.
The flavour of fresh Asparagus is quite strong, so even a small quantity is a viable ingredient. These 5 spears went into a pasta dish that Jane made, along with pesto, toasted pine-nuts and shavings of Parmesan cheese.
I hope these five are just the first of many!
Wow! Such a treasure these little spears are this year. Fingers crossed for further harvests!
ReplyDeleteJust had our first ones yesterday! Bet yours were delicious. Ah spring!
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat fresh Spring asparagus is!! Hope you have lots more!
ReplyDeleteYou need to set up a video camera to 'watch' them grow :)
ReplyDeleteI have quite literally eaten my first salad with British asparagus this very evening and they were so damn fine!... wish I could grown my own!
ReplyDeleteI think the anticipation makes them even more delicious. I'm sure you'll be harvesting lots more soon.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, those are lovely. Wishing you loads more!
ReplyDeleteI so wish I could get asparagus like that. Hopefully my new bed will work out.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had enough room for asparagus! Must be very rewarding to grow your own!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful yummy spears. I am wishing if asparagus can be grown here in the tropics. So far we only have 2 months old asparagus plant grown from seeds.
ReplyDeleteThe asparagus looks great. I was eating asparagus over the weekend however it wasn't home grown. Some day I will try to grow.
ReplyDeleteThere's always something very special about "firsts". Wonderful photos!
ReplyDeleteNice... I agree - Asparagus-cam - it's waiting to happen!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious, how did the seeds that you planted last year fare? I know you can't eat them for a another year, but curious if they grew... I remember you weren't sure if they would grow or not. I'm thinking I need to plant some asparagus for myself (Finally own land with enough space to garden!) so that in a few years I can have the fun of harvesting spears for my own dinners!
ReplyDeleteHi Genelle; Well, since you ask, the Asparagus seeds I saved and sowed last year were a complete failure - not a single one germinated! I thought it sounded like a long shot, but I know you CAN grow asparagus from seed, so it was worth a try!
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