by Greg Spinks

Created on: February 16, 2009

Every spring I have a few favorite haunts to visit. One is on an hilly, dirt road. Close to the road and on a sloping hill, the asparagus spears can easily be seen and harvested. Long ago, someone who farmed this spot must have had a patch which has now gone "wild". It has been well over fifty years ago since the farm, the house and the barn existed; only rock foundations can be seen and some ancient, twisted apple trees in what was once an obvious orchard.

The asparagus, an unknown variety from a long time ago, is simply darn good tasting and free. My search for another old-time garden perennial at this spot, rhubarb, has been futile. Maybe it was never planted or simply died off over the decades.

Four years ago, I decided, to experiment with asparagus and searched different varieties to plant on my own property. Rhubarb is still on hold. What I found were some popular varieties like Martha Washington, Jersey Knight and other less common strains. I read the pros and cons of starting with crowns verses seeds and every planting technique available.

I opted for seeds because a package was less expensive (a lot less expensive) and a desire to start from the very beginning. I chose a variety called purple passion asparagus, which the seed company claimed had a sweeter taste, a gourmet delight, with a hint of a nutty flavor which turned green after it was cooked. For me, it was an excellent decision.

Before ordering the seeds in February, back in the early fall, I started digging out what was to be a raised bed, using old concrete blocks, about five feet by ten feet. The hole, which receives full sunlight(asparagus needs a lot of sunlight), ended up being about two and a half feet deep, before I struck the clay.

By winters end that year, the hole was a compost pile with kitchen scraps, leaves, grass clippings from the last mowing, some lime and wood ashes, and a couple lucky buckets of manure, combined with the dirt which was piled nearby. Sure, there were a few visitors, field mice and possums. But I guess they have to eat.

The seeds arrived in early March and were planted in peat pots and placed in a sunny window. Peat pots like to dry out quickly, so watering was an issue. Within a week or so, the first feathery fronds popped up. As the weather warmed in late April, the seedlings went outside under the cold frame.

In June, after adding a couple buckets of sand in the raised bed, which asparagus likes because it helps to warm the soil, the seedlings were placed in the

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