On May 6, 1:27=A0pm, "EXT" <noem...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> "Srgnt Billko" <f...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
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> news:jWSRj.2418$Zs1.1836@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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> > "Hobo" <H...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> >news:g_WdnfWc-5K2yIrVnZ2dnUVZ_hadnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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> >> Srgnt Billko wrote:
> >>> "Hobo" <H...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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> >>>> Srgnt Billko wrote:
> >>>>> "Chas Hurst" <hur...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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> >>>>>> "Srgnt Billko" <f...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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> >>>>>>news:FCOQj.1936$Zs1.590@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >>>>>>> "Srgnt Billko" <f...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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> >>>>>>>news:AisQj.1444$Zs1.1014@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >>>>>>>> actually you can almost see it grow. What was just barely
peeking=
> >>>>>>>> through the ground Tuesday is now 10" high and will be picked
> >>>>>>>> tomorrow.
>
> >>>>>>> Picked a few pounds - we ALL ate good tonight.
> >>>>>> Did you ever try mounding the soil up around the shoots as they
do =
in
> >>>>>> Europe? Keeps them from getting green and makes for a different
> >>>>>> flavor.
> >>>>> Didn't realize that but maybe we'll try it around a few plants.
>
> >>>> =A0The idea is to keep the spears from turning green. Cut them off
we=
ll
> >>>> below the soil level just as they start to break through. The white
> >>>> spears are very tender and tasty. They can be sauteed lightly in a
pa=
n
> >>>> with butter, or eaten raw just like a piece of celery. Wonderful
> >>>> texture and flavour. White asparagus is (or was) a delicacy of the
> >>>> region of southern Germany along the Rhine.
>
> >>> I notice that you guys say "cut" the spears. =A0We don't cut - we
were=
> >>> taught to "break" them off and that would happen automatically at
the
> >>> correct point so the plants wouldn't be damaged. =A0How do you
determi=
ne
> >>> the correct point when the are hilled up ? =A0And how high should
you
> >>> mound up ?. I need to know more because all the spears from a given
> >>> plant don't pop up at once - so when and how much ? =A0What happens
to=
the
> >>> slower spears if the hilling is done based on the first spear ?
=A0We
> >>> cover them with a few inches in the fall after growing season. =A0Do
t=
hey
> >>> do that in Europe ?
>
> >> Good questions. I don't know about the correct method being either
'cut=
'
> >> or 'twist'. I have always cut them.
>
> >> While stationed in Germany in the late 1960s, we lived on the economy
> >> (ie: not in base married quarters). Our landlord grew white asparagus
f=
or
> >> market. In their garden, the rows were about four feet apart and each
r=
ow
> >> was mounded about 18 inches high with the soil laying at the angle of
> >> repose. The mounds were smoothed on top and sides using a cement type
> >> trowel. Picking would occur twice a day - morning and late afternoon.
> >> They would walk the rows looking for cracks in the smoothed soil
which
> >> indicated a spear about to break through. To cut the spears they used
a=
> >> cutting blade that was shaped like an inverted 'V' about 2 inches
wide =
at
> >> the cutter and with a tang about 10 inches long. They would slip the
> >> cutter down the side of the spear and cut it about 6 or 8 inches
below
> >> the soil level. After removing the stalk, the mound was then smoothed
> >> over in that spot.
>
> >> Once the beds are established they are left mounded year round. As I
> >> recall, the stalks that were left to grow after the asparagus season
wa=
s
> >> over were cut off slightly below mound level in late fall.
>
> > Thanks - that gives me a better idea of how it works.
>
> I can recall that in England, they would blanch celery so that it would
be=
> white, it wasn't done with soil but a black wrapper placed around each
pla=
nt
> so that it would not turn green on the stems. When my parents immigrated
i=
n
> the late 40s, they were disappointed that here in North America the
grower=
s
> allowed the celery stems to become green.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
I stacked dried leaves about 8 to 10 ins.high on some of my plants
this year and have been cutting white asparagus for a couple of
weeks now.I think that the idea is to not let the spears be exposed
to sunlight,just like hilling potatoes. It is a lot less labor.
Cheers
Monty in Michigan
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