Every season, around this time, I ask Rufus how many more weeks we’re going to pick the asparagus. We love asparagus, but to be honest, at this point, we’re all a little sick of picking it almost everyday and completing the tedious, time consuming tasks of trimming and bundling it. Whatever Rufus’s answer is, I know by now to add on 2-3 weeks. This year we had the added bonus of fighting the common asparagus beetle and a pseudo-drought, and lest we forget, the red-winged black birds are nesting in the hazelnuts right next door, and they are pissed off about our presence. At least, that’s what I gather from the high pitch warning calls and dive bombs. In spite of all that, I’m still going to say asparagus is one of my favs, a relatively low maintenance perennial in high demand. By the time it comes around again next year, we’ll all be pining for it.
~Joy