"Hobo" wrote in message
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Srgnt Billko wrote:
"Chas Hurst" wrote in message
. ..
"Srgnt Billko" wrote in message
news:FCOQj.1936$Zs1.590@trndny07...
"Srgnt Billko" wrote in message
news:AisQj.1444$Zs1.1014@trndny07...
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.


The idea is to keep the spears from turning green. Cut them off well
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 pan 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. We 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. How do you determine the correct point
when the are hilled up ? And 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 ? What happens to the slower spears if the hilling is
done based on the first spear ? We cover them with a few inches in the fall
after growing season. Do they do that in Europe ?