When To Harvest Asparagus ?
Asparagus is a plant that has lot of medicinal value. It consists of variety of vitamins like A, C, E and K. Apart from this, it is also rich with minerals like zinc, copper, folic acid, magnesium, manganese, selenium and so on. It is also an excellent source of thiamine, niacin and riboflavin. The reason for asparagus being so popular is just because of these nutritional facts. It has gained lot of popularity and so, you would notice that the stores always have asparagus, either fresh or canned. |
However, you can grow asparagus in your vegetable garden. If you are doing so, then you might be wondering when to harvest it. Many people do not want to wait much to eat their freshly grown asparagus, and begin to harvest them as early as possible. But, ideally asparagus should not be harvested until the 3rd year after they have been planted. Therefore, patience is the key. When you see that third year is about to end, remember it is the time to harvest.
Search for the widest and thickest spears which grow between six to eight inches in length. Just those should be cut. The slimmer ones that resemble the size of a pencil should be allowed to mature still further. Another thing to be noticed after you have checked the thickness and height is the tightness of the heads. The spears that have brittle shape and which are almost ready to be cut or snapped should be the ones that have to be harvested first.
After all the above points have been thoroughly inspected then break them off from a point where they are weakest. Use a sharp knife to cut them exactly under the surface of the soil. While cutting the spears, be careful that you do not cut the neighboring spear that is not yet ready for harvest.
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