Ten Reasons Why You Should Grow Asparagus

Asparagus growing in my garden.  Each crown sends up multiple spears.  

1. Deer, rabbits, woodchucks, chipmunks and squirrels leave asparagus alone!

2. It’s a perennial!  Plant it this year and you’ll enjoy it for decades to come!   Each spring it will come up whether you’ve gotten around to gardening yet or not.

3. It’s fun to see asparagus spears popping out of the soil – they really look like someone just stuck them in the ground.

4. You can start harvesting and eating homegrown asparagus early in the season, before most people plant their tomatoes outside.

5. An established asparagus patch can be harvested again and again over a two month period, letting you enjoy lots of asparagus for 8 – 10 weeks.

6. After the harvest period is over, the plants grow tall (up to five feet) and leaf out, transforming from a food item into an attractive fern-like plant.

7. You won’t have to worry about shopping for fresh veggies or finding a place to store them in your fridge – instead, just go out and pick some asparagus.

8. Asparagus is very nutritious.  It’s an excellent source of vitamin K, folate, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C and vitamin E according to The World's Healthiest Foods Website.

9. Growing your own asparagus is so much cheaper than buying it at the store.

10. It’s yummy!

Last Tuesday's harvest of asparagus.
Six days later,  I harvested double this amount.  

One of the things I LOVE about growing asparagus is that none of the animals around here eat it, so it can be incorporated into your landscaping without requiring deer fencing.    My asparagus patch has coexisted with deer, rabbits, woodchucks, chipmunks and squirrels for a decade without any nibbling whatsoever.

For more information on growing asparagus, check out: The Old Farmer's Almanac.

(This post was shared on Green Thumb Thursdays, The HomeAcre Hop, Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Hop and Real Food Fridays.)