Vegetable Gardening (73 page)

‘Jersey Giant' is one of the first Jersey introductions. It's well adapted to most gardens, but it thrives in cool-temperature locations. It's disease resistant and frost tolerant.

‘Jersey Knight' has high-quality spears produced on disease-resistant plants. It's particularly well adapted to growing in heavy soils.

‘Jersey Supreme' is a new variety that matures earlier than the other Jersey series varieties. It's also higher yielding and has fewer female plants.

For a little extra color, try ‘Purple Passion'. This variety produces sweet-tasting purple spears that turn green when cooked. For California and warm-weather gardeners, the University of California has a variety called ‘UC 157' that was born and raised in warm soils and performs very well.

Growing guidelines

Asparagus crowns are generally available for purchase in late winter and spring at garden centers or through the mail. Because asparagus is a perennial, you need to pay particular attention to it when planting and take special care when preparing the planting site. You'll find it easier to amend the soil before planting rather than trying to alter it after you plant the crowns. To ensure planting success, follow these steps:

1. Choose a location with full sun, and then pay special attention to removing all the weeds.

2. Dig a trench that's 1 foot deep and as long as you like.

3. Backfill the trench with 6 to 8 inches of finished compost and soil mixed together.

4. Using the added compost form volcano-like mounds (4 to 6 inches high) every 18 inches and lay the spiderlike crowns and roots of the asparagus on top of the mounds so the roots drape over the sides of the mounds and the crowns sit on top (see Figure 11-1).

5. Cover the crowns with soil and periodically backfill the trench as the asparagus spears grow, until the crowns are about 3 inches below the soil surface.

Keep the bed well watered, and fertilize each year with manure or a complete organic fertilizer such as 5-5-5 after harvest each year. Because asparagus is a perennial, you start harvesting in spring when the spears emerge and stop 6 to 8 weeks later. Here's how to handle the harvest in the first couple of years:

The first year:
Let all the spears grow into ferns.

The second year:
Harvest only those spears whose diameters are larger than a pencil; your harvest window is about 2 weeks in the spring. Snap off the spears by hand at the soil line when they're 6 to 8 inches tall.

The third year:
Begin harvesting only the pencil-diameter-sized spears for 4 to 6 weeks each spring. Stop after that and let the spears grow into ferns to replenish the crown and roots.

The ferns may be cut down after a hard frost in fall or winter. Weeds are the number-one downfall of most asparagus beds. If you keep the beds well weeded each year and use a light mulch, you'll lessen the chances of disease and insects reducing your yields.

If you've ever been served white asparagus tips in a restaurant and loved the flavor, you can easily grow your own. All you need to do is
blanch
the spears (block light from the plant, stopping chlorophyll from forming and leaving that part of the plant white) by covering the bed with black plastic after the spears begin to break ground. Check them every day or so and harvest as usual. The blanched spears are more tender and have a milder flavor.

Beets

Beets (
Beta vulgaris
) are best known for their deep-red-colored roots and sweet flavor. However, their leaves (called
greens
) also are very tasty and can be used as a substitute for Swiss chard or spinach (see Chapter 10 for more about these greens). Try slicing beet roots or greens in salads or cooking the roots in classic beet dishes such as
borscht
(beet soup). In the following sections, I describe different beet varieties to try and provide pointers on growing beets.

Varieties

Beets tend to mature about 50 to 65 days from seeding. Some good varieties to try are ‘Red Ace', ‘Detroit Dark Red', and ‘Lutz Green Leaf'. For a long, thin, red root, try ‘Cylindra' or ‘Forono'. These varieties are consistent producers and widely adapted to various growing conditions.

If you're interested in beets of different colors, try growing white-fleshed ‘Blankoma', which is very sweet. Or try yellow-fleshed ‘Touchstone Gold' or red-and-white-striped ‘Chioggia', which are sweet, too, but are mostly grown for their looks.

If you're mostly interested in beet greens, try ‘Bull's Blood'. The blood-red leaves produce a baby beet. This variety is great in salads and beautiful in the garden.

Growing guidelines