Asparagus is really quite pretty. I never really noticed it before my husband decided to plant some in our backyard.It is a vegetable that wants to be a fern. It is an unsung harbinger of Spring. And apparently, there is such a thing as an asparagus bouquet. Who knew?

Caesar Augustus loved asparagus. He used it as a motivator to hasten his troops, coining the phrase, ‘Velocius, quam asparagi conquantur!’ – roughly translating to, ‘Faster than cooking asparagus.’ The vintage equivalent of ‘get your rear in gear.’  It is true motivation.

To double down on asparagus’s motivating nature – it has been known to grow up to an inch an hour. I was lucky to have grown an inch every three years in elementary school. 

So let’s get cooking.

(And seriously, if you need to start thinking about tonight’s dinner – Try this.)

• It takes about three years for an asparagus crop to go from planting to harvest.
• Asparagus crops naturally have a 50/50 split of female to male plants.
• Female plants are considered not as productive as male plants. Because they set energy into producing seeds. So the species can continue to exist. I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty damn productive to me.
• New vocab word – Spargelfest. German for Asparagus Festival. These are big in Germany. But there may also be some near you. Like ‘Spears and Cheers’ in Bruceville, IN or the National Asparagus Festival in Hart, MI.
• Asparagus is a diuretic and was used as an early medication for tummy troubles.
• Personal observation – the bunnies and squirrels don’t eat the asparagus in my garden. Asparagus farmers used to use chickens to weed the asparagus fields. They never ate the stalks. So get planting.
• Growing season is from April to June 24. (I know – very exact – it is John the Baptist’s birthday)
• Not to be outdone by Caesar – Louis XIV loved asparagus too. He commissioned his gardener to figure out how to grow it out of season.
• You are awesome!

Sources:
Modern Farmer
Science Direct
World Food History