Sandra Phinney is a free-lance writer living in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. Sandra is an avid gardener and a frequent contributor to Outdoor Nova Scotia. Garden fresh asparagus is nothing like what is available in most grocery stores, and far removed from what comes in a can.
Fresh asparagus is sweet, tender, and takes but two to three minutes to cook.
It is high in sugar content which turns to starch if stored for any length of time. Hence it often is stringy and tough if it is not locally or home grown. My first attempt to grow asparagus was eighteen years ago. I bought a package of asparagus seed, and planted them exactly as I did I carrot seed, figuring that carrots grew downward and asparagus grew upward. Whilst chatting with a seasoned gardener, I bemoaned the fact that the company must have sent me bad seed, as I didn't see any fat green shoots popping out of the ground.