Food for Thought: Chatham-Kent a top Ontario asparagus producer

Asparagus will soon be here, one of our first harvested field crops. Many people wait all year for local asparagus to appear at roadside stands and food stores.

Did you know that in Chatham-Kent, we are Ontario’s No. 2 asparagus producer?

My thanks go to the Asparagus Farmers of Ontario (ontarioasparagus.ca) for the valuable information they provided for this article. You can also find some great asparagus recipes on their website.

Asparagus is a spring vegetable and a member of the lily family, which includes onions, garlic, leeks, turnips and gladioli. Asparagus shoots arise from underground “crowns” planted about 20 centimetres (eight inches) deep. Under ideal weather conditions, an asparagus shoot, or “spear,” can grow 25 cm (10 in.) in 24 hours. If not harvested, the shoots grow into........

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