As a child, I wasn't much of a vegetable eater and like most kids was sometimes forced to eat things I didn't like.
When I was young, I loved to go stay with my aunt and uncle because they always did fun stuff. But there was a catch to these visits that involved a strict policy on eating everything on my plate.
Butter beans was my kryptonite. After what is still referred to as a major test of wills, my aunt and uncle lightened up a little on their dining policy after my stubborn self literally refused to swallow a bean and woke up with it still in my mouth the next morning. I still hear about that one from them.
As I the years pass, I have a bigger appreciation for some of the foods I avoided as a kid. Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is now one that I love.
Being native to the Mediterranean, asparagus is one of a very few hardy perennial vegetables that we can grow in the South. It is best planted from middle January into early March in a site with good drainage and full sun.
Having a nice, clean weed free planting area will save a lot of stress down the road. Prepare the bed as early as possible, and enrich it with additions of manure, compost, bone or blood meal, leaf mold, or a combination of several of these. Make sure the pH is between 5.8 and 6.5 to ensure the plants can properly intake nutrients.
Asparagus is bought as a "crown" which is similar to what a daylily may look like without its leaves. Crowns are the 1-year-old roots of asparagus typically sold in nurseries and garden centers. Although asparagus can be grown from seed, it is difficult, time-consuming and will cost an extra year of growth before harvest is possible.
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Planting the asparagus as crowns will allow you to collect an abbreviated harvest in the spring of the second year of growth. This vegetable will grow up to 5 feet tall ferns, so it may shade other plants.
I actually like using asparagus as an ornamental perennial because of its light feathery appearance, so if you don't like eating them, they still make a great asset to the landscape.
Weed the bed each spring before the first shoots come up to avoid accidentally breaking off spears. Although asparagus takes two to three years to begin production, it will be highly productive for seven to eight years before gradually declining.
Recommended asparagus cultivars include the Jersey Giant, Jersey Knight, Jersey Gem as well as Purple Passion and Mary Washington.
On another note, keep an eye out for lawn burweed. I have been seeing it around some in some yards I frequent and it is a nasty one come spring on bare feet.
Lawn burweed is a low growing, clumping weed that looks a little like parsley. When it seeds out in the spring, it has a nasty sticker that will make you regret walking barefoot in the grass. It will also attach to a dog's foot.
Last year lawn burweed control was No. 1 on my winter weed eradication list. I spot sprayed it three or four times last season and thought I was done with it, but it is back. Not nearly as bad, but definitely back. During the winter when Bermuda is dormant, atrazine is best on burweed for all four of our warm season turf types. I tried a couple of additional products beside the atrazine on that pesky weed last year with very good results. MSM Turf (metsulfuron methyl) worked great and quickly, but be careful when using it around the root line of maples, hickories and oaks. If you are willing to spend the money, Celsius by Bayer is very good on lawn burweed as well.