KITCHEN TIP
If you want to use the spears
cold with dips or in salads,
remove them from the boiling
water while they are tender
but still crisp, and place them
immediately in a bowl of cold
water. This stops the cooking
process and sets the bright
green colour. When cold,
remove them from the bowl,
pat dry and store in the
refrigerator until needed.
Asparagus is best used on the
day it is cooked.IN THE KITCHEN
MIX chopped spears into
scrambled eggs.
COMBINE with smoked
salmon in a delicious quiche.
ADD to a green salad along
with chopped boiled eggs and
mustard mayonnaise.
COOK until tender-crisp and
place on top of an omelette.
TRY asparagus in a green
salad with anchovies.
ROAST with a little oil until
tender-crisp (about 5-10
minutes), remove, drizzle
with balsamic vinegar and
top with parmesan cheese.
USE cooked spears, celery and
carrots with dips.
STIR into your favourite
chicken pasta or risotto recipe.
TOSS together cold spears,
baby tomatoes, basil and fresh
goat’s cheese for a delicious
salad. Drizzle with balsamic
vinegar and olive oil.◆ PLANT Dig a trench 20cm deep and
place two-year-old crowns 30-45cm
apart, fanning the roots out in all
directions. If you have lots of plants,
dig more rows the same distance
apart. Cover the crowns with soil to
half the depth of the trench and, when
the shoots appear above ground level,
ill in the remainder of the trench with
soil. Do not cover new shoots.
◆ WATER Keep the foliage well watered
during summer and autumn, when they
are not producing spears.
◆ FEED Apply a high-nitrogen fertiliser
during summer to encourage vigorous
top growth.
◆ HARVEST Spears start appearing in
August or September, but unfortunatelyyou have to be patient before your plants
go into full production. If you’ve planted
two-year-old crowns, cut the spears
only very lightly in the irst harvest.
Let most of them go to foliage.
Cut back the foliage in late autumn
when it has turned yellow, and mulch
the bed with compost during early
winter to encourage new-season spears.
You can gradually increase your
harvest each year as the plants grow
older. Full bearing age is reached after
four or ive years.
To harvest, cut the spears at ground
level while the tips are still tightly
closed, leaving any woody stem behind.
he harvest period continues for 8-10
weeks, so gluttony is acceptable. ❖Handyman.net.au JULY 2018 137PICTURES
GETTY IMAGES
GARDEN