With an area of over 4,000 hectares Lower Saxony is the state with the largest area of asparagus in Germany, reports the German website Gabot.de. Most asparagus in the Weser-Ems region is grown in Cloppenburg, Vechta and Osnabruck. Other important cultivation areas are in the regions of Nienburg, Braunschweig and Lüneburg.
Most of the asparagus in Lower Saxony is grown under plastic. Around 80% of the time black and white is used. This plastic prevents the bean fly from laying its eggs on the asparagus dams, among other things. The use of this plastic also makes the course of the harvest easier: when there is little sunshine the plastic is placed black side up, so that the heat is absorbed in the dams. The high temperatures make the asparagus grow faster and become softer. When the plastic is placed white side up it prevents the sun from shining too strongly on the asparagus and stops the dams from heating up too much. This improves the quality of the asparagus.
A trend which has been maintained in recent years is asparagus cultivation in mini tunnels. This way asparagus can be supplied well before the usual start of the season. Combined with the black and white plastic, the use of these tunnels provides optimal temperature regulation and enables a continual flow of harvest.