US: Asparagus available in Southern California

When it’s a steady 70 degrees for 11 months out of the year, produce is a colorful reminder that seasons do exist in Southern California. As a general rule, green means spring. Fava tendrils appear, followed by pea tendrils, snap peas, English peas, and the ultimate indicator, asparagus, which showed up at the market this week under a blue canopy that read “Zuckerman’s Farm.”

At Zuckerman’s Farm in Stockton, workers manage 700 acres of peaty black soil that puts out 60 tons of asparagus each season. According to Santa Monica Farmers Market manager Laura Avery, the soil is the color of chocolate mousse. The unique texture, color, and nutrient-rich qualities of the earth are due to the farm’s placement in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. This land, writes pomologist David Karp, “is the top asparagus-growing district in the state and the nation, and the last bastion of a traditional crop that has largely succumbed to lower-priced imports.”

You can find Zuckerman Farm’s asparagus at farmers’ markets from San Francisco to Los Angeles until early June.

Source: www.lamag.com