In the first year asparagus can be harvested during a maximum period of ten days. "In the second year the asparagus can be harvested for about four weeks and in the third year the asparagus can be harvest during the entire season," says Dieter Weber, advisor for asparagus farming in the Chamber of Agriculture Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen). This means that the plants that have the highest harvest were already grown in 2011.
The season is short due to characteristics of the asparagus. The asparagus needs the rest of the year to restore energy. Only at the end of its ten-year life does the regeneration not have to be considered. The asparagus can be harvested until the plant dies.
Asparagus tunnel covered with plastic
One trend in asparagus farming is unstoppable: the cultivation of asparagus under plastic. This way the farmers can control the temperatures of the bed and match the harvest to the demand. And according to the Chamber of Agriculture Lower Saxony plastic has the advantage that the rapid growth makes the spears more tender.
It even has a positive influence on the taste and the colour: warm weather colours the spears pink. But when the farmers turn the plastic from the black to the white side the temperature stays lower. Other discolouration caused by late harvests which influence the price, hardly happen under plastic.
The plastic has more positive sides; less chemicals are needed because weeds don’t grow under the plastic. The bean seed fly, a pest, can’t lay their eggs and threaten crops. And the asparagus don’t need as much water. The Chamber of Agriculture Lower Saxony claims that already 90 percent of the asparagus is grown under the black and white plastic. There is a downside, spring storms like the recent storm at the end of March can destroy the tunnels and endanger the crops.
Source: www.handelsblatt.com