About Asparagus
Plant • Grow • Harvest
There are 9,500 acres of Michigan Asparagus land, mainly in the southwest corner
It can grow 1/2 inches per hour under ideal conditions and produce 25+ spears over its 7-week season
It takes four years for an asparagus field to fully mature and it lasts about 20 years
For best quality, asparagus must be harvested by hand and a mature field is picked 25-35 times per season
About 500 million asparagus spears are hand-harvested each year
Origins
sparagus was once a prized food with both medicinal and aphrodisiac qualities
Purple aspargus was developed in Italy in more modern times
Believed to have originated in eastern Mediterranean and Northern African regions
There is evidence of its use more than 2000 years ago
Asparagus is part of the Asparagaceae family
Varieties
Asparagus comes in three colors: green, white, and purple.
Farmers can harvest both white and green asparagus from the same plant.
White asparagus is very labor intensive as it is grown underground.
Purple asparagus is a product of conventional plant breeding (not GMO).
Purple asparagus is sweeter with higher sugar content than traditional green.
Purple asparagus can turn green when cooked.
