After years of "looking" for signs of asparagus growing wildly along the Highline Canal I finally found some the other day!
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| Wild Overgrown Asparagus Grows Along The Highline Canal in Denver, Co |
It helps if you do some research prior to setting out to find something you only know by seeing in a grocery store. I was simply looking for picture perfect asparagus spears....which aren't exactly easy to find. I learned that asparagus grows very high, and when overgrown, resembles a fern. This is what led to my discovery; looking for 2-3 foot high fern-like plants dressed with pea-sized round seed pods hanging from every branch was not difficult. In fact, I found it had been growing right under my nose all along. Now I can easily spot asparagus growing from hundreds of yards away...that is when it is overgrown.
Of all the asparagus patches I discovered it was rare to find a good, edible spear. I noticed signs of others cutting most good spears for themselves earlier in the season, however, I was able to collect a dozen or so 6" - 10" inch spears for myself. I immediately rinsed them off and ate raw.......mmmm.........I had no idea how sweet raw asparagus tasted! One particular spear had grown several inches below the ground and had not yet turned green. This one was particularly tasty, sweet! I read that many gourmet restaurants cultivate white asparagus on purpose for its sweet taste. This is done by completely covering the asparagus plant with a mound of soil/ leaves and harvesting in the early morning hours when the spear tips have just broken the surface. The "white" comes from the plant being deprived of producing chlorophyll by not being exposed directly to the sun. Interesting....and tasty! Next season I will be looking for it a couple of months earlier.
