Enjoyed by Egyptian royalty as early as 3000 B.C. and first cultivated in ancient Rome, Asparagus is now enjoyed by just about everyone, just about everywhere.
Lucky for us, the beautiful New Zealand climate makes Aotearoa the perfect place to grow this delicious green queen.
From the lush Waikato to dazzling Canterbury, New Zealand farmers produce some of the world’s best asparagus.
We supply supermarkets, restaurants, and your local greengrocer.
It all starts with the CROWN.
We always establish a new asparagus field in the wintertime, planting individual crowns in the tilled soil.
For the next two years, we care for the asparagus, nurturing in spring and summer, then putting it to bed by mowing and mulching the fields in late autumn. All the while, the plants are busy putting down deep roots. If all goes well, this field will be their home for 15 – 20 years!
Over the third season we start harvesting the tender spears – which can grow up to 17cm in one day! The harvesting period lasts for about 90 days from September through December. These are the months to be on the lookout for fresh asparagus at the market.
At the end of our harvesting spears will grow into fern providing the fuel for the crown for next season, we then mow and mulch the fields, which returns tonnes of organic matter back to the soil, lessening the need for additional fertiliser.
For the next 15 – 20 years the cycle repeats, providing a fresh crop every season – all thanks to those original crowns (and some very dedicated growers!).
