When Ralph and I moved to Florida almost 30 years ago, we knew that gardening
in the Sunshine State would be different then it was in New England. The books
we read and experts we talked to insisted that certain plants simply wouldn’t
tolerate the semi-tropical climate.
For the most part, they were right. I got used to springtime
without forsythia, lilac and hyacinth blooms, and we planted loquats,
carambolas and papaya trees instead of apple, apricot and sweet cherry trees.
Loquats taste a little like apricots |
While blackberries, mulberries, strawberries and blueberries do well in Central
Florida, two of my husband’s favorite fruits do not. Red raspberries and black
raspberries — we called them blackcaps on Cape Cod — refuse to tolerate our
semi-tropical weather.
Red raspberries from MA |
In the vegetable garden - Ralph’s favorite place - he still
plants carrots, although they’re nothing like the ones he cultivated on the
Cape. Carrots taste best when temperatures dip below freezing. Cold weather
brings out their sweetness, especially if they remain in the ground during
winter. On Cape Cod, we covered the carrots we grew with a thick layer of
eelgrass, the best mulch ever. I’ve never tasted carrots so sweet.
Returning from the beach to unload a truck full of eelgrass for mulch (circa 1972) |
For years, we believed the experts’ decree and didn’t even
try to grow asparagus. Then one day as I was browsing through the garden center
at Wal-Mart, I noticed a display of asparagus crowns for sale. They were cheap
— about three dollars for a bag containing six crowns. At that price, I figured
we had little to lose. I bought three bags and brought them home. Shortly
after, Ralph filled six 15-gallon containers with rich soil and planted three
crowns in each pot.
My foray into the Wal-Mart garden center took place about
three years ago. Ever since, we’ve enjoyed a springtime treat of homegrown
asparagus. Although the spears we’ve harvested are thin compared to those we
grew on Cape Cod, they haven’t been growing for as long either. Asparagus
produces larger spears as its root system becomes better established.
Our own homegrown Florida asparagus |
This past winter, Ralph emptied out all the asparagus
containers to replenish the soil and see how much the roots had grown. It turned
out they grew substantially. The store-bought bag that originally contained six
crowns would no longer be big enough to fit even one.
Separating out asparagus roots to replant in individual pots |
Since the root systems had become so well developed, Ralph
decided to replant them individually in the 15-gallon containers. He must have
timed the divisions right because within a few weeks, asparagus spears appeared
and have continued to pop out of the soil ever since.
Asparagus thrives in 15-gallon containers alongside broccoli plants |
There is no doubt that Florida gardening is different than
gardening in northern climates. When experts insist something can’t be done,
they’re often right. But not always. Our experience with asparagus has shown
that sometimes it’s important to follow your instincts. As the poet Edgar Guest
once wrote, “Somebody said that it couldn’t be done, but he with a chuckle
replied that ‘maybe it couldn’t,’ but he would be one who wouldn’t say so till
he’d tried.”
We tried. And we did it!
I've found my crowns did okay for about two years, then just croaked. Asparagus grew wild where I grew up, so the Florida asparagus is disappointing. Oh well, we have other wonders down here!
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