Pea Asparagus
Something different for the kitchen garden….
Here’s a vegetable I am going to grow again this year, pea asparagus. Never heard of it? I hadn’t until I visited the Eden Project in Cornwall and bought myself a pack of their seeds. I grew them in a polytunnel a couple of years ago and they did very well. Truth be told they went a bit wild and the tunnel began to resemble a scene from The Day of The Triffids!
They are, it has to be said a strange looking and tasting vegetable, you need to grow them up and along a trellis of some description, I used pea netting and threaded the tendrills through the squares as they grew. They do need heat and water being a native of sunnier climes (South America and Asia I do believe) but a sheltered spot in the garden which gets a lot of sun might suffice.
This is one of a few ‘weird’ herbs and plants I want to grow this year, I am seriously downscaling because of other commitments but I do liketo have something of interest going on in the garden. Needless to say I am taking a break from growing chillies this year and I’m sure you’re all glad to hear it!
So here’s pea asparagus, I used them in simple stir-fries and Asian salads but you could also drop them into a hot curry at the last moment or blanch them as a stand alone vegetable in their own right…
Looks great, I’ve never heard of them myself. Will try and look some out and give them a go
Best
Rod
April 18, 2009 @ 8:50 am
Beautiful photo, Miles! I had never heard of this either. Is it related to asparagus? Does it take years to grow like real asparagus does?
Oh, I love this picture!
Melissa
April 18, 2009 @ 1:30 pm
Rod,
If I’ve any left I’ll send them on.
Miles
April 18, 2009 @ 7:50 pm
Melissa,
No, it grows completely differently so I don’t really know why they name it so.
Miles
April 18, 2009 @ 7:50 pm