Asparagus Can Grow an Inch Per Hour on Hot Days

Asparagus is one of the botanical oddities of the vegetable world. Unlike most crops, farmers plant asparagus crowns—the roots of one-year-old plants—and those same roots keep producing for 10 to 15 years. When warm spring weather hits, the roots send up spears that transform into bushy ferns if left alone. But the real challenge is timing the harvest. Scott Walker, president of the world's largest asparagus seed company, has heard reports of asparagus growing an inch per hour during sudden hot spells. One farmer described a field looking like 'the hair on a dog's back' after a cold-to-hot transition—spears everywhere, impossible to keep up with. After about six to eight weeks of this frantic growth, farmers let the remaining spears grow wild into ferns, storing energy for next year's crop.