Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog

Not counting the summery days we’ve already had this year, the one true sign of the end of winter is the rise of the asparagus stalks across otherwise empty fields. Whether you’re an all-time fan or not, asparagus means rhubarb, radishes, lettuces, spinach, chives, parsley and peas can’t be far behind. And you’ve got to be a fan of that! (See who’s growing asparagus)

But back to asparagus. Besides the crowns and stalks, all of an asparagus plant is underground. At some point you’ve encountered white asparagus and perhaps wondered, so where’s the phchlorophyll on these albino asparagus? Well, you may have noticed that the bottom of many green asparagus stalks are light in color. It’s because stalks and crowns are white until they rise from the ground and sense sunlight. Some clever farmers pile up extra layers of dirt on their asparagus so they grow to full size before ever touching sunlight. That’s the story behind white asparagus, though we don’t know any growers in Rhode Island.

The green/purple asparagus from Four Town Farm in Seekonk sold out in 40 minutes at the Wintertime Farmers’ Market. We’ll bring much more next week, May 3, which is sadly the last week of the indoor market. After that, May 10-31, some farmers and artisans will be at Hope High School on the intervening Saturdays 9:30-12:30pm until the official market kick-off on June 7.