John Myers
Asparagus season is finally here! But what influence do wind, weather, and Corona have on the harvest season this year? You can find out here what you need to know about the beginning and end of the asparagus season and why St. John’s Day is also called asparagus New Year’s Eve!
Beginning and end of the asparagus season
The beginning of the harvest time depends on the weather, the soil conditions in the region, and the harvest time of the previous year. In 2020, numerous harvest workers were absent due to the pandemic, which is why the main harvest was unusually late. Since asparagus takes a long time to ripen and 2022 had an unusually cold February, the asparagus season starts comparatively late, but still within the usual time window of mid-April.
As always, the Lower Franconia region will start things off – the official starting signal will be given here on April 12th, 2022. The region has particularly sandy soil that offers ideal conditions for early ripening. The asparagus season traditionally always ends on June 24th.
St. John’s Day and asparagus
The 24.6. is the memorial day of John the Baptist in the church year, the beginning and end of a year in the Freemasons, and is close to the summer solstice. The latter is particularly important for the asparagus season: from Johanni there are at least 100 days until the first ground frost – and the new asparagus need this time for optimal ripening. Therefore, the day is also referred to as “Asparagus New Year’s Eve” and thus the end of the harvest season.
Asparagus price 2022
Although the harvest will already be in mid-March 2022 and you can already eat asparagus at Easter, these are covered in foil or asparagus on heated fields, which then cost up to 20 euros/kilo from local cultivation. The ecological footprint of imported or artificially heated asparagus is also rather questionable.
The classic, white-purple asparagus from one of the almost 1,650 local growers costs between 9 and 12 euros/kilo in quality class 1 during the harvest season. Since all connoisseurs are waiting impatiently for the asparagus at the beginning of the asparagus season, the price is particularly high in April and falls until mid-May, and then rises again slightly.
After June 24th, 2022 you can still buy fresh asparagus for about a week.
Pandemic pricing policy
When shopping, keep in mind that the cost structures in cultivation have risen sharply – the hygiene protection measures, testing obligations, and distance regulations of the Corona regulations are a burden on the farmers and also influence the harvest speed. Therefore, the price per kilo will be around 20 percent higher than the 2019 retail prices. When shopping, remember that you can support the farmers in your region if you buy directly from the farm – it’s also cheaper because there are no transport costs. You can also use regional poles when shopping in the supermarket.
Inexpensive green treat
The green asparagus spears have a finer taste and are often cheaper to buy: they do not have to be pricked by hand because they grow above ground. Green asparagus will probably end up on our plates more often in 2022, as some farms have adapted their cultivation methods due to the absence of harvest workers.
Have you already got hold of asparagus and are wondering how long it has to cook? Then take a look at our article on the cooking time of asparagus.
Already knew?
Green and white asparagus are not different plants! The green stalks get their color from sunlight – they make chlorophyll, which is how they get their green color. The white sprouts remain completely covered by the soil until the start of harvest.
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