Posted: 05.17.2011

If you notice people wandering rural roadways in Wisconsin - don't assume they're having car troubles.  In reality - they might be searching for wild Wisconsin asparagus "old school".

Although the cultivars they might find in rural ditches can't match the succulent varieties in the store or farmers market, for many in Wisconsin, it's still a spring tradition to search.

Kathy Bures of Bures Berry Patch in Barneveld said the above average heat last week had her harvesting their aspargaus plots twice a day.  Asparagus can actually grow 10 inches in a 24 hour period under ideal conditions.

Bures said that consumers are seeing some new varieties of the vegetable at retail locations.  By far, the most traditional asparagus is green.  Constant improvement in the cultivars means that consumers are finding today's asparagus tender and nutrient dense.  Asparagus not only has many different vitamins, it's also an anti-inflammatory.

Bures says a new addition to consumers choices is actually very popular in Germany.  The white variety of asparagus you may see is actually the same plant, generally speaking, as the green variety - but it never sees the light of day.  "It's harvested underground,"  according to Bures, to keep that white appearance in place.

Bures says there's also a new purple type asparagus that's popping up in specialty locations.  That particular cultivar actually contains about 20 percent more sugar then the green variety.

Michigan leads the nation in the amount of asparagus grown annually. 

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