Ahead of the traditional end of the asparagus harvest on St. John's Day on June 24, Saxony's asparagus farmers are satisfied with this year's season. "The season started early," said Jürgen Schulze, Chairman of the Association of East German Asparagus and Berry Growers. The asparagus was of very good quality and demand from customers was also good. Nieschütz asparagus grower René Heidig was also satisfied: "We started three weeks earlier than normal, which is good for the yield." Although the longer harvest period was challenging for the plants, nature had sorted it out.
The low temperatures at the end of April, which caused major damage to Saxony's fruit growers and winegrowers, did not result in any major losses of asparagus. "We harvested asparagus that had been frozen for three days and threw it away," said Heidig. This is not nice, but such frost damage can occur until the beginning of May. Only the spears were affected, not the plants themselves. These are well protected from frost in the soil, explained Schulze.
