Today, we visited an asparagus ranch. Vicente Flores is the owner of the ranch. On his ranch he has about 75 hectors. This equals out to be 150 acres. Asparagus is planted on all 150 acres. The ranch is located in the bajío. The soils at the bajío are much darker. They contain organic matter. The importance of the organic matter is that it helps determine the soil structure.
Someone asked Mr. Flores why he chose to grow asparagus. He replied that asparagus is much easier to maintain. They require less water. Sometimes, they can resist irrigation until the rain comes along. A major advantage of asparagus is that it is resistant to frost. Also, you don’t need as much machinery to harvest asparagus. This means that Mr. Flores does not need to spend as much money for machines.
While asparagus plants have their advantages, they also have a disadvantage. Once the crop is planted, it takes around two and a half years before they can start to be harvested. After they are harvested the first time, the plant will produce for about eight more years.
All of the asparagus is harvested by hand. The harvest season is short. The season begins in May. It then continues for another three months through August. After the harvest, in September, the plant is repairing and preparing itself for the next cycle but restoring more cells. After the previous harvest, all the plant wants to do is reproduce and keep going.
A very important part of growing asparagus is the soil. There are constantly soil tests being taken. The soil needs boron, potassium, nitrogen, and calcium. This can be added through the fertilization. The fertilization is spread through the deep irrigation system. For this system, there are lines that come out at every ditch and are connected underground to he pump. This system is better than areal irrigation. When the right time comes, water soluble fertilizer specifically for asparagus runs down the ditch with water.
For Mr. Flores, an important part of his ranch is his composting. This is a picture of one of his compost lanes. He owns many lambs. The lambs most important proposal is not to get money from them, but to use their manure for the compost. The compost is stirred every month. Mr. Flores adds calcium and sodium to the compost. He also analyzes the soil every year in January to change any possible problems. This is then used for fertilizer in the soil of the asparagus fields.
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