European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 12, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Schwet Zingen s festive Sparge soup. Is Cus Schuttlor by Mary Neth stall writers Pring  West 0 run a Cua i with acum 11" in. Markets in  apr from then until the  in june this King a1 to. / to i a featured dish Al re try in. Home dinners  a i Center one the . I i dec considered by Hornc Tut n Sparge lovers lock to the area s special Vann. I Meisle Schuss this past weekend to i Vith a Sparge Sam i i to 1 a shopping Avenue a baroque Castle turned teti.-. Stands Sparge Croaro a $1 90 a bowl and free mra history and or Para in it Thi asparagus Gro a m a .1a has again gripped. Jul asparagus ai1 i Fust appears in local ilor Early May. Harvest in mid a reigns supreme it Safi j a Lavonne Lor sunday i a Heidelberg is m the g Aroa and is an s Sparge capital a i Tho season to Dine on celebrated the season trim the  Pink r Aith Livo bands and Lood ajservddt350marks Nora spa sed out on Theof ,.ite heat no times be a trans romans and greeks has Ivin  Lor 4,000 years. There Aro said to to mar j a in 100 species in the temperate and warm regions Tho world. In Germany it had Only  Vild until Johann Casimir a personal Phy i icon to tie Slalz counts the Rhino began to Vulivalu it Iri 1567 today besides , other Gro  a thai Are located near Braunschweig Darmstadt. Try Lufi in Niernberg a Nichoal and Hamburg those local growing area . Can t keep up Mph Tho demand and Spaight imported irom Franco Holland. Italy. Israel spam arid Hungary. Purists however Don l Trust these .f.,"r Parkot imports they want their Sparge yield from i no matter How popular the Poco will never Tumble Sparge is too Tricky to farm in re Tho Harvest period is too Brief to allow that the farming is an Grid crib a i. 1 adventure unlike its Green cousins the Whilo  Sparge is grown beneath Mounds Earth to Sod ii. From the Sun and to preserve its Ivory like co Ong thir does not mean , that it can do i Unn Spring it needs warmth to mature and tend i snip reel upward in search Ine Sun a sign in is really to re pm tucked because this buried Alivn a kind growing the Sparge Fields most Winch it m a Belt stretching Friday May 12, 1989 irom the Heidelberg area northward to Braunschweig Are anything but Scenic. They consist nothing More than Barren rows Sandy dunes previously Germany s Sparge was grown rom seed. Today cuttings Are used. Full Harvest however can not occur until Lour years alter the first planting harvesting done mostly by foreign seasonal workers is monotonously backbreaking. Ii involves Long Days stalking the dirt rows in search cracks in the top the dunes. The cracks indicate a stalk is about to surface and that Calls for immediate action. a stalk is exposed for Long to the Sun it will turn purplish and lose in snark value. Using a Broad trowel the workers carefully dig the Pale stalk free from the Earth and then snip it Oil Al the base with a chisel like cutting tool. The stalks Crisp and Brittle must be handled with care. Ii you want to save Money Don t wait until the weekend to go Sparge shopping. The Price generally climbs on fridays and saturdays because its demand As a sunday favorite. Sparge is sold in Livo classes Klasse extra lop Quality and Price and Klasse i ii Iii and in. The Quality or Grade is determined by the length circumference and straightness the individual Spears not Iho continued on Page 14 the stars and stripes Page 13