Asparagus is extremely nutritious and has many health benefits! ‘Purple Passion’ has many similar characteristics to green asparagus but offers something new for the asparagus connoisseur. It is a unique asparagus variety especially suited to the asparagus enthusiast, whether home gardener or commercial grower. The spears produced have several qualities which make it quite different than common green asparagus. The deep-burgundy coloration produced in these spears is most striking. This variety has a 20% higher sugar content and is often eaten raw. Provides excellent purple color if added to salads raw, but turns green when cooked. Some upscale restaurants garnish salads with Purple Passion. When cooked, the sweetness gives this asparagus a mild, nutty flavor. The spears are generally larger and much more tender than its green counterpart. The vascular bundles have less lignin per spear which makes the spears less stringy. This also allows the cook to use the whole spear and not waste the bottom. Purple Passion is truly a unique new vegetable which has exceptional qualities that put it in a class by itself. It should pique the imagination of any world-class chef as well as the ordinary consumer who just wants to add something special to the dinner plate. Grows well throughout the Midwest. Purple Passion has productive yields. For best performance, plant spacing for Purple Passion is 6-8 inches apart in the row instead of the usual 12-inch spacing. Purple Passion is an excellent addition to any asparagus planting. This cultivar has some resistance to rust, root/crown rot, and Fusarium.

Asparagus gets top dollar at the supermarket, but commercially grown spears never measure up to the delicately sweet flavor of homegrown. Asparagus is a hardy perennial. Asparagus is a highly productive vegetable. Grown for the stems or spears, a well-tended planting yields 8 to 10 pounds or more per 100 square feet of bed or 24 to 30 pounds per 100 feet of row. For most home gardeners, one row is adequate. An asparagus planting lasts 15 to 25 years without replanting if it is well cared for and the climate is suitable. It does not do well if summers are extremely hot and long and winters are mild.