Spotlight: Erinsville Asparagus Farm

Producers, Spotlight
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For decades, we have been buying asparagus from Glenburnie Grocery, gorging ourselves from the time we first see their “Fresh Local Asparagus” sign until the season is over. 

For the first time, i got curious and asked where they get the asparagus from, and the ever friendly staff shared that it was from Erinsville Asparagus Farm.

So off I went with my pal Roy to have a look.

Happy to report, “local” is a very fair description, with the farm located about 30km north of Napanee.

And just south of the Lanark Dark Sky Viewing Area, highly recommended for some of the best viewing of stars and northern lights in the area.

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Formerly Thornton’s Asparagus Farm, Xudong and his wife Huilan have been running the farm for the past 5 years.

They are fortunate that the Covid pandemic did not hurt their business a lot. However, finding good staff is an ongoing challenge.

As are the usual challenges of farming, such as weather, and trying to find the sweet spot of how much to harvest.

Xudong shared that they grow the Thieson variety, one of the latest ones from Guelph University.

Usually asparagus is grown in sand, with the growth highly dependent on the fertilizer and water applied. At Erinsville Asparagus Farm, the asparagus is planted in soil. The production is lower than sand-planted asparagus, but it gets minerals and nutrients from the soil, giving it a wonderful and unique flavor.

In addition to selling freshly harvested asparagus, they also pickle when there is excess harvest, in both a regular and spicy version. My wife isn’t crazy about spicy heat, so I bought the regular one, and it has a lovely “snap” and garlicky flavour.

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As an asparagus farmer, it’s no surprise that Xudong and Huilan eat a lot of asparagus 😋. They usually prepare it very simply, and also love to make asparagus soup.

We also love ours simple, never overcooked, just some butter, salt, usually with some fresh lemon zest, and sometimes with fresh garlic.

I also love making a super simple asparagus soup using my mother’s recipe for cauliflower soup (secret ingredient is to add some roux), with a light sprinkle of Truffle Dust from Cooke’s Fine Foods shop in Kingston.

Sadly, it’s a very short season for local asparagus. By Canada Day, it’s usually all over for the season.

Click Here for the the Google Maps link for Erinsville Asparagus Farm
North Entrance (see sign, 6276 Lennox and Addington County Rd 41, Erinsville, ON K0K 2A0
+12893146666
https://www.facebook.com/evilleasparagus

You can also buy their asparagus at Glenburnie
Grocery, Schell’s Market in Bath and Foodland Verona.

Over To You !

Are you a big fan of asparagus?
Who is your favorite local grower, or favorite variety?
What are your favorite ways to enjoy it?

Let us know in the comments. And share the post with your fellow food lovers.