Segment: White Asparagus
Episode: S3E2
Presenter: Stuart Laws
Air Date: 17th November 2019

The beautiful Bickley Valley is home to the delicious white asparagus.

• Harrie and Petra of Bickley Valley Asparagus have been growing asparagus here since 1988, and their white asparagus has the chef world talking.
• White asparagus is virtually the same plant as green asparagus, with the only difference being it’s grown in the dark – in tunnels in this case.
• Originally from Holland, Harrie and Petra come from a region well known for its white asparagus. Growers in Northern Europe avoid frost damage by mounding insulating soil around the asparagus spear, covering them completely and blocking the sunlight.
• The soil in Bickley Valley is too gravelly to be mounded around growing spears, so the system of black plastic tunnels was developed, ensuring the plants can grow in the dark while staying above the ground.
• Asparagus season runs through spring – it can start as early as August, but tends to go from September to November.
• The asparagus is harvested each day at 5AM.
• Bickley Valley asparagus can be bought straight from the farm 7 days a week, or from Manning and Kalamunda farmers markets.