Hunting for wild asparagus.
Down below the old canal.
In the place between orchards and sagebrush.
Time to pick asparagus for a woman whose husband used to drive her up there.
You gotta look carefully. In the Similkameen of my childhood, the asparagus came up along the rail line. That, too, was an abandoned space. An in-between space.
The train only ran once a week. We might be wise to build our cities with spaces like that.
Not all invasive species are half as bad as humans. The voles like this stuff.
A good catch! (I kept 20%). The rest went to my friend and the plants themselves.
Okanagan Okanogan 
Is it indigenous? Any idea how closely related it is to the grocery store kinds?
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Hi,
it’s the grocery store kind gone wild. It’s not indigenous, but it adapts very well, and could be planted as a wild, foraging crop, especially around fenceposts or other places where a little water gathers. What differentiates it from the grocery store kind is that it doesn’t taste of petrochemical nitrogen fertilizers (asparagus, grown commercially, requires huge amounts of the stuff, and great amounts of pesticides as well.) The real treat is hunting for it. It is one of the world’s truly pleasurable things.
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See my comment below
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Hi,Donna,
thanks for your concerned comment. Don’t worry. I picked with care and respect for the plants and did not disturb a single one. I left plenty of stalks for further growth. I only meant, that this wild form of asparagus needs to be encouraged by being liberally planted by seed wherever possible. Best, Harold
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You are correct of course. My Aunt pointed out that I may have misread your post and in fact I did. My apologies. 🙂
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No problem. I share your passion. Best, Harold
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Very poor of you to dig up the asparagus roots. Very greedy in fact.
When I was small my grandmother and I would drive the back roads looking for asparagus. We only picked a small portion of what we found and NEVER took the plants. This ensured spears for all who looked and some for next year. Give that a thought next time.
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May I ask where you pick them in Okanagan? I am going there for 5 days starting tomorrow. Thanks.
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