Let's start. My father fancied himself a gentleman farmer. He and my mother bought five acres in 1951 in Milton to cultivate a small farm and a family. When we moved in there was about an acre of asparagus and a large block of rhubarb. For many years they sold both crops to local people who had been regular customers in the past. They raised rabbits and had a huge garden. I remember as a kid learning to cut asparagus and rhubarb, wash and weigh them by pound and bundle them with rubber bands.
Asparagus is another story. It must have been a big part of our diet because for me comfort food means creamed asparagus on toast. My grandmother lost her sapphire ring one summer cutting asparagus and found it the next summer. She died when I was 15 and because I was her oldest godchild and our birthdays were both in September, I was given her ring. (Unfortunately it was stolen when I was living in a dorm at UVM.) I have tried to grow asparagus here at my own gentleperson's farm. However it requires more attention than I can give it now. Maybe when I retire.
So let's talk rhubarb. Easy to grow, red is the best, the sweetest, according to my father. Rhubarb is my new learning challenge. I have always taken it for granted. It just grows and you turn it into pies. Let the challenge begin.
