If grocery carts had brakes, mine would have squealed to a stop in the produce department the other day. I looked once and then did a double-take to make sure I had read the sign correctly. The price card next to an ice-filled bin of bunched asparagus did indeed say that the spears were selling for $2.77 a pound.

Not that the flavor of asparagus isn’t worth every penny. It’s just that there’s no earthly reason for anyone who has a yard ever to pay for asparagus. You plant the roots once, in the spring, and for generations thereafter asparagus can be cut in that spot every year. I like to think of asparagus as the gift that keeps on giving.

The timing of asparagus is bad for people who don’t grow their own. Asparagus can be picked for about three weeks, usually from mid-April to early May. In other words, it’s finished just before the farmers market season starts up. This means that most people who buy fresh asparagus in season get it either from u-pick-it enterprises and roadside stands or from the supermarket.

Much of the fresh asparagus that is in grocery stores now is imported from out of state. While it can’t be picked early, as with unripened fruit, it may have lingered in the grocer’s cooler long enough that the flavor has diminished. Old asparagus also can be rubbery, have a tough skin and require peeling.

How to plant and pick

This brings me full circle to my original argument: If you have space to grow asparagus, why mess around with the middleman? Asparagus, which looks a lot like air fern after it goes to seed, can be grown along the back edge of a flowerbed, where it can provide a feathery, green backdrop to other plantings later in the summer.

All you need is the space to dig a trench 12 inches wide and 6 inches deep. The asparagus roots, also called crowns, should be spaced about 18 inches apart. You’ll get spears the following year, but it’s best to wait until the second year to begin harvesting. Water the asparagus bed during droughts, fertilize occasionally with compost and you’ve got it made.

Freshly picked asparagus is tender and sweet enough to eat uncooked. Down the shaft from the tip, the asparagus becomes firmer or denser. When preparing fresh asparagus for cooking, you’ll want to snap the spear just at that point between the stiff, lower part of the shaft and the tender, more edible top of the spear. In most spears, this means breaking off the bottom third or so. This point is easy to find simply by bending the spear gently.

Ideas for cooking

The bottom ends of the spear can be reserved for soup, but you may want to peel the skin from those pieces so that they will cook quickly. The bottoms also can be cooked and pureed for use in an asparagus souffle.

Asparagus has such a distinctive flavor that it easily stands on its own. It works well with vinaigrette, citrus and garlic, and I think it’s best when steamed or sauteed. I shy away from baking it simply because the flavor and texture of fresh asparagus are what captivate me, and both get lost in the oven.

It’s possible, though, to use asparagus as an ingredient in cooked foods without sacrificing the flavor and texture. For example, asparagus is a perfect omelet ingredient. Cut several spears (three or four per person) into 1-inch pieces and saute them until tender in a bit of olive oil or bacon grease along with garlic and chopped onion. Use these ingredients, diced bacon or ham, a shredded cheese of your liking (a white cheese probably will work best), and some complementary herbs, such as fresh dill, for the omelet filling.

The trick is to combine ingredients so that the asparagus flavor is still dominant. But once you become accustomed to matching the flavor of asparagus with other less pronounced flavors, experimentation will seem natural.