One night, the Troughton family was eating dinner.

"No way! There's no way I'm going to eat asparagus!" yelled their daughter Natalie.

"Just eat one little bite," ordered her mother.

"Well, you know, it's a member of the lily family and is related to some of your favorite things, onions and garlic," her dad told her.

"Really!" An asparagus jumped up from her plate. "It's true, I'm a member of the lily family."

"That's cool but I still don't want to eat you!"

"Okay. It's your loss. I'm a nutritious vegetable because I'm packed with important vitamins and minerals that help your body be healthy. Asparagus is a great source of potassium and is low in sodium. It also has more folacin than any other vegetable or fruit. Folacin is important for blood cell reproduction and helps prevent some cancers. Asparagus is also a good source of vitamin B-6, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Asparagus has no fat or cholesterol, and is naturally low in calories."

"Okay, I guess I'll try it." Natalie stabbed at one of the spears on her plate. She cut a little piece of the tip or crown of the asparagus, took a deep breath, and then swallowed it whole. "Wow! This is delicious! Where can I get more?"

"Well, California leads the nation in asparagus production. In the year 2002, California farms produced approximately ninety-three million pounds of asparagus. Fifty percent of the crop was exported to Japan."

"How do they grow all that asparagus? Is it hard?" Natalie questioned.

"Well, first, the farmer plants tiny plants called crowns in a furrow. It takes nearly three years before a field can be harvested for a full season." "It takes that long?" Natalie asked.

The asparagus continued, "There are three stages. One is the growing stage, another is the fern stage, and then there is the dormant or "sleep" stage. All of these stages are needed for the spears, also known as the asparagus plants, to grow.

In the spring, workers walk along the furrows collecting the stalks that are ready to be harvested. Next, they cut the stalks with a special knife and set them on the ground in a bunch. Later, other workers come with a tractor and pick up the bunches, loading them into a sleigh connected to a tractor. They are taken to a packing shed. There the spears are washed, trimmed, and then sorted by hand in various sizes. The asparagus takes an ice bath through a hydro cooler. Finally, they are packaged in wooden crates or cardboard boxes. Workers do not fill the crates or boxes all the way because the asparagus will continue to grow!"

"The asparagus will still grow? That's amazing!" Natalie exclaimed.

"Then it is stored in cold rooms until it is sold. When you are picking out asparagus in the grocery store, look for firm, straight spears with closed, compact tips."

The asparagus soon fell back on her plate, looking just like the rest of the spears. Natalie finished her asparagus and asked her mother, "May I have seconds please?"