On Sunday, May 26, 2024, the Prekmurje Model Farm organized a visit to an example of good practice in the Karst. This time, the participants of the professional excursion were asparagus growers. The aim of the professional excursion was to get to know asparagus growers from other regions and to visit farms that, in addition to production, are also engaged in the processing of asparagus, vegetables and fruits.
First we stopped at Metka’s farm – Dobrote Metka. Mrs. Metka presented her activity to us: in addition to growing her asparagus, which she processes into pickles, she is also engaged in the purchase of quality vegetables and fruits from local farmers. These are then carefully processed into inputs and juices, which are sold in the home store, online store and local markets. She also prepared a tasting of most of her products. The visit was extremely positively received, Mrs. Metka shared her knowledge with us, and the participants learned about new ways and possibilities of processing and preparing tasting dishes from asparagus.
The path then led us to the Silič farm in Orehovlje, where we visited a asparagus plantation. Asparagus is mostly grown in the Prekmurje region, so the visit to the asparagus plantation was especially interesting. The owner of the farm gave us a lot of useful information. The specialty of the Silič farm is that they produce peanuts in addition to asparagus, which is enabled by the special climate in the Karst. They also showed us the processing facilities, the possibilities of asparagus processing and the presentation of peanut processing.
At the end of the visit, we enjoyed a culinary explosion – a lunch made of asparagus, which was thoughtfully prepared with great emphasis on various dishes made of asparagus. Lunch was a blast of flavors!
In the late afternoon, we continued the program at the traditional asparagus festival in Orehovlje. An interesting event enabled us to find new contacts and exchange knowledge. The participants took a very positive view of the good practice – asparagus cultivation and processing options. We returned home full of new ideas and with more drive for future work.
