Washington Evening Journal
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Susan and the growing asparagus stalk
Jul. 30, 2019 11:29 am
By Gretchen Teske, GTNS News
Instead of Jack and the beanstalk, Washington has their own version of the beloved fairy tale: Susan and the asparagus stalk. Susan Mast, of Washington, has an asparagus so tall, 11 feet, 7.7 inches at its last measurement, she has decided to submit it to the Guinness Book of World Records.
The whole thing started by accident, she said. Mast moved into her house last October and this May, discovered wild asparagus growing in the yard. Being a fan of asparagus, she was excited to have some to pick fresh for meals.
However, the asparagus in her yard soon began to grow faster than she could pick it. On May 16, she picked everything she could except for one piece that was only four inches tall. The next day, she was back in her yard and found that same stalk was up to her knee.
When it first started growing, it was averaging five to eight inches of height everyday. She continued to pick other asparagus around it but decided to let this one grow, just for fun.
'We just, as a joke, thought ,‘I wonder how tall it'll get.' So we let it grow,” she said.
Mast and her boyfriend looked up the tallest piece of asparagus in the Guinness Book of World Records and found it was recorded in 2004 by a Canadian couple with a piece 138.5 inches tall, 11 feet, 6.5 inches. They decided since theirs was already growing, they would see if they could beat it.
As the asparagus continued to grow, they soon discovered they would need to add braces to make sure it stood upright. They purchased some and had to continue to add them weekly as the plant, they then nicknamed the asparagus tree, grew. Now, the plant has grown to be taller than the rim on a regulation basketball hoop which stands at 10 feet tall.
As well as growing taller, the plant grew branches and pods, which will fall off and plant themselves in the fall. Now that the plant is so tall, there is no way it can be eaten, because asparagus can only be consumed during a specific growing period.
They considered taking it to the state fair, but had no way to transport it or a plan with what to do with it once it got there. Instead, they are on week nine of a 12-week wait to hear back from the Guinness Book of World Records.
As of the first week of July, Mast's plant was 139.7 inches, or 11 feet 7.7 inches, more than an inch taller than the current world record-holder. She has yet to measure it since, but continues to water it daily and add braces to the plant to help keep it upright in hopes of getting her name and her beloved asparagus tree in the book.
'We really have just kept it going because it's a novelty and our friends make fun of us, and so they should,” she said with a laugh.