It all started in Scharrachbergheim!
It was Pastor Heyler, born in the village in 1831, who introduced it to Alsace: in 1869, when he left his ministry in Phillipeville (now Skikda) in Algeria, he brought back some plants and installed them in the vegetable garden of its new presbytery in Hoerdt, at the north of Strasbourg. The trial being successful, he convinced a few farmers to grow them on a larger scale. Today some 2000 tonnes are produced each spring from North to South Alsace. To each his own preference: some will appreciate the bitterness of those produced in the land of Hoerdt, others will prefer the sweetness of those produced in our region. White asparagus represents 98% of the volume but green is gaining more and more followers. You will find the closest field at the exit of the village and from mid-April to mid-May you can buy them fresh from the ground, directly from the producers !
