ckatNM said: I think people put forth more energy, growing space, and time, into growing most fruit trees
Absolutely! I've found asparagus to be very easy-care, once established. The only 2 problems I've had are weeds (I initially started a bed in a new "expansion" section of the garden and it got impossibly overrun with grass and weeds, plus the soil just wasn't very good yet and didn't drain water the way it should, and became quite compacted; the other problem is asparagus beetles, which I watch for carefully in the spring. I solved the first problem by relocating my plants to a different area (they didn't all survive, but at least I wasn't starting completely from scratch again). For the beetles I immediately dust with a general garden pesticide if I see any, because they can become very plentiful in short order. And asparagus is one of the garden things -- like a fresh, ripe tomato -- that is immeasurably better when picked and eaten fresh rather than brought home from the grocery store. Yum!!
