Ahhhhsparagus

Pray how does your asparagus perform?
-- John Adams, in a letter to his wife Abigail

Yes, the first asparagus spears showed up this week. Always cause for celebration in these parts. Typically the first bounty of the spring garden and there's no comparing it to the supermarket variety that is usually so stringy after its extended travels that it might double as dental floss. This bed is about four years old and seems to be doing quite well so long as I keep the neighboring strawberries at bay.


As promised, here's a shot of one of the two fledgling potato towers. Following the link will take you to the details, but essentially one adds boards and soil or mulch as the potatoes grow, compelling the plant to continue to produce potatoes along its height. I've heard it can be done with old tires as well, but I prefer to keep the petroleum products on the road and out of our food.


A pepper update. The peppers, egg plants and tomatoes are still inside under the lights. Peppers are doing very well. I had some curling of the top leaves and what I would describe as a red rash (still visible on some of the leaves in the photo) before they were transplanted, which was probably due to a trace mineral deficiency, but once they were transplanted to the larger pots, they rebounded and seem to be flourishing. Depending on nighttime temperatures, I'll probably start transitioning them to the coldframe outside in the next week or so.


And here's a shot of one of the four gardens. This was the first and is a brick terrace with two levels. In the front from left to right are onions, garlic, the asparagus bed, and the strawberries. In the background there is a mixture of early spring plants such as radishes, spinach, lettuces, swiss chard, broccoli, parsley, and kohlrabi (which I seem to have a hard time growing successfully).


We spent six hours today putting in a victory/family garden at my in-laws. That is where all the things go that require more space than I have here. The highlight, if successful, will be the half acre of sweet corn (Bantam and a peaches and cream variety). We also put in beets, peas, beans, onion sets, carrots, squash and zucchini. Pumpkins will go in soon, as will the tomatoes and peppers. The battle there will be keeping the rabbits, deer and raccoons away from the salad bar.

Happy Mother's Day.