First Asparagus Harvest

Exactly this time two years ago, we posted our asparagus planting and first "victory."  We have been holding off on harvesting the asparagus until now,  and it was well worth the wait! The links below to the first two posts explain why we put off the harvest.  Now we are enjoying fresh asparagus straight out of the garden. Anna had never eaten asparagus raw before, but it is wonderful. This fresh, all you have to do is rinse the dirt off!
Check out the "before" picture from two years ago:  Asparagus Spears - April 30, 2009

And now...the sturdy, healthy product of 2011. Notice the beautiful purple tinge. Vince hypothesizes that some of them are short and compact because of the cold temperatures this spring.  

April 22, 2011

Here is the link to how we planted the asparagus beds:
First Asparagus Bed - March 31, 2009

Spring: flowers and frost

 This was the Halloween-like scene a night a few weeks ago...the fear of frost inspired the ghostly row cover wrapped around and stapled over the kiwi plants. We never got to see if it worked, though, the dreaded frost never came. And then, while so cold at night, this typical spring weather still brings the daffodils to spread their bright yellow cheer as if to substitute for that elusive sun during the day.

Greenhouse Construction

We started construction on a second permanent hoop house the past two weekends.  We called in the faithful family because help was needed- just to maneuver in the mud.  Ideally, this mud will not be an issue next spring and we will plant in here. And someday we may even be able to heat them. The cover is now on and withstanding the weather challenge this week: wind.