1st Asparagus Crop

[smoker pete]

Smoker Pete..they take and springkle salt over the asparagus gardens here..it kills off the weeds but give the right nutrients to the asparagus. Do you do that too?  Pam .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.

I don't sprinkle anything on the asparagus Pam but then this is my first year of many that I'll be harvesting the asparagus.  I'm new to this.  My patch is small and easy enough to maintain without too much problem and our weather here in Northern/Central CA (about 70 miles East of San Francisco) rarely gets below freezing except for a cold night here or there.

Turned my back yard into a raised garden bed last Spring.  In the background you can see my smokers, SRG, and Camp Chef stove under our covered patio.  Allows me to smoke/cook year round 

[Keymaster]

we got enough  asparigus from our crop last year for one dinner and i think it was on its 3rd year. im gonna have my wife read this post as she is the gardener

[drholly]

Smoker Pete - Those are some good looking beds. Nice layout!

David

[RickHH]

Those photo bring back a lot of memories.  While in HS my friends and I worked twice a day during the spring on a  Asparagus farm.  We would get up at 5 am meet just as the sun was coming up and cut as many boxes as we could.  We all have our own knives that were shape like ---------<.  We always cut under the dirt a few inches so the dirt would close off the fresh cut.  We would come back at 4 after school and finish the field.  The next morning we started another field and follow the same routine.  I remember how we would return after a period of time to recut the first field again...However I cant remember the time frame....This was all done in the Yakima Valley in Washington State...I think most of those farms are all gone now because our Gov. made an agreement with Chile that if they would stop growing poppies we would import their Asparagus duty free.....Our farmers could not compete with the price so they had to switch to different crops....

[fishingbouchman]

Visited a a coworkers house in holland this year. They get like 5 lbs a week from their crop and didn't look much bigger than yours. If you dig them up before they break ground they are white.

[drholly]

A friend of mine from Wisconsin who sells asparagus at a local farmers' market told me how he "creates" white asparagus. The actual plant is the same as the regular green. For a long time, the farmers created hills to keep the asparagus spears buried as they grew - this protected them from sunlight and they did not turn green. The downside was the labor involved and trying to harvest below ground - many spears were damaged and harvesters were injured with the sharp knives. So, now the farmers use dark poly to protect the young spears from sunlight as they emerge from the soil. They can then be harvested above the soil and less are lost. It is still a labor and time intensive process and makes the white version much more expensive than the green.

Since my palette is not refined enough to make the difference significant, I just enjoy the green asparagus in every way possible!

Cheers,

David

[smoker pete]

Smoker Pete - Those are some good looking beds. Nice layout!
David

Thanks David.  Took 10 cubic yards of Planter's Mix soil to fill the beds.  The boxes in front of each bed are for the flowers SWMBO wanted and to attract bees 

I removed the sod, built the beds, installed an extensive drip irrigation system, filled the beds with the Planter's Mix and then we decided to take the RV for a 12,000 mile, 4 month trip across the country and into the Canadian Atlantic Provinces ... but as you can see from the first photo the garden didn't go to waste!  Our neighbors have 2 young boys and I asked them if they wanted to use my garden ... they did and they had a great crop and their boys learned valuable skills and lessons ... They're going to use my garden again while we visit Alaska for 5 months this summer   

[drholly]

Smoker Pete, I am glad to see your efforts were not wasted and the neighbors kept the garden in such great condition. I like the idea of mixing the flowers and veg - not only attracts the bees, but the eyes as well. My raised beds (2 for the past two years) are not nearly as ambitious, but you are inspiring me to expand the garden this year. I hope your trip is wonderful! Do you do any fishing in Alaska?

David

[smoker pete]

Do you do any fishing in Alaska?
David

Is the Pope Catholic?!!  Does a wild bear defaecate in the woods???    I've always been an avid fisherman David and here's a couple of pictures from our 2010 Alaskan trip.  A couple of small Halibuts out of Homer and a Silver Salmon from the Kenai River.  Plan on doing LOTS of fishing this summer ...





 

[drholly]

  You got me, Pete!

Great pics, thanks for posting them. Alaska is the only state I have not made it to and I really look forward to getting there some day. I am an avid fly fisherman - if at all possible I will chase fish on a fly. While I live in the land of walleyes and dragging worms through lakes - I still send a fly out for the 'eyes. I may not catch as many, but I have a blast!

I would enjoy meeting you one day and sharing some "fish stories". Have a great trip!

David