Fenton Friday: Runaway Asparagus

As you can see in the above photo, I was away last week so the Asparagus spears have gotten a bit tall. I went ahead and cut them in hopes that the tops are tender enough to still eat for dinner tonight.

We had more rain this week and fierce winds. I took down the old, faded items from our bulletin board and next week I will laminate replacements as well as a new sign at our pollinator garden strip. The pathways are freshly chipped and the community garden is looking great overall!

We planted the white onion sets and weeded a bit. The radish, arugula, and spinach seeds have emerged -- and I finally saw a few peas emerging too. 

I still need to clear a space for planting the potatoes. I think I may do them in a grow bag, because everywhere I think to put the potatoes is a spot I have something else coming up (dahlias) or planned to go in (tomatoes, peppers, and okra).

What are you growing in your edible garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 13th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).

Fenton Friday: Asparagus Patch Revamped

@wdcgardener Our asparagus patch at the community garden plot was getting a bit wild and weedy, so we used the lasagna/layer method to revamp it. #gardendc #layermethod #weeding #lasagnamethod #asparagusbed #asparagus #layergarden #layergardening #lasagnagardening #lasagnagarden ♬ love ya - Shoffy

Our asparagus patch at the community garden plot was getting a bit wild and weedy, so we used the lasagna/layer method to revamp it. (See our TikTok video above.)

   The lasagna method (also known as the layer method) is a way to recover a section of your garden that has been overtaken by weeds. First, rip out and cut back as much as possible. Weed whack the rest of it down to the ground and let it lay there. That bottom green layer is a great amendment for the soil. Next, add a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard*. Wet it or weigh it down so it doesn't fly away. 

   The next layer is a thick covering of compost. That can be chopped-up leaves, wood chips, or any organic mulch. Finally, you can add an optional layer of straw (not hay!) on top.

   Note that we kept a few of the old asparagus plants still up and we will come back in a few weeks and plant new asparagus starts also.

   *And yes, we SHOULD have removed the tape off the cardboard boxes first. We were rushing in the rain to get this done - I'll dig the tape out once the cardboard starts breaking down in a few months.

   Elsewhere in the plot, we pulled a Daikon radish to check on its size - it is long, but still very thin and needs to bulk up a bit before harvesting. The lettuces and other crops are humming along with the potato plants growing several inches a day!

   The big surprise is the Arugula is already starting to bolt! We have it under a shade cloth and the weather has been seesawing from highs in the 50s/60s to the mid-80s. Now we are back into a cool and rainy stretch, bur I guess those high temps had already impacted the plants.

What are you growing in your edible garden this season?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 12th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).

Fenton Friday: Asparagus Debut

This past week was a wild one! Tornado warnings, deep freezes, and some brief periods of balmy sunshine.

I removed the cover cloths off all the seedlings yesterday and was pleased to see both the pea and carrot seedlings have surfaced! They join the radish and lettuces, which we thinned a bit. Not only that, several spears of asparagus have popped up. I had almost forgotten they were there!

We did a bit of weeding and also added seeds for dill, chamomile, and 'Bloomsdale' spinach. They are all old seed packs, so we sowed them very thickly. We'll see if anything even comes up of those, but I figured, "why not?

Are you back in your edible garden yet? If so, what are you growing?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 11th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Plant Profile: Asparagus

Nothing says, "SPRING!" like fresh asparagus. With no real work on my part, I am able to get a decent harvest of asparagus from my community garden plot. The only thing this perennial vegetable really requires is patience.

Having to hold off on harvesting for three years from the initial planting date was a real test of my will power, but the wait is worth it. They are so tender fresh from the garden that they only need a quick blanching to prepare them.

To plant them, buy asparagus crowns (roots) via mail-order or from your local garden center. Plant them in a trench about 6 to 12 inches deep and a foot wide in a sunny spot in your garden. Add in some organic compost when re-filling the hole and then keep the area well-mulched.

 Let the plants go through their growth cycle for two years without picking any so they gain strength and get well-established. In the third year, you can finally selectively harvest some spears by grasping them near the ground to bend them and they will naturally snap off at their weakest point.

At the beginning of May, stop harvesting and let the asparagus spears grow. They need the tall foliage and recovery time to send energy back down to the developing roots. You will need to tie-up the long asparagus fronds in the summer with a bungee cord or string as they like to flop over.

 In the fall, the plant forms little red seed pods or "berries," The asparagus seeds can be collected, dried, and planted the next spring. Towards the end of autumn, the foliage starts to turn brown --cut it back and compost it. Then mulch the bed with an organic material like straw.

I let strawberries encroach in my asparagus bed as their surface-runners don't really interfere much with the asparagus roots, but you really should keep it weeded and free of other interloping plants.

By the way, “white” asparagus is the same plant as the regular green one. It is just deprived of sunshine so it can’t produce chlorophyll and turn green. To grow white asparagus, bury the spears in mounds -- adding a few inches of soil a little at time, leaving the very tips showing. Harvest by digging them out and cutting off the top growth.

Asparagus - You Can Grow That!

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Fenton Friday: Asparagus Between the Weeds

This week we built a rabbit-proof cage for around our lettuce crop. (We'll share plans in an upcoming DIY post.)

The peas are popping up too and will soon need a rabbit-barrier in place as well.

The weeds are starting to get away from me as I spent the week running around the area to tour various gardens and to attend/give garden talks. Despite their incursion, the asparagus is still emerging and throwing up several deliciously edible spikes.

What is growing in your edible garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 7th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Asparagus Emerging

The last post I wrote about the community garden plot we maintain at the Fenton Street Community Garden was in November. At that point, we'd had an early killing freeze that ended the growing season abruptly.

It has been a long, cold winter and a slow rev-up to spring.

Over the last few weeks, the interns and I have been planting seeds or various cool season edibles including Spinach, Radish, Cilantro, Carrots, and Lettuce -- many of these seeds are already up and will need thinning soon.

I also planted a 6-pack of Cauliflower seedling plants today.

We put a cover cloth over everything today because the weekend forecast is calling for a snow flurry and one final freeze.

One sign that spring is actually here is that the Asparagus has surfaced and I'll soon be able to harvest a few early spears.

How is your vegetable garden growing this week?

About Fenton Friday: 

Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 6th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)

Asparagus: You Can Grow That!

Nothing says, "SPRING!" like fresh Asparagus. With no real work on my part, I was able to get a decent harvest of Asparagus this week from my community garden plot. The only thing this perennial vegetable really requires is patience.

Having to hold off on harvesting for three years from the initial planting date was a real test of my will power, but the wait is worth it. They are so tender fresh from the garden that I do not bother to cook them in any way, I just snack on them raw.

To plant them, buy Asparagus crowns via mail-order or in bags from your local garden center. Plant them in a trench about 6-12-inches deep and a foot wide in a sunny spot in your garden. Add in some organic compost when re-filling the hole and then keep the area well-mulched.

Asparagus baby in trench

I let strawberries encroach in my Asparagus bed as their surface-runners don't really interfere much with the Asparagus roots, but you really should keep it weeded and free of interloping plants.


Other than that, the only other thing I do is tie-up the long Asparagus fronds in the summer and fall with a bungee cord as they like to flop over into the pathways. These get cut back and composted at the end of the growing season.

Asparagus spears in strawberry patch

If I had to do it all over again, I definitely would have started off the first year in my garden plot with Asparagus, instead of waiting for year two. I also would have planted much more of it. I started with only three rootlets and I am harvesting a decent amount, but I am greedy for more, more, more!

All who are involved with You Can Grow That! (YCGT!) believe that plants and gardening enhance our quality of life. We want people to be successful with what they grow and to become more aware of the many gifts that horticulture brings. Find out more at http://www.youcangrowthat.com/.

Fenton Friday: Asparagus Berries

I spent the last week in Pasadena, CA, with the Garden Writers Association at the annual symposium. It was hot and sunny (one day reach 100-degrees!), so my photos aren't ideal and their drought plus Mediterranean climate did not give me much material for relating back to my Mid-Atlantic readers. Overall though, it was a wonderful time and I was introduced to  new-to-me garden edibles -- like California native grapes and Manzanita berry tea.
  
I left in blazing summer and came home to autumn. There is a definite nip in the air now. At my garden plot, the Cherry Tomatoes and Okra are still pumping out their produce.

Meanwhile, my Asparagus (pictured here) are setting seed. The little red seed pods or "berries" look just like the tiny Currant Tomatoes I have growing next to them. The Asparagus seedpods are not toxic, but they are not exactly palatable. Note to self, do not do that next year! I do not think I would every bother culling, drying, and collecting Asparagus seeds, but I read up a bit on it and it seems easy enough to do if one wants to try it.

How is your edible garden growing this week?

About Fenton Friday:
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 4th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) 

Fenton Friday: Seedlings Up!

Arugula seedlings

This week at my community garden plot we had several days of rain and wind, so it was hard to get over and do too much. We are still awaiting our compost and mulch delivery so we can re-do our common pathways and add leaf compost to the raised beds, so I'm keeping the straw cover in place for now.

Most of the seeds I planted last week are now up including arugula and radish. I'm also seeing a hint of the carrots.

The pea seedlings are coming along nicely and are starting to form tendrils and reach out for their supports.

I was able to harvest another couple handfuls of asparagus spears as well.

Pea seedlings

Surprisingly, the kale from last fall has started to bolt (set flower). It has not been that warm or sunny, so I'm not sure what sparked that off.

I hope to get over this coming week and start thinning out the seedlings and maybe seed some annual flowers in also.

What is growing in YOUR edible garden now?

Bolted kale

Asparagus spears in strawberry patch

About Fenton Friday:
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 4th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)

Fenton Friday: April Asparagus

Rejoice! I was able to get a real harvest Asparagus this week for the first time from my community garden plot! Having to three years from the initial planting date was a real test of my patience, but the wait is worth it. They are so tender fresh from the garden that I do not bother to cook them in any way, I just snack on them raw.

If I had to do it all over again, I definitely would have started off the first year in the plot with asparagus, instead of waiting for year two. I also would have planted much more of it. I started with only three rootlets and I am harvesting a decent amount, but I am greedy for this wonderful vegetable and I want more!

What are you growing in your edible garden? Any early harvests?

About Fenton Friday:
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 4th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)