Asparugus and Shallots and Greens, Oh My!

April 15.  This is our first try at growing asparagus and we couldn't be more excited.  In a corner behind the compost I dug two deep trenches and then created a small mound of dirt inside each trench.  Then I placed the asparagus roots over the mounds and let them drape down into the trench.  We didn't have much space so I placed them a bit closer than what is recommended.  We'll see how that effects their growth.  After all the plants were in the trench I covered them completely with compost, but did not fill the entire trench.  A week later I was so happy to see the tiniest asparagus imaginable popping through the compost.  I then covered the plants again with  more compost.  Continually covering the sprouts for a few weeks is supposed to maximize productivity.  

We've also received our shallots in the mail and went right to planting; they can mold pretty fast.  So just like the asparagus I dug some trenches along the fence line of the garden about 3 inches deep and set in the shallots about 4 inches apart.  Some were big enough to split apart and plant, but most were pretty tiny so I planted them whole.  I then filled the trenches with compost and I'm now waiting for grass clippings to mulch the top.

We purchased the shallots and asparagus from Miller Nurseries
www.MillerNurseries.com                     

                          
Today's the day!!!  We harvested greens and made our first salad of the season!!!  It may sound silly, but it's just so satisfying to finally see the results from weeks of pampering and babying our seeds and seedlings.  So, here you see a bit of everything we first started: endive, sorrel, baby spinach, swiss chard, and lettuce topped with feta and a touch of olive oil.  We wouldn't want to mask the flavor of all those tasty greens, now would we?