Harvest Monday - May 8, 2017


This is my first Harvest Monday post of the year and it's over 2 weeks earlier than usual.  Why?   Because last week we picked our very first spears of asparagus:

First ever spears harvested by my son last week

So delicious!!

This moment was a long time coming.  I started the asparagus back in February 2015 from seed so the wait was a full year longer than had I grown them from crowns.  In the long run, however, growing from seed often results in stronger, healthier, more productive plants so I would say it's well worth it.

The transformation of the tiny, wispy asparagus seedlings transplanted 2 years ago to the large, thick spears harvested today is pretty incredible:

Asparagus seedlings - May 2015

Asparagus beds now

This year, pickings will still be limited to only the very thickest spears as I want most of the plants energy to go into continued development of the root system.  I'll be picking only 1 or 2 spears from each plant (there are 26 in total) and letting the rest fern up.

2nd harvest

In other news that is equally exciting, the nectarine that I planted 2 years ago is in full flower for the very first time:


The flowers are just lovely, even though they don't have much of a fragrance:


Of course, the most exciting bit about a flowering nectarine tree is the prospect of getting some fruit.  Whether or not this will happen is up in the air at the moment as we had a frost last night and there is another advisory for tonight.

Unfortunately, both the cherry and plum trees are also in full flower so their fruitfulness this season is also a big question mark.

The one advantage that I have with the nectarine tree is that it's still rather small - that being the case, I decided to wrap it in a double layer of Agribon yesterday:

Nectarine wrapped with double layer of Agribon held on with clips

The Agribon will be coming off tomorrow and hopefully it will have done its job protecting those blossoms.

My harvest total this week was:

Asparagus - 144 grams (0.32 lbs)

To see what everyone else has been harvesting over the past week, head on over to Our Happy Acres where Dave is our host for Harvest Mondays.

Comments

  1. Your asparagus is looking great. I planted roots in 2014 and they are still not producing very well. I've settled on the same strategy that you are using - pick the fat spears and let the thin ones grow and leaf out.

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    1. Thanks! I was only going to harvest 2 or 3 spears in total this year, but I decided that was being overly cautious...of course, the decision to harvest a few more came after we had our first taste :)

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  2. So happy for you! So much excitement. Hope it is all fruitful or vegetable-ful like that lovely asparagus. Yum-yum.

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    1. Thank you Jane :) The strawberry bed is being newly planted this year so any fruitfulness will be coming from the trees and berry canes - all the more reason to hope the frosts didn't do too much damage or we may end up fruit-less ;)

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  3. Those are amazing spears of asparagus! Good luck with your fruit trees.

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    1. Thanks Michelle - the whole frost/fruit tree issue seems to cause so much anxiety every single year.

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  4. Your nectarine tree looks very pretty. Hope you get some luscious fruit! Kathy

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    1. Thank you Kathy - waiting for those first fruits is such a test of our patience, isn't it?

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  5. The asparagus looks very strong, not a spindly one to be seen! We have a chance of frost tonight too. Maybe I should wrap the brand new peach tree.

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    1. Thanks Will - and YES, wrap it up! I'm actually thinking of sewing some sort of large Argibon envelope for my fruit trees as these frost scares seem to be an annual occurrence.

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  6. Several blogs have asparagus harvests. I should put it on my 'to grow' veggie list.
    Wishing you a wonderful nectarine harvest!
    Happy Gardening!

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    1. Thank you Lea! If you enjoy asparagus, I would definitely give it a go - the hardest bit is planting them and then, with just a little TLC, you reap the rewards for years to come.

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  7. It's great how well your asparagus is doing, and just think it was just a couple short years ago that you started form seed. I thought they were really easy to start from seed as well. Fingers crossed for the blossoms on your fruit trees.

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    1. Funny how sometimes time flies and crawls - all at the same time! Oh yes, my fingers are definitely crossed...and toes too :)

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  8. you know, I get just as excited seeing your asparagus as I do ours! I bet in a year or two you will be enjoying LOTS of those spears.

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    1. Oh, let's hope so! Not that I will come close to the pounds you bring in, but hey - one day I may start another bed or two ;)

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  9. Congrats on the asparagus. I'm excited having my first harvest from CATALOG bought starts. It must be doubly satisfying having done it all the way from seed. Amazing!
    Agribon---the best stuff on earth! Hope you slide through unscathed. I got struck hard last night...........
    :(

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    1. Oh no!! These dang frosts get us every time! I've been hardening off some annuals and forgot them outside last night - and then remembered at 4am and quickly brought them in. A few of the coleus look a bit fried but I'm hoping they recover.

      Ah Agribon - it's a lifesaver (literally!). Thankfully it wasn't windy and I was able to use it - I recall trying to do the same on the cherry tree a year or two ago and it was so windy, the resistance it created could have uprooted the tree!

      Plants are sometimes tougher than we think - I'm sending warm thoughts to your little plants and hopefully they will push through any damage they sustained.

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  10. Oh, yummy asparagus! I miss mine so much since we have moved! Always a worry with the fruit trees this time of year. Hope all yours do okay! Nancy

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    1. Thanks Nancy - there's another possible frost tonight so the cover is staying on another day :(

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  11. Impressive asparagus spears! That's usually one of the first veggies we get in our food co-op share, so I'm looking forward to it. Your nectarine tree is beautiful!

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    1. Thank you Beth :) It's wonderful to get such an early crop, especially when we are still a couple of weeks away from harvesting anything else.

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  12. The first harvests are always the most exciting, especially when they come from plants which were planted a long time ago and which will, hopefully, go on to provide more fruit and veg for years to come.

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    1. Very true - and unlike many fruits which are touch and go depending on how finicky the weather is, with a little care, asparagus will be a dependable producer year after year.

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  13. Nectarine flowers are lovely aren't they? Do you get peach leaf curl in your area? This is the reason that we grow our trees in the greenhouse.

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    1. Oh, they sure are lovely Sue - hopefully they'll still be there when we uncover the tree, which is now delayed until tomorrow as we have another frost warning tonight.

      I don't know anyone else with a nectarine/peach tree so I'm not sure if that disease is prevalent here. So far, I see no signs of it on our tree - but I do see possible signs of canker :( which I'll be pruning out once the tree finishes flowering.

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  14. Few vegetables more delicious than fresh-picked asparagus. The nectarine blossoms are beautiful.

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    1. They are lovely, aren't they - hopefully they are still there and undamaged by the frost when I uncover the tree this morning.

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  15. Your own asparagus patch! I am so envious. Bob and I babysat my uncle's farm once while they were on vacation, and asparagus grew "wild" in along the cedar rail snake fencing. I still remember the joy of the harvest, and it's making my mouth water right now. Enjoy!

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    1. Thanks Helen - it was worth the wait! Still some restraint at play, however, as I'm very tempted to harvest more than I should. "Wild" asparagus - what a delicious find that was!

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  16. Those asparagus look great! Planting asparagus is all about looking further in the future, wish I had the space for them!
    Your fruit trees look lovely! We had some frost last week but this week was more summer than spring really. The garden has exploded...

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    1. Thanks Lotte! Lucky you getting some nice weather. We had a couple of nice days, but they were a bit of a tease as the last few days have been cool, rainy and windy. I hope summer gets here soon!

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  17. I feel your excitement, growing asparagus from seeds and now harvesting, bet they are the tastiest asparagus! With 26 plants only harvesting 1 or 2 spears per plant will give you a few pounds especially since they are so fat. Hope your fruit trees are not affected by the frost.

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    1. I am surprised at how thick some of the spears are, especially as it's technically their 2nd year had I grown them from crowns. There are a few plants where the spears are not as thick or plentiful as the rest, so those I'll just leave alone this year.

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