With the weather so spring-like and perfect yesterday and today, Diane,
Julie and the staff have been busy digging up the entry garden in front of
the house, in preparation for an exciting  new showcase garden. More
details and pictures to follow soon.

 

Chris noticed this beautiful monarch caterpillar on one of the nursery's
milkweed plants yesterday morning. (photo: Julie Blake)
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Need inspiration for your container gardens? Take a look at 'Succulent
Container Gardens' by Debra Lee Baldwin, featured in a recent issue
of The Los Angeles Times: succulents
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Tip from Diane for the week:  Help the birds build their nests. Next

time you clean the lint away from your dryer - put it in the branches of a
nearby tree. The birds will be sure to find it, and incorporate it into their
springtime nests.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/arcticpuppy/2377569898/ 

 

                      How to Grow Asparagus for your Family
                                  by Chris Winslow

One very important vegetable to consider for your garden this year is
asparagus. It has a delicious flavor when served with melted butter, is
very good for your health, and will be productive for 15 years or more.

Establishing an asparagus row in your garden is fairly easy. Since it
takes 2 to 3 years to mature from seed to edible size, you can save a

lot of time  by planting ‘crowns’ that are already 2 years old. (We currently

can offer customers crowns for $1 each.) 
 
Locate your plants in a well-drained, sunny spot. Since they are perennials,
usually a sunny location along a fence line or along an edge of the garden
is best. This way they can be left alone when you dig up your vegetable
patch between seasons.

 

The asparagus row itself should be tilled or plowed to a depth of 12
inches. You should blend adequate organic matter, such as compost and
fertilizer, with the garden soil. Fortunately, asparagus thrives in our
alkaline soil.

Make a deep trench one foot deep down the middle of the row and plant
the asparagus crowns at 12 to 18 inch intervals, spreading the side roots
out along the trench.

Cover the crowns with 2 to 3 inches of soil. Firm around the roots and
water in. As the first season progresses, add soil to the trench until it is
full by fall.

With the asparagus crowns as deep as 12 inches, the surface of the bed
can be cultivated and lightly tilled to control weeds without hurting the
crowns.

The shoots grow to a height of 2 to 4 feet. They then open into feathery
foliage which has small greenish-white flowers.

The spears are usually harvested in the spring at a height of 4 to 6 inches.
As harvesting continues, the spears will become more thin and wispy.

When they become smaller than the diameter of a pencil, harvesting should
stop. This will enable the shoots to grow into feathery branches that will
supply renewed energy to the roots.

In the fall, after the first frost has browned the foliage, the stems should be
cut back to ground level.

You should then heap generous amounts of organic fertilizer upon the
asparagus row or bed. The rains of winter will carry the fertilizer to the roots
which will grow and produce edible sized “spears” in the spring.
                                   Happy gardening everyone!