Asparagus and Spider Condos

I am so excited to harvest our three year old asparagus patch. For those that do not know; asparagus is planted in late fall / early winter with the first shoots appearing the next spring. Conventional wisdom says you should not harvest asparagus the first two springs to allow the crowns to get well established. I have been very patient with our asparagus patch the last two springs (okay, I ate one or two shoots) but this year, asparagus is on the menu. Our asparagus patch should produce every spring for the next 20 years or so. I plan on putting in two more beds this fall.

History lesson:

Asparagus is pictured in an ancient Egyptian stone carving from 3000 BC as an offering to the gods. The Romans would harvest it in the spring and carry it high into the alps to freeze it. They would keep it there until the feast of Epicurus. Asparagus is known to some as "sparrow-grass". It is a good companion plant for tomatoes. I am going to plant a tomato in the middle of my asparagus bed this year and see if they do well together. 

The peas I planted in early march are finally coming up. I am not having a good germination rate. I believe this is due to a very bad cold snap we had after I planted. I love peas, so I hope I get a good harvest this spring.

This plant is so hardy. I put a spade shovel in the middle of it early this spring and harvested about half of the roots. It doesn't care at all. Russian Comfrey belongs in everyone's garden. It is a dynamic accumulator, bringing hard to reach nutrients to the surface and into your compost. It can also be used as a shredded mulch or side dressing. 

I planted a few thousand white clover seeds a couple weeks ago. They are coming up all over an area where I killed the grass off. I hope they spread everywhere.

Seeking roommate, preferably a fly or other soft bodied insect to share a one bedroom condo with sunroof and large attached deck. Situated in a small community of early spring flowers. Praying mantis need not apply. 

Garden Update (pics from a couple weeks ago!)

Here is a photo of the garden from the roof,
hopefully this will give a better perspective of the yard.

The cosmos I started from seed began blooming a couple weeks ago.

Here's a look down the side fence.
In front is the asparagus Patrick planted... pretty big already,
then sunflowers, peas and peppers (random I know),
next patch is amaranth and hopefully some quinoa soon.
Down further under some straw are a few peanut plants
and way far at the end is the compost pile with comfrey and
now squash and okra planted around it.

Along the back fence are the sand cherries, including the one
I ran over with the lawnmower even though Patrick told me I should
stay many yards away from anything we wanted to keep alive...

Ok, this is pretty sweet... Patrick heard on a podcast
(The Self Sufficient Homestead) you could cut the bottom off of a
leek and replant. Here it is! So far all the ones that have been
replanted are doing great. Hope they taste as good!

I spent a lot of time working out what plants would go where
in the garden and in a few places did some random things... just to see.
While everything is doing very well there are some things that
are doing much better, for instance, this cabbage.
This is the most diverse box and has some of the best plants.
Next year I think I will experiment with some of my own companion planting.