It’s April, and that usually means it’s asparagus time here in our part of the world. Last year things were running super early and we got our first taste of asparagus in March, but this year our first harvest was on 4/10, which is much more typical. In my spare time I am now reading Ruth Stout’s classic Gardening Without Work, and chapter two is titled “Asparagus is the Easiest Vegetable To Grow”. I can’t disagree with that one bit! With a little effort, you can have a perennial vegetable that can easily live for 50 years.
first asparagus spears of 2013
Asparagus isn’t the only game in town though, with the overwintered spinach giving us some nice leaves for salads and pizza. Most of that in the below photo is the Giant Winter variety, with a little Viroflay as well. Viroflay has the reputation of making big leaves, but I have to say in our garden it isn’t any bigger than Giant Winter, which remains my favorite spinach for fall planting.
overwintered spinach harvest
Some of that spinach wound up in a lunch salad creation, along with some grapes, feta cheese, walnuts, homemade croutons and a raspberry balsamic dressing. I love spinach salads!
spinach salad with grapes and feta
Other harvests here included some green garlic that went into a chicken dish my wife fixed last week. I planted a little bit of garlic in a bed for harvesting early as green garlic. Green garlic is a nice treat for early spring, with a mild but garlicky flavor. You can read more about growing it here. All parts of the garlic are tasty and edible.
fresh green garlic
We’re enjoying the last of the overwintered lettuce from the greenhouse while waiting for the spring planted crop to size up. In the below photo we have Canary Tongue, Double Density and Simpson Elite (from left to right). They starred in several salads, including as a base for chalupas we had for dinner last night.
overwintered lettuce from the greenhouse
Of course, once the asparagus starts popping out of the ground, it keeps on coming up and giving you more to harvest, usually on a daily basis. It kept on popping up after that first harvest, and our little patch (about 75 row feet long) should keep on supplying us with asparagus until Memorial Day. The spears in the below photo went into a frittata yesterday for lunch.
more asparagus
Though it’s not edible, asparagus wasn’t the only thing popping out of the ground last week. Our variegated hosta was shooting up as well. That is another sign that spring has finally arrived here, and I for one am ready for it!
variegated hosta shoots
I hope you enjoyed a peek at what we are harvesting here in April. To see what other gardeners from all over are harvesting from their gardens, visit Daphne’s Dandelions, where Daphne hosts the Harvest Monday series.
I sowed my garlic last weekend and put in quite a few little cloves that I intend to pull green. I’m looking forward to it already.
I only recently ‘discovered’ green garlic, but it was very easy to like!
Beautiful asparagus spears. I am hoping to begin harvesting garlic green this week. Glad to see the deer stay away from your hosta.
Norma, the deer will eat those hosta soon if I don’t get some repellent spray on them!
Those are really beautiful spears of asparagus. You must have a very good (well established) patch! I love the spinach and lettuces too. I am afraid I may have missed my window for spring planted spinach this year. I am late getting it in and unless it grows fast and furious it will probably bolt just about the time it is getting sized up due to the increasing day length triggering it to go to seed. Oh well, I will try anyways as I love spinach.
I got my spring planted spinach in late, so it may bolt quickly too. But I had the seed and it was worth a shot. The asparagus patch is well-established, it was planted in 2007 and 2008.
I harvested my first green garlic this week also. It’s such a treat to have green garlic again. A 75 foot row of asparagus sounds like a lot to me, but I’ve never grown aspargus. How much do you expect to harvest from that space? That spinach salad looks delicious!
Last year it produced 30 pounds of asparagus, untrimmed. I don’t think it has hit it’s peak yet.
30 pounds? Even my hubby would be sick of eating it after that much! Green garlic…mmmm… All mine withered away this year. Go figure. Planting society garlic instead.
I’m not sure I could ever get sick of asparagus! We eat it like crazy for two months, then don’t have it again until the next year.
I love green garlic. I allow one garlic to multiply one year and it has provided me with bunches of green garlic each year. Your lettuce and spinach look lovely, but the queen of your harvest is the asparagus! So beautiful!
I agree – the asparagus is tops in my book!
What a great looking spring harvest. It is so nice to see people eating in season, and eating locally. Can’t beat food that is as local as your own yard!
Thanks Lou!
Awesome asparagus! I just planted mine about a month ago and it is barely peaking through. I hope I didn’t lose any to the super cold weather or packaging conditions. Yours look great!
Those asparagus roots are pretty tough, and I doubt the cold would affect them. I bet they will be just fine!
Beautiful asparagus. I hope I get some this spring. Oh and BTW hosta shoots are edible. Or so I’ve been told. I’ve never tried it.
I had no idea people ate hostas! Deer yes, people no.