The Asparagus Lesson

Most of what one needs to know to grow the luscious, luxurious spears of Asparagus in Texas can be found here. I agree with nearly everything except the use of chemical fertilizers and the advice to contact your county agent about insects and diseases since that person will probably recommend some chemical pesticide. We organic hippie-types believe that healthy vegetables are resistant to insects and diseases.

Growing Asparagus in West Texas (or anywhere else, really) is not easy (especially initially) for several reasons.

First, as you will notice from the site I gave you and the pictures that I graciously provided that one has to do a lot of digging. Do it now, because the older one gets, the more challenging it is to dig the trenches and descend into their depths to plant the crowns. It is, however, excellent exercise.

Second, one needs to properly amend the soil. I used my trusty cement mixer to add compost, Texas Greensand, a few handfuls of bone meal, and some blood meal (some sweat got in there as well). Expend the time and trouble because those plants will be around for the next fifteen to twenty years (unless you fail them in some way…more about that later).

Third, it apparently likes soil that is a little more acid than my alkaline soil and water. I deduced that from the chlorosis (yellowing of the fern-like leaves) that characterized my first planting. So, I work pretty hard (you’ll just have to trust me here) to increase acidity using cottonseed meal and adding Texas Greensand every other year or so. I also inoculate the roots with mychorrizae. We’ve had pretty good results at Charamon Garden but we have also learned some hard lessons.

Fourth: Asparagus likes frequent, deep watering. Our area is semi-arid so having a reliable source of water is crucial because, friends, it don’t rain much here. And here is where I failed last year. Part of the bed didn’t get enough water and the Asparagus, predictably, bit the dust…literally. I had to dig a new trench (short furrow in the picture) and replant.

Fifth: Asparagus requires an investment in time. If you are planning on moving frequently, don’t bother because it takes three years before the first harvest. So, for my new plantings, another three years to full harvesting capacity. I guess I deserve it.

Sixth: Our winters here tend to be on the mild side, but Asparagus likes them cold. My plants don’t die back naturally until winter is nearly over. So, they must be snipped off at ground level by the end of November. This allows one to begin adding compost and other amendments to insure health by March when new sprouts make their appearance.

Seventh: Bermuda grass is the enemy. Don’t let it get into your Asparagus! After it does, it is nearly impossible to control. It stealthily weaves its despicable and evil rhizomes and tendrils through the Asparagus and slooowly begins to CHOKE it! Aauugh! I know because it has tried to infest and possess my Asparagus bed. But I shall PREVAIL by dutifully pulling and digging out all of this foul demon contagion I can during the winter. Be vigilant my friends…be vigilant.

We savor tender, flavorful, fresh Asparagus sufficiently to suffer. The long trench in the picture is to fill the bed which the first planting didn’t quite accomplish. We may be gluttons for punishment, but we are also gluttons for Asparagus.

In the meantime, eat your veggies…Nonnie and Pop said so!

(top photo: Asparagus in the garden at Dirtpatch)

Berry, Berry Good!

For those of you who hang on every word I write and can’t wait for the next installment, let me relieve the anticipation.  I’m announcing that the berries have arrived and found their place in the soil of Charamon garden.  I would insert a picture but there’s nothing to see.  The Raspberries consist of six sticks protruding from the ground.  The blackberries are six tiny plants lost in the background and the strawberries are basically invisible.

I will say that in each planting I coated the roots with mychorrizae and amended the soil with Texas Greensand, Bonemeal, Bloodmeal (in some cases) and Cottonseed meal (in some cases) and used my hard-won charcoal (biochar) until it ran out.  Now we wait to see what happens.

What I am expecting is lots and lots of berries.  Some we will eat, some I will sell.  In the meantime, eat your veggies…Nonnie and Pop said so!  The reality, however, is that my granddaughter refuses to eat peas no matter what Nonnie and Pop say.

The Berries are Coming!

Digging the Holes

Charamon Garden constantly evolves.  I give natural selection an assist by saving the seeds of several vegetables from plants which seem to do well (productive, tasty, nutritious) and, I am assured, become better adapted to our West Texas conditions with each generation.

The Amendments

Take my tomatoes (a neighbor actually took that too seriously while we were absent).  I have lost track of the original strain now and I try to add more genetic diversity each year.  To my mixed-up heirlooms, I am adding genetic material from a Russian variety called Black Krim this summer.  We will enjoy those delicious Russians and save the seed from those and the original strain which “do well.”  By the time I pass on, I hope to pass on a delectable tomato that grows especially well in our little corner of the world.

Mixing the Soil

Charamon garden also changes in composition.  This year I am adding berries.  Any day now I am expecting a shipment of Blackberries (especially suited for the South), Raspberries and Strawberries.  In regard to the former, once planted they are supposed to last for fifteen years or more.

My response to that longevity is to make sure their soil is the best it can be.  Given my native soil, that’s quite a challenge!  That means I have to make certain amendments.  So, in preparation for the new arrivals I have dug seven holes spaced about three feet (0.91 meters) apart.  The dirt from each hole goes into the cement mixer.  To that I add Texas Greensand, bone meal, blood meal, charcoal and composted manure.  As it mixes, I try to break up all the clods before dumping the improved earth beside the hole.

When the plants arrive, I will sprinkle mychorrizae around the roots and fill in the holes.  I hope it makes them very happy and productive.

I told my wife I thought this post needed a little sex-appeal and asked her to take a picture of me to add to this blog.  When she finally quit laughing she obliged me while gently advising me not to expect too much.  So, please feel free to comment, but hold the offers of marriage…I’m very happily wedded to my high school sweetheart.

In the meantime, eat your veggies (and berries).  Nonnie and Pop said so.

Doctoring the Orchard

Holes ready for charcoal and mychorrizae

Auger and cordless drill

Mychorrizae tablet

Well-seasoned charcoal

Loading the hole

Some orchard!  Only three fruit trees: one Peach and two Plums!  I also have two fig trees but they are not in the “orchard.”

The peach has done all right but the two plums have produced only a few fruit and all of them fell off before ripening.  I think the trouble lies in the soil.  Both plums and nearby roses have exhibited signs of severe chlorosis (yellow leaves).

From all indications, the soil around these suffering trees must be highly alkaline and have difficulty absorbing iron.

Adding Texas Greensand helped a bit but more obviously needs to be done.  So I have inoculated the soil around the drip lines with mychorrizae and included a dose of charcoal in each hole.

Then I gave the whole area a dusting of sulfur to acidize the soil.

Now we wait.  It would be helpful if we could have a few inches of a slow rain.  We haven’t had any precip since October!  I am thankful for my faithful water well which keeps everything alive.

Yes…now we wait!

In the meantime, eat your veggies…Nonnie and Pop said so.

Hairy Vetch and Other Stuff

My usual exercise (when I’m home) consists of getting out in the Charamon Garden and hoeing, lifting, digging, grinding, sifting compost, pulling weeds, etc. Yesterday it was preparing the tomato bed for planting in the next few weeks.

All winter the bed has been growing a cover crop consisting of hairy vetch and assorted winter grasses and a few other weeds. The vetch was the only intentional crop but the winter grass and weeds are inevitable. They grow together in happy confusion/profusion completely unaware that their days are numbered.

I cut them off at ground level (plus an inch or two to get the roots of the winter grass)

One Potato, Two Potato….

For the first time in 9 years of living at Charamon, we have decided to grow potatoes. We had, like most folks, been buying potatoes from the supermarket. Then I read The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan and will never knowingly eat another non-organic potato. Yes, organic potatoes are available in our town but your have to buy them. And, since we are Irish and Scots-Irish, the Irish genes want potatoes but the Scottish genes are reluctant to pay for them.

So, we have dedicated one of the long beds to potatoes this year. First, Tim (my oldest son) cleared the bed of the winter grass and weeds and did his best to pull out the dormant Bermudagrass roots. We know we didn’t get them all, but we’ll deal with the remnants when they begin growing. Then, we covered the entire bed with cottonseed meal topped-off with about six inches of compost. My job was to sift the compost out of a large pile of tree trimmings that has been sitting so long that much of it has decomposed into beautiful humus. I use a hardware cloth screen over a wheelbarrow (see picture). The good stuff falls in the wheelbarrow and the “unsiftables” go into another pile to be ground up later.

When the bed was ready, we began the first of several successive plantings. We made furrows through the compost down to the topsoil. We sprinkled mychorrizal inoculant in the bottom of the furrow and covered it with a thin layer of compost. Then we placed the potato pieces about 12 inches apart and covered them with more compost. We will fill in more compost as the sprouts grow.

We finished the planting by dinner-time and were blessed by a humongous rainstorm this evening that “watered in” the seed potatoes.

We planted what the feed-store guy called “plain, white potatoes.” However, we want to try several varieties to find the one that grows and tastes the best. We’ll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, eat your veggies! Nonnie and Pop said so.

Tomato Seedlings

It is February and, if you live in my zone, you need to start your tomatoes immediately. Last year I was overseas and had to settle for store-bought seedlings. They produced well, but we’ve been spoiled by our soft-skinned, wonderfully-flavored third-generation heirlooms. As you can see, the seedlings are looking very good indeed.

In a couple of weeks, I will transplant these into larger containers where they will grow until I set them in the tomato bed. That bed is, at this moment, filled with a cover crop consisting of a mixture of weeds and Hairy Vetch (a legume which enhances the soil’s nitrogen content). When I get ready to set my tomato plants in, I will cut the cover crop off at ground level, leave the tops on the bed and plant my seedlings through them. Then I will cover every thing but the seedlings with a couple of inches of mulch

One secret to healthy tomato seedlings such as these is mycorrhizae which you can read more about here. Mycorrhizal preparations can be purchased from any good organic supplier. It usually comes in the form of granules which can be sprinkled on the roots of transplants. They work in a symbiotic relationship with most plants except the brassica and eucalyptus families.

This year I filled my trays about two-thirds full and then sprinkled the mycorrhizae over the surface of the soil. Then I topped them up and put the seeds in. As the seeds germinate and the roots grow down they will be colonized by the mycorrhizae.

I’ll get back to basic garden preparation in the next post. In the meantime, eat your veggies! Nonnie and Pop said so.