I've been watering the asparagus seeds daily over the past month, and in the past week they've finally started breaking through! They're absolutely adorable - little tiny asparagus heads, thread thin, that shoot up and expand with tiny fronds. Unlike so many other seeds that have cotyledons (first leaves) that are different from the leaves they'll ultimately display, asparagus show what they are from the beginning.
Waiting 3-4 weeks for the seeds to sprout is a preview of what is to come, because it takes 3-4 years for an asparagus patch to begin producing in any quantity when started from seed. These seedlings will go to my housemate's property up in Ball Ground because I don't yet know if I'll be at the new location in Loganville long enough to justify investing in the long term. I invest in the soil everywhere I go, but I'm really sitting on my hands with regards to some of the things I'd like to do in this new space - the land is crying out for cattle and pigs to help get more organic matter into the soil, and it just doesn't make sense to put up fencing when I know there's a chance I could be moving on at the end of the year. Coronavirus makes everything uncertain, at least for the time being.
We'll be starting our own seedlings out at Wrecking Barn next week - direct seeding our seven core crops (the ones I'm hoping we can harvest 52 weeks per year), and the summer crops which will hopefully start producing towards the end of August. In an ideal world I would start my peppers, tomatoes and eggplant in February, but this year has proven to be far from ideal. I'm so glad I have solid farmer friends who can help support me and all of you through this transition by contributing food to the CSA.
