Spring Greens

Asparagus Anyone?

Spring season means it's greens season -- and you will find no shortage of the good stuff popping to the surface right now in the Bird Back 40. Proof is offered to your immediate right. These are three of the fattest asparagus spears to ever sprout from a 4X4 raised bed that the wife that is Venus and I filled with asparagus crowns three years ago.

The bed produced a few tasty spears last year and then was quickly overtaken by weeds and forgotten up until two weeks ago, when I decided to clear a path through the weed jungle that had taken over a side yard to see what a season of neglect had wrought.

Now emerging: Tonight's Dinner!

Not to worry. The asparagus bed not only survived my neglectful ways, it also managed to recover from the Ultimate Digging Machine's (aka Bandi) attempt to dig a hole to China. Heck, I hadn't even fertilized the bed for a good six months! But as I began to chop and clear away at the neglect, one thing became abundantly clear: I may have neglected the asparagus bed. But it's not going to neglect us.

There's a bumper crop of fat and tasty spears from a myriad of varieties that we've planted through the years. Not all asparagus crowns survive the planting process, which is not a problem. If there's a bare spot there? Cram in some new crowns! Something will eventually take. We have the crops to prove it.

Purple Asparagus

Of course, not every part of the patch is throwing up fat and tender spears. There's still a few crowns that could benefit from a few more years of growth. The spears that are emerging from these root systems aren't all that fat and probably won't be very tasty. But that's OK! Because next year? Next year they just might catch on and then we'll have a bed in full production.

But there's far more popping to the surface in our raised gardening adventures than just tasty asparagus spears. Venus littered one of the 4X8 raised beds with a multitude of seeds just three short weeks ago. She still hasn't lost her touch. What was once bare earth is now flowering with green.

Spinach-Lettuce-Radishes

You'll find more than one variety of spinach in this bed. Yeah, you'll also find a French Breakfast radish or two. Standard Cherry Bell radishes more your speed? Easter Egg radishes? That and more is now ready for harvest. No need to pull up an entire plant for a spinach salad. Venus just clips the best and leaves the rest, and let me tell you something: home grown spinach is one tasty treat.

Guess what happens when you mix spinach with asparagus? It's called DINNER! It's finally that time of year when the spring gardens start providing the things we'd been forced to grudgingly purchase at the nearby grocery store. Nothing against the store mind you, but it's much easier to just go outside and pick what you need.

More Peas Please!

Not quite in production yet, but getting there? That would be the 2013 pea crop. Once again, a tip of the proverbial gardening hat to the wife that is Venus. Once again she has worked magic with nothing more than a bag of seed. She littered another raised main bed with pea seeds last fall. I've come to discover that the month of October is the perfect time for planting pea seeds.

The plants don't look like much when they first emerge and grow very little, if at all, through the frosty cold winter months. But what you can't see in these photos is the root development. Peas may not grow much above ground during the winter, but the root system gets quite extensive.

Flowering pea vines

And when spring hits? The party is on! These vines are now approaching five feet in height and will probably grow above the stakes that are currently holding the crop up. I'm happy to report that the colony of bees on the other side of the yard recently discovered this crop and are currently pollinating it like mad. That means peas. Lots and lots of peas and very soon now I might add.

Will asparagus season hold out for the pea crop? I think so. Three to four weeks of asparagus production isn't all that uncommon. By then? Those vines will be thick with fat pea pods.

Peas, asparagus, spinach, radishes and more. Sounds like spring greens season is on.

The Greens of Spring

Bowl of Home Grown Color

...And so it begins. My favorite garden season followed by my most treasured garden season. Spring and summer are a delight for gardeners like myself. These seasons bring a bounty of delectable, mouthwatering, homegrown produce like what you see pictured to your right.

Every last morsel in that bright yellow bowl came straight from the raised beds in the Bird Back 40. It hasn't been amended with anything purchased at a Farmer's Market, or our nearby Safeway or Raleys/Bel-Air. Not that I'm a critic of our local produce suppliers. It's just that -- well -- when's the last time you purchased a purple radish the size of a golf ball or larger at your local store?

Selection of Radishes and Asparagus Spears

I'm fortunate in that the wife that is Venus can grow one mean and mighty radish. She can turn an ordinary French Breakfast radish into a French Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. One might think a radish this size would have the fine taste of wood. Nope....

This is prime fresh greens season in the Bird Back 40 -- though if this blast of heat keeps up it will probably end as quickly as it started. Lettuce tends to bolt -- and quickly -- when our famous Sacramento furnace heats up. So -- enjoy it while you can because the season will be gone before you know it.

2012 Lettuce Crop-Bird Back 40

We're fortunate this year in that the starter plants were delivered to use courtesy of the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. These starters were unlike anything I've seen before or since and have grown rapidly since Venus set them into the ground a little over a month ago. They have grown to the point where we can enjoy fresh greens and radishes nearly every night of the week.

The only thing that's missing? Why! Fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes of course!

Of all the varieties that we have growing in the Bird Back 40 this year -- I suppose I'm partial to the red leaf. It's unlike any red leaf lettuce I've ever seen before. Most lettuce varieties that are billed as "red leaf" have a touch of green in them -- usually at the base of each leaf. But not this variety. It's a straight, dark, wine-red, glossy color from start to finish.

Developing Head of Lettuce

I'm not sure if I'm sold on the look or taste, but both are darn good.

Home grown lettuce is unlike anything you're going to find in local stores. It's not packed with water like the standard, iceberg lettuce heads (my favorite for taco salad dishes). It's a little more dense. It's a little more dry. And it's a lot more tasty. You didn't think lettuce had a taste? Try home-grown lettuce. It's incredible.

I suppose the same is true with the radishes that are now spring from the soil with abundance. That round, red globe in the market produce section does indeed look like a radish. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the kind of snap-to-attention taste that a purple, pink or yellow Easter Egg radish has.

Venus' Used and Abused Salad Spinner

I suppose what I'm trying to tell you here is that this isn't just a salad. You can find an ordinary salad just about anywhere. Nope, this is better described as an experience. And our spring experience is just getting started, provided the blast-furnace of summer doesn't snap on a little too early.

It's spring. Time for a salad or two.

Count Your Blessings...

One of my favorite movies to watch during the holidays would have to be "White Christmas," starring the incomparable Bing Crosby. But it's not just Bing. It just might be the all-star cast with him -- including Rosemary Clooney -- Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen.

Perhaps it's the music of Irving Berlin? Perhaps it's the reminder of my mother and father who were straight out of the World War II generation (also known as the Greatest Generation)? I'm not sure. But -- as I was walking through the garden tonight -- the song "Count Your Blessings" suddenly started to filter through my head.

That's when it hit me. I'm tired of complaining about the weather. Tired of complaining about the rain. Tired of this not happening -- or that. Really -- to be honest? It's totally out of my control. I can bitch -- moan and whine till the cows come tromping home -- and it's not going to make a teensy bit of difference.

Finally -- I began to focus on the positives that this extra long shot of winter and mild spring weather have given us. The artichoke harvest for one? It continues into Infinity and Beyond to use a later movie term. I've never quite experienced an artichoke season quite like this. And as long as the weather remains cool? The artichoke garden will continue to produce babies like this.

Venus harvested these a good month ago. They were the first of DOZENS of artichokes that have been harvested since. I'll be honest. I haven't come to the point yet where I've said "ENOUGH WITH THE CHOKES!" But I'm getting close now -- so if you happen to find some artichokes at your front door tomorrow morning on the way out for work -- you've just been the target of a "drive-by artichoke dropoff."

During most years? The artichokes produce until temperatures climb into the consistent eighties. At that point -- they begin to take on that rather "tired" look and slowly decline. But with this prolonged stretch of weather? New artichoke plants are springing to the surface of the artichoke bed -- and each and every one is bound and determined to produce yet another crop.

Count your blessings...

But that's not all. Venus is bound and determined to get a fourth and fifth radish harvest out of the temperate growing conditions. Red leaf lettuce is literally jumping out of the raised beds. We shouldn't be harvesting these kinds of crops now. In fact -- the radishes should have played out a good week or two ago. But when Mother Nature gives you lemons? Make lemonade. I'll take another harvest of purple, blue, white, red and green Easter Egg radishes.

The same story is playing out across the Back 40 as our spring crops continue to produce a bumper harvest. Take these Snow Peas and Experimental Peas (a gardening gift) for example? When Venus first started experimenting with peas three years ago -- this probably represented the total output of our entire harvest.

But -- with a little experience at what to plant and when (thanks to the Handy-Dandy Farmer Fred Hoffman planting guide) -- she's been getting "better" to say the least. Color me pea-green impressed. What we snacked on for dinner tonight barely represents a fraction of what is hanging off the teepee trellis system we have in a couple of different raised beds.

During most years -- the peas would have been LONG GONE by now. We would have cleared them out of the way to make room for cucumbers -- bush beans -- pole beans and other summer crops. But our cucumbers continue to shiver and make sad faces in starter cups set on a cold sidewalk. So -- we go with what works.

One gardener has already made an interesting observation that the recent eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul Volcano in Iceland (it last erupted two centuries ago) may have dramatically altered our weather pattern -- and this just might be the start of the coolest summer on record.

I certainly hope not -- but there is plenty of empirical evidence to suggest otherwise -- such as the rather infamous Year Without a Summer.

I just hope that everyone ordered enough radish and pea seeds!!!

The World's BEST radish!

Okay -- perhaps I'm showing a little "Homer Instinct" here. It might not be the "World's Best Radish." It might not even be the 2nd best. It might not even be selected for "runner-up" in the "Best Mutt" contest where the prize is two weeks in Bakersfield (1st place is one week in Bakersfield).

But I'm of the belief that the best produce in the world comes straight from your backyard garden. And -- thanks to a solid ten days of GORGEOUS weather in Northern California -- our North Natomas garden is "putting out."

Case in point? These lovely little radishes came straight from the raised gardening beds and went straight into last night's salad -- as did some various salad greens -- green onions -- garlic chives -- various fresh herbs and spices and whatever Mother Nature was good enough to bring us on Sunday.

Of course -- it does also help quite a bit that the wife that is Venus has discovered the magic of Omega 2000 and other liquid organic fertilizers that really pack a punch in the garden. That little lady will spend hours fertilizing every little last spot in the garden. And this is the result after a month of once-a-week treatment.

It's not just the radishes either. The fruit trees are popping. The peach trees are loaded - as is the Santa Rosa plum. The cherry trees are flowering like nobody's business. The hybrid tea roses -- tree roses and Floribunda roses are getting ready to pop open. The new plantings of nectarines -- pluots and table grapes are also showing decent signs of life.

This is what I like to call our "salad spring." Unfortunately, it doesn't last as long as Venus and I would like. But -- during this time of year -- you can literally harvest a salad a night from the backyard (minus the fresh tomatoes, of course).

The best part? In my opinion? Well -- I've always been a fan of radishes. I think it may have been the first thing that I planted in a garden as a small boy (radishes are easy). But -- in my humble opinion -- there's just something special about radishes that come straight from the backyard and onto your plate.

There's a bite there -- on the tastebuds -- that you just don't get from the store-bought varieties. Or -- perhaps you do -- but it's just not quite as strong. Plus -- you're not getting the "standard red radish" from the backyard. Oh no -- you're getting a taste of the Watermelon Radish -- or perhaps the French Breakfast. There's nothing wrong with the wild colors of the Easter Egg radish and the giant white April Cross makes for interesting dinner conversation.

Crunch, crunch people. It's fresh radish season! And -- if you're thinking that "I've missed the boat" -- think again! Plant seeds now to enjoy bumper harvests through mid-June. At some point the weather will turn just a tad too warm for radish growing endeavours -- but there's plenty of time left in fresh radish season.