The rhubarb and asparagus have finally appeared — a sure sign that spring has finally arrived in our corner of Maine. As it leafs out, the rhubarb is like an unfurling piece of origami.
We’ve been working on increasing fertility in the asparagus bed, and await this year’s harvest with hungry anticipation.
The seaweed mulch covering most of our beds formed a dense mat over winter, it looked as if it had been felted by the passing changes in weather. We broke it apart and chipped it into a finer mulch, and hope it will help keep the slugs away this coming season.
With temperatures in the 80’s predicted for today, we harvested a bin each of the overwintered Siberian and Russian Red kales to keep from losing them to heat-stress.
Diary of a Tomato 
Nice harvest! Don’t you just love to watch rhubarb spread out! It really is beautiful!
It is a glorious plant! It took awhile to establish, but well worth waiting for.
A nice harvest of greens!
Thanks, we were surprised at how much was produced just by letting the plants overwinter.
I have an ornamental rubarb in my garden just starting to wake up:-)
Oh, I hadn’t realized they were grown as a landscape plant! I imagine they’re quite fabulous in full bloom.
Lovely greens; my kale did not get very big this year, I think we still need to work on this soil!
Nurturing the soil is an ongoing process. We also harvest frequently, it seems to encourage more growth.
Oh how lovely to see the first rhubarb and asparagus! After not having any rhubarb plants for a few years due to lack of space, I have just given in and bought a small Timperley Early Rhubarb from a local nursery this morning and will grow first of all in a large pot-finger crossed…
PS-going to try your Tagliatelle with Spring-Dug Parsnips for tonight’s supper!
I like Donkey Whisperer Farm’s idea, and can think of several places where I’d rather have rhubarb growing than ornamentals that the deer end up foraging. Hope you liked the parsnips paired with pasta!
Beautiful kale…I can relate to the Rhubarb…many mornings, especially Mondays, I unfold like that.
Hey, Eileen! It’s funny, after all these years of growing rhubarb, this is the first time I’ve really watched it as it emerges. Probably because it’s normally too cold and snow’s still on the ground at this time…
So great to see what gardens on the opposite coast are doing. Seattle and Maine couldn’t be further apart!
We may be far in distance but close enough in latitude to have similar coastal foodsheds!
Beautiful greens. I simply can’t imagine just now watching spring coming to life. Amazing how different we all are in our growing seasons.
I keep thinking we’re behind until I realize how much further north we are than gardeners like you!
Beautiful harvests. And I see we had the same thought. The heat today is miserable. I’m glad my kale is picked. Right now we have hit 93. Five degrees above the prediction.
Thanks, Daphne! I’m still trying to figure out whether these kale plants will keep going, or to start anew. I’m glad to see your garden survived this mini-heatwave!
You’re off to a lovely start, in spite of this crazy weather! I look forward to hearing how the seaweed works out for keeping slugs away.
Eleanor
Hello, Eleanor! Yes, I’m realizing I’m noticing spring in an entirely different way this year. Usually it’s too cold to linger much outside! We’ll keep you posted on the anti-slug seaweed…
Those asparagus look great! Love them, but don’t have the space to dedicate to them. I guess I do, but we have so many other things we want to plant. My husband is tomato crazy and I am green bean and greens crazy :) Yes…you will have to tell us how the seaweed mulch does and oh the stir fry from the previous post looks yummy! You always share yummy looking recipes. Thanks for that!!!!
I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying my posts, Amber, thanks! I don’t think any of us have enough space (or time) to grow all the things that we’d like to!
It all looks wonderful!
The credit goes to Mother Nature!
Good luck on having an abundant asparagus harvest this year. I’ve never seen an emerging rhubarb before… very cool. Enjoy spring and all that kale!
After reading about Daphne’s asparagus patch, I’ll have to plan to replenish the bed next season. When there are few fresh greens to be had, kale to the rescue!
Nice harvest, look like you’ll be getting a good crop of asparagus soon.
It’s startling how fast they grow once they break through!
Rhubarb should be grown if nothing else for their visual appeal – truly an amazing plant. I have been watching my two clumps emerge, unfurl, and now growing huge with great abandon. So exotic and beautiful and so tasty too!
I usually keep the flower stalks cut down, but the comments here have me looking at rhubarb in an entirely new way!
Rhubarb is such a weird plant to watching growing, weird and fascinating.
My new rhubarb factoid — they need two months at below 40°F to stimulate growth, otherwise the stalks will be thin and sparse…
Hmmm, asparagus… am waiting for ours to sprout too…
And once they do, we never seem to have enough…