Breakfast from the Garden

Our Morning Harvest = Sunday Breakfast

This year I am not going to track the weight of everything coming from the garden.  However, we have had a bountiful harvest of lettuce and asparagus and now the strawberries are coming on strong.  This morning we will enjoy fresh asparagus, strawberries and quail eggs fresh from the garden.

The Chicken vs. Asparagus Beetle Experiment Comes to and End

Our Four Happy Hens Have Been Sold

If you've been following our war against asparagus beetles, then you know that we purchased four young pullets from a Mennonite farmer and let them run among the asparagus beds.  They did their job admirably and all the beetles are now gone.  Unfortunately, keeping chickens in our neighborhood is against the covenants, so today all the chickens were sold.

The hens cost $27.50 and the bag of feed was $14.50.  We sold the pullets for $15 each.  The experiment was an outstanding success.  The beetles are gone and we came out $18 ahead on the endeavor.

I sure will miss seeing them scurry among the asparagus ferns.

Dehydrated Asparagus Powder

Blanch for Two Minutes

Plunge Into ice Water

We love asparagus and work hard not to waste any of the spears we harvest.   To this end, we save the woody ends of our asparagus, blanch them, shred them with our food processor, dehydrate them, and grind the dehydrated spears into a fine powder.

 Shredded Spears
After 12 Hours in Dehydrator

Shredded Spears Ready for Dehydrating

We then use the powder to make
Cream of Asparagus Soup and
 also to thicken chili's and other
 homemade soups.  Hubby and
 I try to avoid consuming wheat
 so this asparagus powder works
for us as an excellent, thickening
alternative to flour.

Dehydrated Spears
after Grinding Into Powder

1917 Farm Bulletins, Asparagus Beetles, Chickens & Quail

Our two, 50-foot asparagus bed have been invaded by devilish little asparagus beetles. It is our own fault.  We did not keep the bed properly weeded last year and these tiny spotted pests like to overwinter in any old asparagus fronds and other debris which remain in the garden at the end of the season.  See all the grassy weeds among the asparagus?  Shame on us.

We will certainly do better next year, but in the meantime, I don't want to lose a single spear to these tiny, spotted insects.  I have been handpicking them every morning, but there are so many that I'd like to find a simpler and more back-friendly approach.

Asparagus Beetles and Their Control,
1917 Farm Bulletin

I love reading old agricultural books and bulletins from simpler times and while researching the beetles, I came across some info in an old 1917 Farm Bulletin:

Chickens and ducks are efficient destroyers of asparagus beetles, and as they do no injury to the plant their services are still in requisition for this purpose at the present day.

Camera Shy Hens

So you can probably guess what is coming next right?  We are going to let a few chickens run among our asparagus in hopes they will help get it somewhat weeded while they chow down on the beetles.  Since we can't keep chickens on
our property, they will only be here for a short while and then we will resell them which is easy to do in the area.  Since we bought 8-week old chicks, I'm not too worried about them scratching big holes into the bed - especially since the garden is practically under water from all the rain we've had.  There will be no dusts baths in our garden for some time.

New Quail Baby Close-Up
Cheesing for the Camera

Our Adorable Little Quail Babies

In the meantime, we are also going to test out letting some quail simply roam the garden and hang out with us as pets.  They arrived yesterday by mail, from Furbelow Farms in Virginia, and will stay in one of the old rabbit hutches until they are a bit older.  They are so lovely and tame.  Can't wait to get to know them better and set up and little habitat for them out in the garden.  Maybe it will work - maybe not.  Beetles or no - these tiny darlings are here to stay!

Holy Smoke....aka Sunday Breakfast!

Breakfast from the Garden...the asparagus are up!

The Season's First Asparagus Spears!

The asparagus were very late to come up this year.  I was worried that, over the winter, the voles had eaten all the roots.  This morning I walked out to the garden and there they were poking up out of the ground.  A few were ready to harvest (1/4 lb.) so I sauteed them and had them for breakfast along with my farm fresh eggs and a few purple grapes. Yum!