2024 April 25 First Asparagus, First Oriole, Last Frost?

 Carli found the first asparagus yesterday. We shared it the moment it was picked. Crisp, cold, delightful. 

First asparagus! We love it so much we started a new bed. It’s not popping up yet, but you can’t pick the asparagus the first year you plant it. You must let the root crown stabilize. 

Fun facts. The weird asparagus pee smell is genetic. Even being able to smell it or not is genetic. One of us has the gene and the other does not. I’ll leave you to guess. 

We heard an oriole but didn’t see it! I’ve been putting out oranges and Concord grape jelly!

It’s a chilly morning, but there are no signs of frost in the garden. Last frost is a tricky date for gardeners. We’re itching to get certain things in the ground. I’ve had the container figs out of the garage since mid March. There was a frost warning so I brought them in. They would have survived last night even though the car windows show actual frost. 

Does this count as frost? The ground is normal and dewy. 

You never know if this frost is the last frost until you’re in the hot part of June around here. I’ve had years with tomatoes planted in the ground, where I had to run out with a sheet in May. We’ve had snow in May, actually. 

Tomatoes under grow lights on the table. Too soon for tomatoes outside.

Update on Kitchen Floor: I took yesterday off to move out the big appliances. I stopped buying groceries, defrosted the fridge. Today was supposed to be the big day. They called midway though yesterday to say the flooring hasn’t come in. They rescheduled for “hopefully” Tuesday. I don’t like the sound of that.

Update on Chickaletta: Vet says she’s fine. They X rayed her. No problem. Thank goodness.