Spring Arrives

Last year's Spring frosts are still fresh in our memories - from the vineyard to the market garden we saw its effects.  This year, we're resisting the temptation to plant out our starts anywhere remotely close to the last frost date.  We learned our lesson the hard way in 2008.  Instead, we've been taking our time with the planting as well as staggering our starts so that there are some replacements should a late frost surprise us yet again. That's a long way of saying that not much is ready in the garden yet but there are a few exceptions....our first crop of tender asparagus are poking their little heads above ground.  Nothing beats the amazing, butter-like texture of fresh asparagus.  If you visit over the next few weeks be sure to make a stop in the garden for this life-changing taste. Green garlic is almost ready as well - it is hard to find the restraint needed to leave them alone, but they will reward us with pungent flavors soon enough. 

The rest of our garden is either planted to perrennials (berries and herbs largely) or is richly green with cover crops waiting to be tilled back into the ground.  Just as in the vineyard where permanent cover crops are a feature of the way we farm, we use the same principles in the garden where beds are always growing something: either to eat, to recharge the ground with nutrients or to encourage beneficial insects to flourish and help us control unwanted pests.

In the vineyard, we've been cheered by the recent even bud break and delighted that frost has yet to play a role in vintage 2009.  We'll continue to keep our fingers crossed that the temperatures stay above freezing as the vines start to wake up from winter dormancy and tender new growth begins to push through.  The vineyard has become an animal-free zone as these succulent shoots seem irresistable to the bulls and goats.  So far, so good.