Uh oh... 1st Asparagus Spears Poking Up

[GoDawgs]

This is about a month earlier than usual. In 2017 the first poked up Feb 27 and last year Feb 19. Last week Pickles spied the first few poking up. Too early!




Already a few were toasted by a few lows of 27.



There's plenty of freezing weather yet to come. It's an 18x18' area and too much to cover. Oh well.....

[rxkeith]

eat them if they get big enough.

painters tarps could be used to cover. they are pretty big. i am thinking the canvas type, not plastic. or a bunch of leaves or such maybe covered by tarp.
or do nothing at all. the crowns will sprout more shoots once the weather warms.

makes me kinda think, maybe i should move to georgia.
its snowing every day this week here at home. only thing growing outside here is the snow banks.



keith

[bower]

What a shame!

What has caused them to be up so early? Not normal weather?

[GoDawgs]

I'm thinking warmer temperatures are causing it.

December's average daily high temp was 58, just 1 degree above normal but the average daily low was 5 degrees above normal. In fact, the lows for the last five days of December were mid 50's.

January's average daily high temp was also 58, just 1.5 degrees above normal but the average daily low was 5 degrees above the normal of 35. Unfortunately for young spears, two day stretches of lows in the mid 20's come through about once a week.

There's been asparagus out in the garden for about 20 years and I've never seen it come up this early.

[bower]

This must be the el nino taking shape. We're also having strange weather - our storms have turned to rainy ones from the south and balmy weather with bitter cold in between, and the same pattern is continuing in the forecast.

[PhilaGardener]

Crazy weather!

Global warming. I’m re-thinking the chill hours required for new fruit trees I’d like to plant.

[GrowingCoastal]

Originally Posted by PlainJane

Global warming. I’m re-thinking the chill hours required for new fruit trees I’d like to plant.

Yes, think ahead and plan for the future.

[b54red]

I'm thinking that winter may run a bit late this year. Maybe we will have a wonderful long spring like last year. I could do with a repeat of that super tomato growing weather again this year. The only problem with it was that fall didn't get here til way up into November and so it ruined my fall garden but on the plus side I had tomatoes and bell peppers way later than usual. We are having some nice cold weather right now and though it keeps going up and down we are expecting low 20s next week at least for one night so all the things protected lately by just frost cloths may bite the dust when that hits.

Bill

[wildcat62]

We had very little Spring here last year. We went straight from Winter to Summer. Hoping for a good Spring this time.

[GoDawgs]

Originally Posted by b54red

I'm thinking that winter may run a bit late this year. Maybe we will have a wonderful long spring like last year. I could do with a repeat of that super tomato growing weather again this year. The only problem with it was that fall didn't get here til way up into November and so it ruined my fall garden but on the plus side I had tomatoes and bell peppers way later than usual.
Bill

Our fall was the same. Great tomato growing but the fall soil was too hot to plant bush beans until mid September when Hurricane Florence cooled the soil enough to plant. That pushed the first picking back to Nov 3 and then it was a race between beans and first frost, which got the last few. Like you I had tomatoes and peppers until late.