Phaedra's 2023 Adventure

[Phaedra]

The thickest purple asparagus ever!
I thought the one I harvested last week was great enough, but this one blows my mind.

It will be the end of home-grown asparagus harvest, and the rest will grow freely. I want to have another asparagus patch, but there is no time this year.

The 1-year old asparagus grew from seeds last year (between two multi-sown chards)

I need to remove the quail house to their summer location today, directly sow some cosmos and pot marigolds, and keep cleaning another small area of jungle-like grass.

 

[ducks4you]

Wait a minute! Didn't you grow asparagus from seed this year?
What happened?

 

[Phaedra]

Wait a minute! Didn't you grow asparagus from seed this year?

What happened?

I did; the seeds I sowed are from my asparagus last year. I bought some crowns and planted them four years ago. Asparagus is dioecious, and people usually recommend eliminating female plants (as they will produce fruits). I kept them, and they did produce a lot of fruits and seeds - this is good for the wildlife, especially the birds to enjoy the berries.


I also grew some from seed last year. The plan is, when those plants are more established, I can transplant them into the (not-yet-existed) Asparagus patch, instead of buying crowns.

 

[Phaedra]

I removed the quail house back to the summer location. It's a ground pen, and we fixed hardware cloth on the ground to prevent underground invasion. I also decorated their indoor area with some flowering cherry branches pruned this morning.

During day time, they have access to the outdoor area, too. I will choose several locations to rotate. It's much easier for quails than the hens.

This setting should be much closer to the environment they will love to stay.

And finally, they got their sand bath and were very satisfied.

So satisfied that seven quails decided to lay seven eggs right inside the sand bathtub.

After the quail house is moved to the summer location, we can again work on the new trail made by the old pavers. Hopefully, we can connect both ends and complete it in another few days.

 

[digitS']

seven quails decided to lay seven eggs right inside the sand bathtub.

They didn't want to take a timeout from so much fun!

How are you able to risk that they won't fly right over their outside fence?! I was afraid to allow my coturnix quail out of cages.

Steve

 

[Phaedra]

They didn't want to take a timeout from so much fun!

How are you able to risk that they won't fly right over their outside fence?! I was afraid to allow my coturnix quail out of cages.

Steve

Steve, I cover the outdoor fence (it's a mobile cage with a screen that you can hook on it) so they can't fly over. Also, it protects them from the predators in the air.

The garden is in fact a pretty dangerous place for quails. I just found another poor prey near the chicken run area - a blackbird. I am not sure if it was done by other birds or cats in the surroundings. Poor boy.

 

[Phaedra]

Well, first of all, we watched a Netflix series - Queen Charlotte recently. It's a good one, much better than the original two seasons. One of the famous quotes is as below. Although it might not be fully convincing in the modern days, the para isn't that wrong in her era.

I am creating some trails and flower beds in the garden this year, so I re-wrote this para after the routine gardening work this morning.

Keeping the edges in the garden clean is not a thing one is able or not able to do based on some Magic. Some Fantasy. That is for Gardening Magazines. Keeping clean edges is determination. It is a choice one makes. You take some plants and create trails or beds, and you choose to make them thrive. You do not give yourself any other option. Because managing the edges is difficult. Full of pains. And the life of a gardener is lonely. So you grab scissors, and you hang on. You trim, and you trim hard because if you do not, your trails or beds are lost (in weeds).

The trail looked pretty messy and sad about one month ago, right after I transplanted all the divided perennials.

One month later, it looks already much better today. It will be even better a few weeks later, I believe.

The plants are doing well, too.

 

[baymule]

Your asparagus is beautiful! I love the purple asparagus. Does it turn green when cooked?

The quail are so cute. What a happy summer place for them. Do you have a male so the eggs will be fertile? I raised those once, long ago. They were very prolific, laid at 6 weeks old. Also ready to eat at 6 weeks. I broke the eggs into a measuring cup. 1/4 cup equaled 1 chicken egg. I made pickled quail eggs too. I incubated the eggs and raised up the chicks, so tiny! I love the colors of your quail.

 

[digitS']

Phaedra, you did so well with that rewrite!

Next you, @Pulsegleaner and @flowerbug will be writing poetry to the lyrics of Gilligan's Isle.

 

[Phaedra]

I just found some photos taken in 2019, the first year we moved into this property. Oh my, I can't remember that the west wing of the garden was so empty, pale, and desolate.

I didn't have the experience, knowledge, or capability to handle such a garden then. I didn't even have the courage or willingness to plant trees by ourselves. So, I paid extra for the gardening center to send someone to plant for us.

Well, in the end, only half of the trees survive today.

Most of the garden is not even, and our neighbor spent a lot to level theirs up a long time ago. We didn't have that budget, and even after we had some money later, the priority went to the greenhouse and garden shed.

Anyway, it's weird to see how boring the garden was once.

However, we are about to celebrate the fifth year this August. I am proud to say I never stopped learning and practicing. This is what this side of our garden looks like today after we made a lot of changes these two months.

It's such a pleasure to keep learning and enjoying every single step.