a few details

yesterday was a fairly busy and focused day in the garden as parker and i cleaned and prepared beds for the fall planting we did so some of the smaller details around the garden were skipped over...i was on campus to check on the perennial garden and so i took a trip to the community garden to fill in the picture...we know that the asparagus i transplanted from my truck got over the root shock and is doing fine ( top photo ) the second spear that one plant put up ( second photo ) is around eight inches tall and growing in the cooler weather...my surmise is that when we mulch the garlic that was planted yesterday the side of the bed with these plants will be mulched as well...some of that new zealand white clover in the back ground is going to have to go to do so but i fear the most of that clover may have to go...the idea of rows of perennial, nitrogen setting, pulses with vegetables planted in between to feed on the excess nitrogen is an appealing one...but i was thoroughly unaware of the size these clover plants attained and they are really not suitable for beds that are this size...a more compact solution will need to be found and it may not be a perennial one...we may be sticking to annuals like alfalfa that can be turned under in spring and replanted in fall...it simply means finding a spot to grow alfalfa for seed...this is unfortunate because the clover is thriving and flowering ( third photo )...it is clearly happy in the garden and i do believe we will leave it where it stands at the moment as a winter cover crop...the mashua ( fourth photo ) has been idling the summer away...it is a more tropical plant ( although it grows at altitude so it prefers cool, wet weather ) and does not like long days in the northern summer...it has perked up of late and is putting out more leaves on vines and...unless i am grossly mistaken..is working on setting at least one tuber ( fifth photo )..that would be a nice result for a plant we have virtually no experience with...now to research mashua tuber dormancy periods...there may be another tuber growing in my basement this winter...more as the cover crops pop up and more beds are cleared for winter...there is still a jerusalem artichoke harvest to attend to...among other details.