frost

wandered out to campus this morning about 6:30 or so...

and there was frost on the ground...and in the beds...

the last average ( averages lie ) frost date here is may fifteenth...so no real shocker there...

the alfalfa was unpreturbed...

as was the asparagus...

which, as asparagus does, is throwing up spears all over...some of which, due to a lack of harvesting, have reached three feet or better in height and are "ferning"...so we will leave those to feed the roots over summer and take what we find as harvestable until the season succumbs to hot weather by june and the spears turn woody...

the ten volunteer spuds in my bed ( i recall replanting five that i turned up as i dug the bed earlier in the season...clearly there were more tubers lurking and that original population has doubled...there may be more yet ) were unimpressed by the cold...

as was the small stand of einkorn wheat...

in a copule of othere beds anticipatory planters have suffered some damage...not a total loss, however these plants are not going to recover...it is early for the cold sensative yet...the zea family won't be going into any of my beds before memorial day...

there's room in my bed yet...unless there are more volunteers that will change plans...be prepared for variables...and i have been deeded the back side of the asparagus bed so there are plans for that as well...some green manures and, i think, a scattering of zea varieties...in fact it is getting on to time to germinate some zea mexicana for various places around the county ( and, actually, outside it as well )...i sense a post coming on.