Asparagus: Male vs Female
I have been getting a lot of questions about asparagus over on our Facebook page. There seems to be some fear of the asparagus spreading and taking over the garden. Questions about what healthy asparagus plants should look like and whatâs the difference between male and female plants. Well I am here to clear up the confusion.
If your asparagus roots were planted this year your crowns will produce delicate ferns a lot like the ones you see below. Those are the M. Washington asparagus plants I planted in the company garden this spring. As your asparagus mature they will produce thicker spears and fuller ferns. If this is the first year do not worry about spindly and sparse ferns. Just remember not to harvest this year, harvest sparsely next year and by the third year you will have a great crop.
Not sure what you have planted? If you are unsure if you have all male crowns or not it is easy to determine once the plants go to seed. Your female plants will develop green berries which will ripen to a bright red. Now if you do not want your bed to spread you will want to pull these plants, roots and all. If you donât mind your bed spreading then you can leave them and each year you will get more and more plants. Just donât expect to get a good harvest from the female plants.
Turnips, Kale, and a Healthy You Giveaway!
What better way to kick off a new week than with a giveaway! Here at MasterGardening.com we love Dr. Earthâs great line of organic fertilizers but did you know the founder of Dr. Earth, Milo Shammas also has a wonderful book! âHealthy Garden Healthy Youâ highlights 100 easy-to grow plants and their health benefits! Learn more about âHealthy Garden Healthy Youâ- here.
Two of my favorite vegetables that Milo Shammas features in his book are Kale and Turnips. Both of these vegetables make great additions to the fall garden. Kale and turnips are both high in Vitamins K, A and C plus iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium!
Kale is wonderful in winter soups and casseroles, anytime a recipe calls for spinach consider substituting Kale instead. Turnips on the other hand are terrific roasted, mashed, in stews or even grated raw on a salad.
If you havenât guessed already today we are giving away a copy of Milo Shammas very informative book âHealty Garden Healthy Youâ in addition to Kale and Turnip seeds so you can grow these fantastic nutrient rich vegetables in your own garden!
www.MasterGardening.com
Bats: Our Nocturnal Garden Helpers
When it comes to insects most gardeners can use all the help they can get fending off these unwanted insects. One great garden helper that most never think about is bats! Bats can eat 1000 mosquitoes in 1 hour! Thatâs great news for any outdoor enthusiast. In addition to mosquitoes a bats diet consists of cucumber beetles, stink bugs, June beetles, leafhoppers, corn worm moths and other insects.
Bats not only eat pests that feed on our much loved plants but they also create great fertilizer. Bat guano is high in nitrogen making a perfect supplement for evergreens, hydrangeas, dogwood trees, and berries. Bats are also great pollinators and aid in seed dispersion. Peaches, almonds, figs, dates, bananas and more all rely on bats for seed dispersal.
If you live in areas with high scorpion or centipede populations you will be happy to know their poison has no effect on bats. This means scorpions and centipedes are a great food source for Pallid bats; just another way bats can help keep your garden safe for you and your family.
To think bats do all this for us while we sleep! Unfortunately, almost 40% of bat species in America in a steep decline or endangered. The good news by setting up a safe home for bats you can have a part in their preservation. Bat houses are a great way to attract bats to your garden. Bat house help build populations by giving bats a place to roost and raise their young, plus they are a great place for bats to hibernate through winter.
By giving bats a place to live they reward you with so much. Most of the 1200+ species of bats can fit in the palm of your hand, which means you can get a big bat population in a small space. They are also very clean as they groom themselves similar to cats and primates. In fact bats are actually more closely related to primates and humans than the rodents people so often compare them to.
For the best results in attracting bats to your garden place the bat house close to a water source and in a location sheltered from the wind. Our nocturnal friends will handle the rest and before you know it your new bat populations will taken care of those pesky insects feeding on your prized tomatoes.Â