Asparagus hopes and quotes...

Wow asparagus looks really odd when it arrives in the post. I'm trying to think of something other than alien to describe it but the individual crowns really do look like some sort of strange little creature, H.R. Giger must have had them dotted around his studio for inspiration!

 I've bought 18, 1 year old crowns, 6 each of Guelph Millennium, Mondeo and Gijnlim (I wish they had names I could pronounce) from Pomona Fruits and they arrived in a padded envelope all carefully folded up and labeled. I didn't expect them to come as quickly as they have, they've caught me a bit unprepared. I carefully unfolded them and read the instructions as to what to do with them until I can plant them. I now have 18 strange little creatures tucked into a tray of damp potting compost, waiting for me to get my act together (or perhaps Sigourney in her boiler suit!)

The bed I'm wanting to put them in isn't quite ready... well as it's just full of big lumps of near solid clay at the moment I'd say I'm quite a way off yet! The shed building and Easter sort of took priority, I know it's an excuse but I'm sticking to it:)  I have added bags of manure but it still looks pretty heavy to me, it feels pretty heavy when I'm digging it over too!

I watched Monty Don on Gardeners' World the other night making his asparagus bed and the one thing I can remember him saying is drainage is the key. Who am I to doubt Monty Don so drainage it is then! I rushed off and bought bags of sand and gravel in an attempt to turn clay into the perfect asparagus soil. I'm really hoping it won't take a miracle and that I will one day have the healthy bed of asparagus that I dream about. Perhaps I should worry about dreaming about asparagus but it's better than dreaming about being chased by polar bears....oh, that's a whole other story!

''So home, and having brought home with me from Fenchurch Street a hundred of sparrowgrass, cost 18d. We had them and a little bit of salmon, which my wife had a mind to, cost 3s. So to supper, and my pain being somewhat better in my throat, we to bed.''

(Saturday 20 April Samuel Pepys)**

This quote really made me smile...I'm easily amused! I hope they had guests because I'm not sure I could eat that much asparagus, as much as I love it! Was it the sparrowgrass that made his throat better I wonder? I know they believed it had healing powers.  I will think of my asparagus as 'sparrowgrass' from now on...my mother's nickname when she was a child was 'sparrow' apparently, I like the tentitive link it gives me to her.

**Pepys' diary entry Saturday 20th April http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1667/04/20/

And this weekend, finally I've managed this....