Bolting Broccoli and Aspiring Asparagus

This weekend, I finally had a few minutes to spend in the garden beds. In all honesty, I made the time, because lately I’ve just been letting whatever is in the garden do whatever it wants.

The weather in North Texas is flighty. We might have days and days of below freezing temps followed by a few days in the 70s and 80s, only to be hit with the roller coaster drop into below freezing again. (Wind chill of 0 degrees? WHAT?!)

Diana Beebe's Blog, Mermaids Don't Do Windows, Diana Beebe, science fiction, middle grade fantasy, fantasyThis is not a good thing when broccoli grows better in cold weather and starts to bolt (flower) when it gets warm. A few days of 80 degrees, and the bees will be enjoying that broccoli more than we will.

The plants couldn’t have waited two days before deciding to bolt? Because they would have changed their minds about flowering in this cold. *annoyed face*

So I picked as many of the crowns as I could. The ones that had too many flowers to eat are a gift to the bees. I’ll have to find a way to preserve some of it, because we’re going to be sick of eating broccoli very soon.

I checked the cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, but neither have shown any signs Diana Beebe's Blog, Mermaids Don't Do Windows, Diana Beebe, science fiction, middle grade fantasy, fantasyof veggies yet. But isn’t this Brussels sprout plant pretty?

I cleaned up the newest asparagus bed, because it was a mess of old stalks, dead leaves, and weeds. Underneath it all: Score!Diana Beebe's Blog, Mermaids Don't Do Windows, Diana Beebe, science fiction, middle grade fantasy, fantasy

It’s been warm enough that new shoots had sprung already. To top that, several of the sprouts are eating size. I planted that asparagus bed late last year. Based on the tiny stalks it produced then, I figured it would be at least another year before anything was edible. I’m glad I was wrong. 😀

But now I have to cover the asparagus bed to protect the new shoots pictured that are too small to pick before this latest arctic blast. *annoyed face again*

Diana Beebe's Blog, Mermaids Don't Do Windows, Diana Beebe, science fiction, middle grade fantasy, fantasyWhile we wait for the cauliflower and Brussels sprouts to grow, we can munch on our own fresh broccoli and asparagus.

Of all the veggies I’ve grown, asparagus is one of the easiest, and broccoli is the prettiest after bolting. I may lose out on a few crowns, but the bees win. I’m OK with that.

Have you ever grown asparagus or broccoli? What would you have in your ideal veggie garden?

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