Ping-Fishlessman

Cpt'n Cook

The Fiddlheads are running in Central Mass. You have to be quick to catch them.

fishlessman

i checked my patch last night, i think im a couple weeks behind you here north of boston, at camp in sebago theres still a few feet of snow but for some reason the asparagas patch is clear and growing.

Essex County

I just found a pack of fiddleheads from last year in the bottom of my freezer a couple of days ago. They keep really well. Looking forward to the new crop.
Paul

stike

"i checked my patch last night"

good lord. tick season already?

hey. i planted asparagus this year for the first time. from the roots/rhizomes. anything special i need to do? they only went in a week ago. maybe too late.

do i let them go the first year and harvest next year?

stike

do you find them growing out back?

fishlessman

i planted last year to see if it would take up there, ive heard to let it go until the third year before picking, but there will be some samples this year. if it looks good in another month im going to make the area bigger and plant a couple more varieties. planted cranberries last year also, those took right off

Essex County

I've heard the same thing about how long asparagus takes. We've got a small patch that should be in its third year this spring. Last year we got about a dozen or so stalks. Hope to get a hundred this year.
Paul

Essex County

We've got lots of ferns out there but I've never identified them. They seem a lot fuzzier than the fiddleheads I see in the supermarket.
Paul

stike

yeah. we have those. i like ferns, myself. had a back yard full of them as a kid in new. no mowing, they fill int great, and they stop at 2 feet high at most. got some along a fence in our yard.

they are coming up. of course they grow like the fiddleheads, but the fiddleheads are tighter and deeper green, and not fuzzy like you say.

wonder what fiddleheads look like when they uncoil and fill out?

fishlessman

capt'n cook has a good picture of what they look like in the ground before they get cleaned for market

Cpt'n Cook

This is what they look like when they are ready to cut.

and here's one of them cut and ready to soak, Getting the brown stuff of them is a pain.

here they are cleaned up and ready to cook.


For some reason or other I can't seem to upload to Photobucket anymore since they (improved) the interface.

fishlessman

thats them, you need to find the ones with that rusty looking husk. photobuckets been extremely slow for me, really have to wait it out, get a coffee come back, go away, then it happens. editing thru photobucket is even worse