First harvest of the season

Tonight I had my first meal out of the garden - hop shoots:





With the temps finally being over 50 and eating something out of the backyard it is finally starting to feel like spring!

looks interesting. What did you do with them?

I blanched them for 2-3 minutes and then set them aside to dry for 5 min or so while I got the rest of the meal together. While they sat I had a pan with a dollop of duck fat, thyme, and garlic cloves heating. After I got the fish cooked I took the thyme and garlic out of the duck fat, turned it to high, and cooked the blanched hop shoots in it for another 2-3 minutes. They were really good, very similar to asparagus but a touch more bitter, more grassy in a way.

The whole thing was a 20 minute meal - hop shoots w/Pringle + Pistachio encrusted catfish (or maybe tilapia, it was a mystery bag from the freezer).

Hi,

I learned from Rene G hop shoots are a popular spring dinner in Belgium. I may just have to try them for my edification.

Hop plant maintenance question: do you cut the vines down to the ground in the fall? If not, what is the pruning method and schedule?

Regards,

I could have harvested some asparagus, but I'm waiting another year for the plants to get bigger.

Cathy2 wrote:Hop plant maintenance question: do you cut the vines down to the ground in the fall? If not, what is the pruning method and schedule?

Yep - in the fall you harvest and then toss everything that is left. There is a lot of pruning that has to be done in the spring. Hops like to spread out everywhere and shoots need to be cut down, just leaving one two to grow through the summer. Just 2 can be pretty overwhelming, both hop plants in these shot were left with 2 sprouts to grow (shots were taken in mid-July and both kept growing through Sept.)

Parsnips. I haven't grown them before, and I have a packet of seeds with confusing language (at least to me) about timing and seasons. Is now a good time to plant them?

TomD.arch wrote:Parsnips. I haven't grown them before, and I have a packet of seeds with confusing language (at least to me) about timing and seasons. Is now a good time to plant them?

Yes, you can plant them now.

Back when Elk Grove Township had a lot of land in vegetable farms parsnips were planted in April. Note that parsnips require very deep soil, put out a lot of leaves, need their space and have a long growing season. You are talking October for first harvest with quality better after some frost.

English gardeners trying to grow long parsnips sometime use six to eight foot lengths of sewer pipe filled with straight compost. The bottom foot or two of pipe is sunk into the soil to keep the whole business upright.

Just had my first real harvest (not counting a few chives and some oregano shoots that probably should have been left alone): a big fist of chives and five stalks of asparagus.

The Asparagus was chopped into 1" pieces, along with a few button mushrooms, and sauteed with butter and a little olive oil. I added a little lemon juice and dried thyme, then poured in a mixture of two eggs, a little milk, salt pepper and the chopped chives.

A little pecorino romano sprinkled on the top at the finish, and some hash browns, made a lovely dinner.

By the way -- I've never really known the protocol of what's OK to clip of your asparagus, and how much to leave to grow: all I know is that the roots don't seem to spread (the home addition didn't help much -- I know I lost some roots) -- I don't get any more one year to the next.