The asparagus has started. Early of course. 
Mary’s Cat thinks he is a truffle dog but with asparagus and he is not a dog. He leads me along the rows. In a week or so we might be bunching and selling asparagus. So far they are small in width though. I did not get as much compost on the beds as I would have liked last autumn. So we shall see. But I picked enough for a glorious feed last night.
Not looking.
Actually Mama has decided not to look at us either. 
Today we will have to begin to work with the bees. It is only late March, and usually I do not go into the hives until May 1st. But they have been working on the blossoms and flowers for a few weeks now. The new bees will be hatching soon and to avoid swarming (which I imagine might also be early) I need to rotate the hive bodies and add an empty one on top. If the bees have room to grow they are less likely to grow a new queen and take off with her. It is a fine line because they do not want too much room. Last year I split a hive in two and added new supers but both hives swarmed anyway. One of my early posts was of capturing an escaped swarm. (Actually it was my second post ever, about nine months ago!)
So, there are three empty supers waiting patiently on the verandah, and if I get a calm warm day with no storms around (fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, caused by storms, make the bees cranky) I shall light up the smoker and dress up and open the lids and have a look. I will need John to help with the lifting so it is a weekend job.
My Cave Cellar is finished. I will wipe it all down and seal all the old wood with linseed oil and then we are in business.
Plus I have to get the potatoes out into their plot today. We did get a lot of work done yesterday. But half of it was not even on my list!! This is a busy time. The Head Gardener thought he may throw caution to the winds and sow some zuchinni seeds today! The ground is that warm already.
Ok I am off out to feed the animals and pick the asparagus, which will be another morning chore for a few weeks! Everyone was out on grass yesterday afternoon, so no hay was necessary yesterday evening, but they have been back in their dry docks for the night so as to avoid over eating on the fresh stuff.
Good morning! Have a wonderful Sunday/Monday.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
74 responses to “Roll out the Free Green Dodge”
It was a busy wekend on the farmy. And you have reminded me that I must go and be nice to my lovely dog sitting neighbour who also grows asparagus!
Celi, I would love to plant asparagus – it is one of my favourite vegetables 🙂
I thought of you when I got into bed last night..”Yay for Celi, it’s Sunday night.”
🙂 Mandy
I had to laugh every time you gave me my countdown. When i waved them all goodbye, actually they left without saying goodbye, so i waved loudly from the garden just to prove a point.. I said to myself NO MORE SLEEPS MANDY! and laughed wickedly.. have a great day.. I will..c
Your busy-bee weekends look no different (and no less beautiful!) than your week, Celi! That’s life on the old farmy! Ou lucky girl! 🙂 Like Smidge, confused a bit about bees and their keeping (though they fascinate me!) so I’m looking forward to being enlightened!
My husband weeps at our lack of proximity to that vehicle. I rejoice, naturally 😉
Sweet photos, sweet Cecilia.
I can’t wait until our asparagus is ready! I pulled out the dead leafy stuff last week and found a bird’s nest in it from last fall – so cute.
Very beautiful pictures, I’ve a cat very similar to yours…so cute:)
You always have the best photos and stories to tell. 🙂