Many momentous events have transpired over the last couple of months(my engagement for one thing :D ) , thus I haven't had much time to practice the field craft of organic gardening.
However, over Thanksgiving break I was able to go home to my garden in PA and prune the Asparagus plants with my father. The 8 Asparagus crowns that I had planted 2 and a half years ago have now turned into huge 4 foot tall bushes. During the late Autumn, these bushes would turn yellow and then brown. At this point the standard maintenance procedure is trim off the entirely of the bush above ground level and apply heavy organic compost on top of the root crown. The trimming of dead above-ground foliage disrupts the life cycle of the stem burrowing beetle, while the compost gives the Asparagus roots plenty of nutrients to grow delicious asparagus shoots in the coming Spring.
Upon returning back to the City a few days later, I was at my fiance's parents' backyard. And before us was a Mediterranean Fig tree. Since Figs are intolerant of extreme weather, we proceeded to shield it from the elements. Winterizing a fig tree involves first a great deal of pruning. This is to remove dead, tangled, and generally excessive limb growth. After I had finished pruning, Marisa and I pilled 4-5 feet of leaves around the trunk of the tree to provide insulation, the leaf pile was secured with chicken wire. Then the leader branches of the tree Canopy was binded tightly together with rope and then covered in layers of wool. With this protection in place, the fig tree will hopefully survive the winter and yield figs for us next year!
