Asparagus shoots- first year

So here they are, the first shoots. No harvest this year! These will turn into feathery branches that will help improve the roots so that next year's harvest will be more abundant. Parts of the asparagus plant:

I bought Mary Washington bare root asparagus plants last year from Jungs in Madison. More on how to care for asparagus.

Magnolia in bloom

Our magnolia tree was in full bloom with more flowers than ever before during a cloudless weekend:

A closer view of the flowers:

Brassicas, spinach, onions, and peas

This weekend, the weather was fantastic again. The frogs are peeping, the sun was shining, and temps were in the 60's. 

I planted peas and even used an innoculant this year:

The shallots went in at 4 per square foot, and planting onion bulbs, 9 per square foot, looks like this:

I planted brussels sprout seedlings and broccoli seedlings into the raised beds:

I sowed kale, arugula, red carrots and lettuce in the cold frames (not pictured), and planted out kale, tat soi, and collards into the cold frames. Spinach plants space at 9 per square foot, so the seeds went into a raised bed like this:

Rich leveled more space for raised beds and we put them in place:

The tree in the photo above is a peach tree on its third year about to go into bud. I was hoping to create an orchard also, but we need to enrich the soil properly first, so the peach is staying put for now. I also prepared more seed trays for tomato seeds, made a cold frame out of cinder blocks and old windows, put out my potted tulips, and continued to tidy up the perennial beds, 

Rhubarb is up! Stump removal

The rhubarb is sprouting

We are burning away an old hickory stump in order to make room for the raised beds. It has been smoldering now for three days.

Moving the raised beds into place

The 4x8 footers weigh about 80 pounds each, so carrying them several hundred feet across unlevel ground would be a bit much... fortunately, Rich was able to get Bella running again and we loaded her up.

A hint at the eventual configuration. We have to finish burning away a tree stump and level the site.

We also were lucky to receive some raspberry plants from friends. we tilled a two-foot row on the south fence, added compost, shredded leaves, and chicken manure pellets, and then planted the canes after trimming the roots.

This volunteer cleared bird houses for new nests.

And this one already had an egg. Nuthatch? Chickadee? Not sure.

Galanthus