White Asparagus
Spring has arrived and we have been busy planting
our crops. Last week our asparagus emerged.
Our first graders are conducting an experiement.

Our cabbage is growing well this year!

They are covering the aspargus with soil as it slowly
rises ouf of the ground. In doing so it causes the
asparagus to turn white. Many European countries enjoy

Winter Wheat is finally starting to grow

white asparagus.Other than color, there's no difference between green and white asparagus -- white asparagus is simply green asparagus that hasn't been allowed to turn green. The way white asparagus is grown is that it's covered in a thick layer of mulch and dark plastic so that no sunlight reaches the spears.This way the vegetable never gets a chance to turn green because no photosynthesis takes place. We can't wait to try it.


Spring Planting

Last week we finished our spring planting. 2nd graders planted potatoes while also harvesting spinach that has grown over the long winter. This spring we are growing a few new varieties including raspberry spinach and heirloom beets that were grown in Thomas Jefferson's gardens.
We have a few new additions to the Discovery Garden this year including blackberry bushes and a paw paw tree.
One of the great horticultural mysteries of the world is: why have most paw paw trees, that were plentiful throughout early U.S. forests, virtually disappeared from their natural habitat today? That answer may lie within the research results that showed that the paw paw is sensitive to ultraviolet light, thus, paw paw seedlings may not grow back after the forests have been harvested, and there are very few virgin forests left in the United States.