Getting the plants started even before we own the land.
It'll be a couple of weeks before we have title to the land. It'll be at least half a year before we can start growing things out there. But in the meantime, it's as good a time as any to get some things going.
It takes three years for asparagus seed to turn into a plant you can harvest from. These are Precoce D'Argentuil, an old French variety, that isn't sold much these days. By getting them into soil blocks now, we can plant them in real dirt next year, and hopefully have tender, delicately flavored stems to sell (and eat) in a couple of years.
We're also getting a lot of other seeds into blocks and rooting cuttings for propagation.
PS: An update on Shagbark Hickory: It turns out that you can make a syrup from the loose-hanging bark. It's described as being like maple syrup, only different.
Guess what one of our first experiments on the land is going to be? Hopefully it works out and we can bring it to table soon. (There's been a suggestion that Shagbark Syrup would make a great base for bar-b-que sauce -- I'm intrigued.) - John