On the way to Canberra Nick & I drive past a roadside stall with an honesty box system. I really wanted to stop, but we had no cash between us so I kept driving. But I spent the whole trip thinking about it, wondering what marvels it would contain (I had no doubt that marvels would be contained).
On the way back home, I managed to convince Nick that we should take the same route home as we had taken driving up (no mean feat as he dislikes retracing his steps; I’m sure there’s an explorer in his genetics somewhere). This meant that I got to drive past the road stall again. Clever, huh?
I wasn’t disappointed, either.
Amongst other things for sale there were: succulents, fresh eggs, herbs, cucumbers, capsicum, tomatoes, sweetcorn and asparagus.
Now normally seeing asparagus wouldn’t fill me with joy; I’m not a huge fan of it. That said, I’ve been reading a lot lately about how easy it is to grow and my Mum is a huge fan. So literally the night before I had been thinking that I should try to get hold of an asparagus plant for her. And then BAM asparagus plant. They were charging $5 for this one. I have no idea whether that’s a good price for asparagus or not, but the other prices they were asking all seemed reasonable so I have assumed it is. Now I just need to work out how to grow it! Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!
In addition to the asparagus I also picked up a tomato seedling and three capsicum plants (one Banana and two Californian Wonders), since I’m not sure how long mine are going to take to grow from seed. Total cost: $11.50. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a bargain!
Can you see how huge that tomato plant is? I don’t even know how the tiny little pot is holding it up! I repotted it as soon as I got home and it’s at least twice the size of any of the established seedlings I already have.
Of course, since I have something like 30 smaller establishing seedlings, I have no idea what I’m going to do with all these tomato plants!!
Have you ever bought something from a road side stall? What would you buy if you could?
Asparagus gets tall (4-6 feet) and often falls over without support. It needs to be 3 years fold before you start harvesting, and then only very lightly at first. It’s not terribly attractive! See also: http://recessiongardening.com/2013/03/13/asparagus-king-of-perennial-vegetables/
Woah, sounds like I better make sure that I don’t put it in a raised bed, or I won’t be able to take care of it properly!!
I have heard you’re supposed to leave it for three years before you harvest it – if only I could travel back in time and plant it three years ago!
Thanks for the link, I shall have a look at it 🙂
Oh, and I buy stuff from nearby farm stalls all the time. Great fresh quality at good prices!
I have to admit that I think this is the first time I’ve bought from a farm stall. Occasionally I buy from markets, but a lot of the time the plants they sell are the same as I can get anywhere else (all the floribunda etc) so I tend to not bother.
I’ll have to keep an eye out for more!
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