The Asparagus Cometh

I was all done packing the Farm Shares and went up to the garden to see what needed doing and noticed that some of the straw in the asparagus beds was tenting. This means something is growing up from under the straw. I saw a lot of thistle doing exactly that in the beds (but not from the thistle tainted straw, these guys are in their second year and will be dispatched when the time comes). So I investigated and the first tent yielded nothing but some asparagus beetle grubs and a dandelion, which I dug up and removed. I wandered down the beds and investigated another tent and found a huge asparagus spear. Wow! I start looking at other lumps in the straw and find over 50 plants with spears poking out of the ground. This is about a week earlier than last year. This is also their 4th year in the ground so they can be fully harvested. I am stoked!