What have you done today in the Garden?

Temperatures were 41C/105F and sunny here so I did absolutely nothing outside...

 

Ach----it was rainy. Intermittent showers.
Bad as it was, I had to go into the bees. I had to remove the frames that I had let the dames clean for me and stored them away until the spring harvest.
There was also one colony that needed urgent attention---they were out of food (honey). They are a new hive and have not yet got the swing of things it appears, so I gave them some 3:2 sugar and water solution that I made at home. They wasted no time in taking it in. Poor girls. This bad weather has kept the foragers in the hive and so they just ate but could not replenish their stores.
The late summer-fall blooms are coming in, so I am hopeful that they will hurry up with their gathering when the weather allows.
This year I may have to give the hives some invert sugar supplement to be sure that they do not starve during the winter.
I harvested some courgettes. The lottie is waterlogged at the moment. It has been fast or famine here this season.

 

I am so glad those girls have you to watch over them and to know what they need.

 

We finally had a break in the heat, so I planted my saffron crocus bulbs yesterday evening, into the new raised bed that my friend built for me.

 

Thanks CAYU--I do my best.

Hiya Spector-- great to hear that you are doing Crocus sativa--what a pleasure it is do do them, harvest them and save the stigmata. We cook alot with saffron, but I have stopped growing them. I once posted a thread on my experiences with it on here. Have a look, you may enjoy it since you are doing them: https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/growing-saffron-crocuses.12543/

Very wet and raining continuously today. I went to the lottie to gather veggies and pick up veggies from other gardeners for the Food Bank. I also began feeding my bees for the winter. It is amazing how much those dames eat when its rainy.

When we got home we were wet and cold...it's that time again--cocoa time.

My thanks to the nice persons that sent us the lovely mugs.

 

Not a thing! It's been raining all morning so I haven't ventured out. My dear husband demanded that I stay inside while he took care of the hens this morning. I found out he had an ulterior motive--I was in the kitchen drying off two cats and giving them treats while he was braving the mud and gunk to feed the hens. The hens stayed inside and didn't need more feed, but the cats were demanding their towel, treats, and cuddling.
When I do get out to the garden (hopefully tomorrow!) we are going to have squash the size of Algonquin war clubs!

 

Isn`t it amazing how they can grow over night ?

 

It was a busy day yesterday-- there was a lot of strimming to do, we took down the bean poles, cleaned the ground and used the bean plants to deck the quadrant with, picked the last of the blueberries and schoffeled the ground under the bushes, I fed the bees and clipped some plants with the hedge-clipper.
Before back at the beginning of the summer:


Same area yesterday:


The upper left hand corner of the bed was covered with Crocosmia 'Lucifer' plants. The walking plank is there to prevent the wind from blowing the mulch away.

A different quadrant is loaded with green manure and looking very good. The strawbs are looking smart as well.


A duifie dropped in for a snack. There is a pair of them and they are becoming quite tame.


The bees are having problems with the wasps--they are entering the hives and stealing honey, larvae and killing some of the house bees. I was able to remove and kill some of the wasps, but other measures were necessary.


Today at home though and we have a work-list of things to do:
Process the bietroot
Process the blueberries
Make applesauce
Put the honey in jars
Put away the laundry and wash another load

Ach ...now to work-- The bietroot we boiled last night and now they are cool and we can skin them and cut them into little blocks.


Then we did the little bit of blueberry jam:


Next up were the apples that needed saucing--what a job!!
This pic was when we finally took a break:


It looks like chaos doesn't it. Here then, the final product:


The groceries arrived just as we finished the apple-sauce. So then we had to put all that away...then clean up everything. The laundry and honey will have to wait until tomorrow, for it is BLT time. Fire-up the irons, woman!

 

Ohhh,,, You better watch that last sentence ! Fire her up the wrong way and you could be in trouble !

 

Too right, Mart. I am walking the line here. Ha, ha, ha.
I shall be very careful indeed.
Meanwhile, those BLT's were scrumptious.

 

Wow! I can't believe this jars of apple sauce. I counted nine! Your larder will be overflowing.

 

I rarely use apple sauce but apple butter,,, oh yes !

 

We harvested all the leeks in-between the showers. I fed the bees and birds. We planned to do more chores, but the raining just got worse, so we hopped on our bikes and rode back home.

Gathered food for the Food Bank.

 

Cayu--This is just the beginning of the apple-sauce. We have more on the trees to come. The larder will be full--that is right. I shall take a piccy when we are through with all the canning. Different apples give different-flavoured apple-sauces. I like the variety.

 

Just mowed the back lawn, did a bit of clearing up, pruned some roses and did a couple of other small jobs. Two hours work.

Today was the "annual quince harvest."

The usual bumper crop.




These went where they usually go...straight into the bin.. They aren't the edible variety, not even the squirrels will eat them.


Last week I made up some soil/compost and grass seed mixture in an old ice cream container to put in a few small bare patches in the lawn. I didn't use it all, so left the rest in the container and put the lid on.

None of the seed I planted has shown any growth, so I thought I'd put some more down today.


I opened the container and found this.