What have you done today in the Garden?

I didn't do anything in the garden today (work keeps interrupting my gardening!!) but I did pick up 2 buckets of coffee grounds from the local coffee cafe to spread on the garden. I've been applying so many buckets of spent coffee grounds that my vegie plot smells like a coffee pot! And yesterday I planted beet transplants underva floating row cover. I used hula hoops to support the row cover. They look pretty colorful in a gaudy sort of way!

 

Well darn, Cayuga...you ought to post a foto of your work. c'mon, show yer stuff.

Today it was cold, but sunny now and then. That darn wind blew constantly and was quite chilly.

In spite of the conditions, we still got a bit of work done. The onion and beet beds were weeded. The weeds had only one set of beginner leaves. My bride showed me the container full of them and said, "...and all these came out between two fingers" --that WAS hard work.

For my part-- I dug up weeds in the flower garden as well as loads and loads of bluebells. They are more of a plague in my garden than part of palate.

It was too cold to check the bees, so that will have to be done tomorrow. I did inspect the spinach, onions, Kapucijners and strawbs.
Here the spinach experiment showing the in situ planted spinach as well as the rows of the pre-germinated plugs:

Then closer up:

The new pea rack with the plants that I slid out of the guttering:

Lastly the strawb patches. It is easy to see that the strawbs in the two patches are different types isn't it.

Well, it was only a partial day, but it was good to be able to do a bit of work in-between the showers.

 

Sjoerd, in the fall I think I'll try your method of pre-germinating plugs of spinach. Both plantings of my spinach got washed out this spring, but I have hopes for fall! Your method of planting potatoes sure worked like a charm.
We received another 1/2" of rain last night, so all the gardens are still soggy. I dead-headed the roses I could reach from the yard, and moved some of the container herbs around. I have two passionvine starts that need moving, but I would have to wade through mud to get to them. Hoping things dry out enough in the next two days that I can move them to the trellis we put up on the workshop.

 

Well Jane--I wish you good luck with the next planting of spinach. I was sorry to hear they you lost that first batch. I have not grown it during the height of summer because I find them a little bolty at the best of times.

Good luck with garden work with all that sogginess there.

 

No work in the garden again today. Although I did transplant seedlings into bigger accommodations. Today was our town's road pick up day. We had a website where you sign up for trash pickup along various roads. Our family picked up 15 bags of trash!! Sadly, mainly beer cans, nips & water bottles. In a very weird twist, we found a kitchen bag FULL of water bottles filled with URINE. Very gross. Google 'trucker bombs' if you are so inclined. We all were using gloves (thankfully) and all promptly took showers as soon as we got home!

There were 80 groups/individuals who volunteered today & 85% or our roads were cleaned up. Pretty good, huh?

PS Sjoerd.....I just find it a hassle to post photos...it is such a multi-step process for me....sorry. But thank you for showing interest.

 

It was cool and cloudy here again, for most of the day and then rain moved in and I had to go put all the hanging baskets I took out of the greenhouse back away... somewhere... They are getting wider each day and taking up more space and the weather just isn't cooperating for taking them out or leaving the house open all night long... tonight is supposed to be 50, so I did turn down the thermostat to 49 and left the side up and the doors open... hopefully to slow down the tomatoes and the powdery mildew i see starting on the petunia baskets. I sprayed all those with peroxide today.

 

CM--I totally understand. No worries, your presence on here is worth more than a thousand foto's.

 

Today I got into those bees. All the queens were seen and all the colonies had brood, open and closed (a bit of a surprise because of the persistent cold weather). Did more weeding.

One of my queens looking good:

Here is that partitioned frame for varroa control, Carolyn. You can see that the worksters have already begun building drone cells:


Here is a bee wallowing in dandelion pollen:

I also spent the morning and afternoon doing bird conservation before going to the lottie.

 

Cool... Our frames are actually drone brood pattern and size

 

Sjoerd, I am terribly jealous of your wonderful bees, but so very glad you spend the time keeping bees.

Bought (and transferred to larger pots) 4 broccoli and 4 cauliflower plants. I will try growing them in pots this year. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I also have 4 Grape tomato plants for transferring to larger pots. It's too told to set them in the ground.

CJAY, too sad that you must redo your hard work. Pictures, please.

 

Thanks so much, GP.

CAROLYN--I see what you mean.

 

Very nice progress everyone. And thank you so much for sharing pictures.

Well like I said in the asparagus thread Brent put the asparagus in while I was having brunch with my parents. Then we made another small raised bed next to it for strawberries. The neighbor has litterally tons of composted manure. So we picked up a bunch of that to mix in with things as we go.



It's funny. He never volunteered to help with gardening stuff before, let alone did it without being asked.

 

another cool and cloudy, wet day after the storms overnight... one day it will be dryer ... sometime... I am hoping. I am sure. Positive. keeping my fingers crossed.

anyway I worked in the greenhouse most of today... moving it out and them back in because it is supposed to be another cold night tonight. sigh. get back up early.. go move it out and then off to a dr appointment with my MIL then back home to work. I sure hope it is a nicer day than today.

 

Carolyn, we in Massachusetts have had a forecast of a week of rain/drizzle, but next week is supposed to be beautiful. I think OH is ahead of us weatherwise....I have had the impression that storms travel from west to east. Anyway, I hope you will have that beautiful 70 degree weather soon.

 

Nothing is getting done in the garden today. Absolutely nothing. I think I've slept a total of 5 hours over the last three days.