What have you done today in the Garden?

That sounds great Cayuga. Good luck on your trial. What are the parameters of the trial? That is to say, what aspects or characteristics will you looking closely at?

 

That market was a first market and it is a holiday weekend... both make for it a smaller leaning than I would like to see, but we are consistent in starting the market this weekend every year. There were quite a few vendors at our market for a change... which was nice. it is hot... I hope you get some of it S... soon. My hanging baskets are almost all gone. I just have a few left. Mostly a strange color of pink, some purple petunias and fuchsias yet. Mostly because the fuchsias aren't in blossom they haven't sold. I haven't gotten much in the garden for the markets either. between the fire and the weather it has been a difficult Spring. oh well...there is time yet. I just got my potatoes in.. oyvey. and one more row to go. I just need to finish getting it tilled up to get them planted. oh, wait! two rows or maybe three. I found a bag of la sodas and I have three pounds of fingerlings yet..

 

Today I did a little weeding but spent quite a while in the bees, checking all four of my hives. It was hot and heavy work and not at all a good timing, as the weather was changing from decent to muggy and thunderstorms. The bees were agitated and not amused with my inspection. Be that as it may, I had to check them because I had a strong feeling that they might be making plans to swarm...as indeed they were.

This is the swarming season here and so I must take precautions to prevent that.

I broke the swarm cells out and inspected the frames, checked for honey in the supers and closed them back up as quickly as I could.
In 10 days, I shall repeat this.

 

Watered watered and watered. Planted the tomatoes, replanted the dead zucchinis, weeded the beets and new carrots- one row of them, thinned apples with kevin so now all the trees are done for the year. went and collected the swarm of bees from the neighbors house and sat them up on their own pad at the edge of dark and no one even got stung. now I am tired and going to bed.

 

It was quite hot and extremely humid in the lottie today, so I didn't get out in that too much...just melted some old bee frames for the wax and hung out in the shade.

When it got top be cooler, I tied-up the Kapucijner peas.

The blossoms are looking lovely:


It was time to span a line around the broadies to give them support when the winds come. The bees are pollinating

them very well... and still no blackfly.


I noticed that the runnerbeans were coming into bud:


There was one bloom preparing to open:


It was time to cover the second strawberry bed (the Korona's).


Which leads to the following announcement---We ate the first strawbs today.


It was not busy today, but still the day was varied and a few things got done.

 

Oh how delicious the strawberries look. So much more thrilling to the taste buds than store bought.

 

Today I planted a Little Bluestem 'Standing Ovation, a coneflower "PowWow Wildberry' and a Catmint 'Walkers Low' in the little corner bed by the front door

 

Today I replanted a few bush beans that refused to come out of the dirt. Also planted a row of bush beans. I watered a lot.

 

Strawberries are starting. We picked 10 quarts this morning and I have 6 tomatoes bearing fruit in the greenhouse. I picked 6 quarts off of those. Watered watered watered again. Then the electric went off. Something blew up at road on one of the power poles... whew whee! out for an hour and that is a long time when you need to water... again. no fans in the greenhouses no water from the well... then dinner and off to the garden again... another row of tomatoes and three rows of melons we put in. more tomorrow night now. I can't ever remember this late getting our garden in and especially since I started doing farmer markets.

 

Stopped in at the community garden after work today. Ran into my daughter who was just pulling in on her bike! We watered the garden together.

We now have ALL 25 of our asparagus crowns up and looking ferny! They are still only six inches to 24 inches high, but they are off to a good start!

Tomatoes went in yesterday, cukes went in the day before. I have planted squash at home in large pots. They will grow up a trellis.

 

Carolyn, do you have a generator?

Cayuga Morning, are your asparagus ferns toppling over a little? We put in new crowns this spring. They're growing well, but some taller ones are bent over a lot. Any advice?

 

Watered, spread some straw, did some pruning.

 

Hi Growingpains! Congrats on your new asparagus bed! I hope it is a success and that you will be rewarded with a FOREST of asparagus spears in future years.
To answer your question, please keep in mind I am no expert. This is the first time I have established a bed. Our asparagus are really thin...the stalks are 1/4 to 1/2 the diameter of a pencil. They look like babies, and yes, they sway a lot, but are not limp. Is that what your asparagus looks like? I have read that gardeners have to be sure to water asparagus crowns adequately the first year. I would show you a picture of mine, but I am technologically challenged.

 

Toni, I'm with you--muddy and soggy. It's too wet to do anything in the flower beds or veggie gardens, so I'm doing some pruning of low hanging tree branches (and getting a shower!). By the time I can get into the vegetable gardens, I'll have squash that resemble Algonquian war clubs!