[gardeners] In the garden
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Mon, 18 May 1998 19:03:03
The Bennings Green Tint and the Butternut squash have babies showing up now
as do most of the tomatoes. The beans and peas are still blooming and the
cucuzzi gourds, cushaw squash, etc. are making female blooms now. Saw a lot
of honey bees around the bird bath this morning early. Gotta be sure to
keep it full to the brim for the little honey makers so they can pollinate.
Checked my orchard bee nest site today, has several working on putting up
babies. I took an untreated fir 4X4 and drilled holes of the proper
diameter and depth in it last winter. Hung it up this spring for the lady
bees to work on. Appears they know what to do. Also hung one up with no
holes and a couple of carpenter bees are working on it. May have enough
pollinators this year after all.
The herb garden is growing so good I intend to start harvesting a few
things tomorrow. Will thin and top the Rubin and Mammoth Leaf Basils, the
Ducat Dill, the feverfew, thyme, oregano, leaf celery, etc. Time to break
out the old dehydrator and load it down. If the crops are really good this
year I may have to buy more trays for the dehydrator. The New Zealand
Spinach and the Swiss Chard are big enough to start harvesting and freezing
for later use plus a daily bit of greens for us. I like to dehydrate a good
bit of the NZ Spinach for use in soups and stews in the winter so will
probably start drying some of that soon too.
The smoky haze from Southern Mexico is gone from here and it is now verrry
hot. I ran the tall spray head in the garden this morning for about an hour
and it was great fun to watch the Cardinals and Blue Jays come to bath.
There were several there at one time enjoying the water spray and flitting
about the garden. Unfortunately the tree rats showed up too (squirrels to
the uninitiated). These little furry varmints seem to know the city is a
nature preserve and that they are protected. Three litters a year, hardly
any predators, and lots of food. Good thing Sleepy Dawg keeps them run out
of the garden. Saw a hawk take one just at daylight this morning and
cheered him/her for that action. Neighbor had reported seeing a hawk take a
squirrel last week so maybe we've got a pair feeding fledglings. Didn't get
a good enough look to identify the hawk but it was large. A family of owls
lives in a hollow tree down the street and put a little dent in the
squirrel population too.
Hope all are enjoying their gardens.
George