Update May 27th

Garden status with pictures.  This one is going to be kinda long.  Showing fruit trees too.

Serious peas.  We tend to just graze on them right out of the pod like candy.

Squash and Eggplant were overpowering the Okra, so I have attempted to transplant them to the bed where the cabbage was.

Moved seven of them.  Hoping they will bounce back with a little watering.  Tomatoes and peppers in there too.  Harvested what was left of the cabbage to make room for the Okra.

Arugula and Fava beans are doing great.  Been eating arugula for a while now.

Cantaloupe is in a different location, but is coming along.  Tomatoes are still behind where I expected them to be based on the warm Spring.  They are healthy and when they do come in we are going to have way more than we can eat.

We expected our fruit trees to do better this year, especially with the new bee hives.  Most of them bloomed out very early and then the April freezes came.  We covered what we could, but I think the cold nipped them at a vulnerable time.  We had peaches starting, but they disappeared except for one sick looking one.  We have very few cherries and only a couple of damson plums on one of the three plum trees.

The orange tree, however, is looking pretty good.

Herbs in pots on the deck are doing fine.

Also picked chard and brussels sprouts today.

And yes the bees look great today, especially Isabella.  Just looked in on them.  You would never guess that hive swarmed a week ago based on the number of bees.

Homeless bees?

Found some wet cranky bees in the mulch this morning, below the bush where the swarm was last night.

 Don't know what that means.  Stormed hard all night here last night and the hives were not very active.  Rosamund's old hive population looked about the same, so I am guessing it is the stragglers that we couldn't entice into Frank's box.  I don't think Rosamund is in the pile.  Most of the swarm went eagerly into the box and were fanning the good vibes on top of it.

Hoping they go back to the old hive.  Anyway, they'll have to work it out one way or the other.

Rosamund's turn

I was late getting home tonight, but I had to go have a peek at the girls.   Isabella still had busy foragers coming in, but Rosamund was unusually quiet.  I peeked at Isabella and admired her busy, enthusiastic workers and then looked in at Rosamund.

She was very laid back.

And I could see the comb, unlike this morning when they were covering the combs so completely that I couldn't see the swarm cells that were evident tonight.

And one was open at the bottom.

So, I hollered for Chuck and we looked and looked up in all the trees around and behind the hives.  They were nowhere to be seen.  We started back into the house, thinking that they had already headed off to someone else's yard or hole in a tree or wherever they found a spot when I noticed a brown wad wrapped around the crook of one of our crepe myrtle bushes.

I ran in the house to get my phone and camera.  Chuck got his camera.  I called Frank.

This is what he'll find when he gets here.

Except it is going to be DARK.  He's an hour away and can't get them tomorrow, so it's now or, most likely, never.

And rumor has it that bees don't like being messed with at night.

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We did it anyway, though.  

Frank was here by 9:30 and gone by 10:20 with a box full of bees.

There were a couple of stings and a little attitude, but not nearly as much as the rainy evening we helped Marty split 3 hives. And that's with Chuck sawing off the crepe myrtle trunk to lift them over the box. In the dark with only a couple of little red flashlights to see by.

Bee handling endorphins are a little like getting a tattoo.  :-)

Post swarm

Kitty and I were checking them out this evening. Here is the hive where the swarm came from. Last week you could not even see comb for all the bees.

Kitty and I both saw a queen, but she disappeared before I could get a photo. Here is a queen cell that clearly had hatched and had workers cleaning it out this evening.

And this is what the other hive looks like right now.

Swarm capture

Frank came to the rescue of Lucretia and her flock. He showed up this morning around ten o'clock with an empty Langstroth and we were off.  Frank was the first person who came to mind when the swarm happened.  He has not had as good fortune as us with being a new beekeeper and we were pleased when he could come.

Smile girls!

Ready for the shake.

Plop! Most came with the first shake of the tree limb.

One more shake for the stragglers. They started fanning right away, sending out the good mojo to the rest that this was the new home.

Moving in.

Top on, strapped down and waiting for the remaining few to come in the entrance. It looked like we got most of them. He left very pleased.

After he left there were a couple late for the party.

And it looked like there were a few trying to get back in the old house. Just a normal Monday morning here at the "farm".

Lucretia swarm

Wow! Two months in and Lucretia has swarmed. It's only about 10 to 12 feet off the ground on a limb. Kitty has been gone all weekend and we were sitting on the deck and she looked out and saw it. Just happened. Again, wow!

Weeds

Over the last two weeks the weeds and grass have been coming back through the mulch around the Hazels. I knew I needed a thicker layer of mulch, but wanted to address the weeds with something first. Kitty found a recipe for weed killer consisting of a gallon of vinegar mixed with a cup of table salt and a tablespoon of liquid soap to help it cling to the weeds. So I sprayed the weeds today before adding more mulch and was amazed at how quickly it started to work. There was significant wilting just after thirty minutes. Here are some before and after photos demonstrating that.

It clearly worked faster on the broad leaf weeds and clover. It seemed to be working slower on the grass. I expect that I will have to continue to treat the mulched areas over the Summer, but I am pleased with how this concoction is working so far.

Update May 13

This is a garden update, more for me than a hey look what what I have post.

Red romaine at the top that we will need to eat pretty soon before it gets too hot. Swiss chard at either end and a little spinach on the near side. Main bed has summer squash, zucchini, eggplant and okra. The okra has hardly sprouted and is getting overwhelmed by the rest. Hopefully it will be strong late after the rest has played out.

Pea vines, very young tomato plants and arugula on both ends. No peas to eat yet. Still hoping they come in before the real heat comes. Definitely better growth than last Spring.

Finally getting small cabbage heads. We will eat these soon. Don't expect them to get much bigger. Peppers at the far end have been very slow, but since they like the heat, we look forward to them later. Wilted volunteer tomato plants in the middle transplanted today from the swiss chard plantings where they came up unsolicited. Hoping that most will make it.

Brussels sprouts still going strong. Fava beans growing well and flowering. More mature tomato plants in the rest of the bed.

Roasted brussels sprouts....it's what's for dinner.

Status update - Rosamund

9 empty bars of 24.

Status update - Lucretia

8 empty bars of 24

Hazels

I ordered fifty root stock hazelnut bushes/trees from Mark Shepard about two months ago. I cannot remember where I found his link, but I think I stumbled upon the blog first. I came up with the idea to plant a hedge of hazelnuts around the outside of the labyrinth. I emailed Mark and he agreed that hedging is a great way to grow hazels and the project was on. My hazel sticks came this past Friday and I started getting them in the ground on Saturday. Most were planted Sunday through Tuesday. We have much quartz in our yard and it was not an easy task. I mulched them all yesterday.

It took 43 of them, planted four feet apart, to get around the labyrinth. The extra seven were planted in spare nursery pots as back-up in case some don't make it. Any of the potted ones I don't need I plan to give away to friends.

The big surprise was how quickly they they came to life. They came as sticks with varying degrees of root attached. I planted them in compost to give them a good head start and they responded wonderfully. Many started leafing out within 24 to 48 hours after they went into the ground.

They supposedly flower in early Spring, and though they are wind polanated, Gunther Hauk says that bees use them to forage...win, win. Speaking of sticks. We also have Paw Paws. We started with one a couple of years ago and learned last year that a grove works best and so we bought four more. They are also doing well this Spring. All are well leafed out and are planted back in the trees where they do best.