The Country Garden Showcase #47

Happy Valentine's Day!

On the homefront this week I got restless and tilled up a few big garden beds. Our original goal was to stick to a few small raised beds and wait it out this first year while we remodel the house since there is so much to do, but I am going stir crazy without some dirt to play in so my husband "caved in" to my need to grow something and we decided on two big plots in the front yard for this year.  I am so glad.

This week I have a few more things planned for the garden.  Here's my list-

Weekly Garden Objectives 

test the soil in the garden area- pH, N, P, K

chip up tree branches and add them to the garden beds

mix in some aged chicken manure

start seeds indoors ie: tomato, peppers, cucumbers 

direct sow cold season seeds in beds ie: carrot, spinach, radish, mesclun, and beet

find my boxes of 4mil clear plastic to have on hand to cover the beds with if needed

This week's FEATURED GARDEN post Garden Tips from the Micro Farm Project: How to Grow Quinoa was written and shared with us by Kari Spencer.  Kari is a Master Gardener and the operator of the Micro Farm Project.   

http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-grow-quinoa

You can catch her insightful post again HERE.  This article is thorough.  It contains notes about quinoa planting and climate requirements, pest and disease problems, and cultural practices that will help ensure a successful quinoa harvest.  This article demystified quinoa and inspired me to grow it myself this year.  I am looking forward to sharing my observations with you this Fall.  Meanwhile, if you've been on the fence about whether or not to try growing quinoa in your garden you may want to read Kari's article.  It may just push you over the edge too.  

Have a GREAT and productive week in the garden folks!  It's your turn to share.

Let's get HOPPING!!! 

The Country Garden Showcase- Week 16

This is a picture of some of my peach blooms yesterday afternoon...

 Can you see them underneath the snow? 

My main garden looks pretty sad too, though everything is doing well.

I have had lots of time to get caught up on my reading this week.  We've had snow, rain, and cold winds.  I didn't have an opportunity to get much done outside for my garden, but I did manage to get my second hive installed today and I re-queened my first hive with a Carniolan queen.  From what I have read, the Carniolans are much more winter hearty than the Italians I already have. Given the snowfall we keep getting... it can't hurt.

 That small plastic "cage" contains the queen.  It hangs inside the hive suspended for several days to protect this new queen.  She is new to the package bees.  It will take her some time to influence them via pheromones to accept her as their queen.  At the bottom of the small cage is a sugar candy insert that I uncapped.  Within a few days (hopefully not too soon) the attendant bees will eat through this candy plug and release her into the hive to get to work.  If all goes well, I will soon have an established Carniolan hive.

 My Carniolan package of bees.  This is a three pound package.  It is estimated to hold about 10,000 bees.  They all look very healthy.  Some got out before we took this picture as I removed the first of two queens from the box.

 I know it looks silly to have my jeans tucked into my socks, but it works better than rubber bands or duct taped ankles.  Behind me, the triangle yard that will soon be my hens playground when they're not free-ranging it in the yard by my side.  I may eventually need to move my bees though, we'll see...  I hope they can co-exist there.

 My new hive sits under the filtered light of a willow tree in the center of our property.  My hubby made me a ventilation super as an experiment.  I have been reading about folks eliminating most bacteria and fungus issues inside hives by improving ventilation and came across a picture of a hive with a homemade super that featured holes that can be kept open for increased ventilation or plugged by corks when needed.  Some are even insulated inside with strips of wool that may wick moisture from below.  We are going to try it.  I have also read that these passive ventilation boxes increase honey too.  It could be a win, win.  It's tough to see, but there are two corks in the front of this one for now.

 I am a new and overzealous beekeeper.  I failed to find my original queen during two thorough inspections, so I ordered the replacement.

Less than a week ago, there were no queen cells in my hive, and no new brood.  Everything flying around was young and new, but nothing cooking inside those cells... Today, to my surprise, three frames were FULL of new brood and there were five new Italian queen cells, so either my eyes are REALLY bad or she's there...

In desperation, I looked for her again to no avail then I decided that instead of adding the new queen, I would split the hive.  I gave half of the bees and new frames to the new Carniolan queen and half to the queen cells.  Maybe I'll get lucky and get three hives in the end... It's worth a shot.

I have been trying to detox the Italians because the home they came from was full of IPM chemical controls for mites.  They came to me from almond orchards in the valley.  I am pretty sure that they've been exposed to lots of toxins in those almond fields.

I am happy to report that one of my experiments seems to be working.  Not wanting to treat with chemicals if at all possible, I have been dusting them with powdered sugar every seven days to encourage them to groom and remove varroa mites.  The first time I did this, there were lots of dead mites under my screened pest management board.  I have been doing this for three weeks now and today I looked hard at the bees and could only see 3 mites among thousands of bees.   The numbers have dropped dramatically in the IPM board capture too, and I'll dust one more time before summer.  The Carniolans are my second IPM strategy.  They are very hygienic and groom themselves regularly.  That appears to be a great start for varroa control, so far. Fingers crossed.

What have you been up to in your garden this week???

The Country Garden Showcase- Week 15

Garden Magic

This is the garden's magic, 

That through the sunny hours 

The gardener who tends it, Himself outgrows his flowers. 

He grows by gift of patience, 

Since he who sows must know 

That only in the Lord's good time, Does any seedling grow.

He learns from buds unfolding, 

From each tight leaf unfurled, 

That his own heart, expanding, Is one with all the world.

He bares his head to sunshine, 

His bending back a sign

Of grace, and ev'ry shower becomes, His sacramental wine.

And when at last his labors 

Bring forth the very stuff 

And substance of all beauty, This is reward enough.

-Marie Nettleton Carroll

I hope this week finds you happy, healthy, and excited about your garden.  It's been a mixed bag of goods around here this week.  Strong sustained winds in excess of 45 mph for a few days, some wonderful sunshine,  and 20 degree nights.  My plastic covered mini hoophouses have been hanging in there, so far.

My greenhouse is struggling to stay warm enough for my tender tomatoes and cucumbers at night.  Even with a space heater.  Until we get time to go down the mountain and get new wooden furrow strips that go under the lexan, we'll have lots of gaps for wind and cold to enter and for heat to escape from.

Today, I plugged some of these spaces with quilt batting.  I know it's a temporary fix, but I just need a few more weeks before I can safely plant tomatoes and cucurbits in the ground.  I am crossing my fingers, but I hope it works for now.

Can you see our new pet in the picture above?  It's a plastic owl.  We got him today, an act of desperation.  I have been getting spoiled planting everything under cold frames and row covers for a year now.  

I forgot about little birds and how they like to eat baby plants.  

Yesterday I planted about 300 seedlings.  Cold hearty ones like onions, radishes, beets, and pak choy only to find that this morning the little birds I have been feeding with my bird feeders were now feasting on the leaves of my baby plants...   

We spent Easter morning hastily tying mylar tape to anything that would hold it safely.  

When that didn't scare them, we went and got some garden yard art that waves in the wind, and eventually the owl...  He scared them off for less than an hour.  

My last effort was to cover everything in straw mulch for the night.  I am going to make a scare crow tomorrow, but I have a sinking suspicion that I will lose this batch of tender plants to birds before the week is out.  Oh well, you win some and you lose some.  I'll plant older plants that can sustain some bird damage next time.  

 I pruned my new pecan and almond trees.  My wonderful husband made me a few spacer bars to spread branches and get a nice open canopy on this little almond

 The garlic, celery, and onions are hanging in there.  They did get a bit too cold the other night.

  My new berry garden is coming along well.  This is a raspberry cane.

 I finally figured out where all that bright magenta pollen is coming from on my bees legs...  my crabapple tree.

My little ladies have been hard at work bringing in lots of pollen as often as weather permits.  They sure are alot hardier than I expected.  They work from dawn until dusk when it's not raining or too windy.  I enjoy watching them fly in with full pollen sacks.  


Notice the bigger, darker bees in the picture above, they're the male drone bees.  Did you know that drones die after mating?  Really.  Their male reproductive organ and some of the abdominal wall are ripped off during mating, killing them.  They do not have stingers either.  Stingers are ovipositors or modified egg laying instruments, the males do not have them, therefore they cannot sting you.  

April Garden Planning Checklist...

Plant seedlings (in progress)

start warm season vegetable seeds indoors (in progress)

plant flowers (DONE)

plant sweet pea fencelines (DONE)

plant Scarlet Red Runner Beans (DONE)

natural varroa mite control- sprinkle bees lightly with powdered sugar on frames weekly (in progress)

prepare new beds and terrace (DONE)

make garden plans for new plantings (DONE)

start herb seeds indoors (in progress)

start bee friendly flower seeds indoors (in progress)

build chicken coop for new chicks... (hubby made plans, will be starting soon)

keep adding to compost pile (in progress)

What have YOU been working on in YOUR garden this week???

I am linking this post to a few of my favorite hops-

Deborah Jean's Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

Amy's Homestead Barn Hop

KarenLynn's The Ole' Saturday HomesteadingTrading Post

& I will be linking to Lisa's Made from Scratch Blog Hop (next Saturday) 

The Country Garden Showcase- week 14

Give fools their gold, and knaves their power; let fortune's bubbles rise and fall; who sows a field, or trains a flower, or plants a tree, is more than all.
John Greenleaf Whittier

 It rained, snowed, and sleeted much of the day, but the sun is peeking out now.  We are so lucky to be getting this moisture.  Ahead of this storm I planted several six packs of pansy, viola, stock, dianthis, snapdragon, and alyssum allover my yard, front and back.  I was inspired by Deb's recent flower garden posts.  I hope my new honeybees enjoy the flowers, I sure do.

Today I started transplanting the tomatoes and cucumbers that I had been growing en masse via New Victory Gardener Bob Thomson's method.  

So far, so good.  It was surprisingly easy, just as he said it would be to unpot and separate the seedlings.  


The key it seems, is not to wait too long...  

I started many seeds inside the one gallon pots to the left containing a mixture of vermiculite, sphagnum peat moss, a few handfuls of perlite, and soil-less seed starting mix.

Here are a few pics of what I did today.

 preparing to unpot gently the entire root ball at once

 root ball came out easily and look at those wonderful roots

the soilless medium broke up well releasing the roots effortlessly

 nice, long roots and healthy stems 

 I repotted them individually, some two plants to a container into 4" pots and made my own foofoo labels

 like so

Here is the result... I have about 10 more trays of pots to transplant, but I am very pleased with this method.  I will definitely use it from now on.  It's the fastest germination method I have tried and the sterile soilless components result in no seedling losses to bacteria or fungus.   

What have YOU been working on in your garden this week???

The Country Garden Showcase- week 13

to BEE or not to BEE

Did you know that a third of the fruits and vegetables we eat depend on bees for pollination? In fact almonds, watermelons, cantaloupes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples, cherries, oranges, peaches and kiwifruit depend on bees for pollination. Cucumbers, squash, and some beans and peas count on bees too and your prizewinning tomatoes, eggplants, okra, and peppers don't produce quality without them. University studies routinely demonstrate that bee pollination improves crop yield by as much as 50%. Wow! That's worth investigating so last fall I set out to read up on bees and beekeeping in hopes that I might one day be able to have a hive or two around my garden.

Yesterday was my big day. I got my first honeybee colony. Yippee! My mentor was so helpful. He demonstrated so many important beekeeping skills and allowed me to get some hands on experience. Thank you Ron. I really had a blast and I learned so much! Seeing things up close is so much better than reading about it in a book or watching it on Youtube.

Ron is a pollination beekeeper and this field full of bees just returned from almond pollination duty. In a few weeks, Ron's bees will be heading to orange groves for pollination. At that time, I will get more more experience and learn some new skills. I hope to bring home my second hive then.

Here are a few pics of my first field day...

Yuck!  This mess is a great example of the woes of professional beekeepers.  This is wax moth damage.  They often move into empty hives in storage and destroy hive and frame.  Ron has what looks like a few hundred hives in storage.  I hope I never have to find out how to get rid of this pest myself.  It's very destructive.

  Obscured behind a few giant coastal redwoods you can see my new beehive full of hard working little ladies.

If you're considering beekeeping I recommend that you investigate your local and regional resources.  I found several beekeeping associations and clubs in my state and I found my mentor by contacting the County Cooperative Extension Entomologist.  There are so many great books out there to give you a head start and don't forget, there are lots of great bloggers that regularly report on their beekeeping experiences too.  Friends like KarenLynn of the Lil' Suburban Homestead and Amy Walker of Homestead Revival.  I am starting this new adventure with a wealth of support and excitement.  I hope to post soon about each of my beekeeping "first" experiences.  have a great and productive week ahead. 

What have you been doing in your garden this week???

I am sharing this post on the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop HERE! and 

Kelly Morris' brand new Homesteader Blog Carnival HERE

Tiffany's Garden Life hop at No Ordinary Homestead

and Jill, Kendra, and Amy for The Homestead BARN Hop!

The Country Garden Showcase- Week 12

We have snow falling.  

Off and on it's been falling for the better part of two days.  I am not complaining.  I love to watch it fall.  I got lots of things done ahead of the snow outdoors, but I am stuck inside for a few days now so here's a little poem about spring.

Springtime

Oh, spring came to my garden 

And caught it unaware 

Wearing just a few old leaves 

And a dejected air.

But when spring left my garden, 

Its work so deftly done, 

Many, many Daffodils

Were dancing in the sun.

-Velma D. BATES

 Thank you and have a wonderful and productive week ahead!

The Country Garden Showcase- Week 11

Welcome Friends!

The greenhouse move in pictures...

Greenhouse is finally IN the backyard and has heat, new shelves with wheels and overhead lights are on the way...  This empty spot on the hill is where the greenhouse WAS...

 This picture below depicts poor Jerry taking the entire thing apart and refurbishing it before reassembly in the backyard... its new home.

 she got a fresh coat of paint and a scrub-a-dub too

 This is my babygirl Sugarplum, she was supervising the process...

 Bright, shiny new paint good for another ten years.

 Papa pausing from paint for a picture...

 The next morning her was at it again...

 with lightning speed and a steely resolve

 he was determined to get the greenhouse finished before sundown...

 Powered by ice cream bars, Jerry worked all day long again.

 By 3pm I could see he was getting close...

 just the lexan was left...

 When it was finished, he paused for a quick snack before he cleaned up and came indoors to relax.

 Jerry built this greenhouse for me originally, about a decade ago.  He cut and painted pretty decorative gingerbread on the ends.  I loved it then, but I love it so much more now with heat.

Stay tuned for what's going inside this week...

March 10th Garden Prep and Plan

150 onion bulbs hardened off and planted in the garden DONE

taking back the terraced backyard hill- till and prep soil for planting DONE

more potatoes planted DONE

asparagus planted DONE

make soilless seed starting mix with vermiculite, peat moss, and seed starter mix DONE

veggie seeds planted Victory Garden style- awaiting germination DONE

pecan trees planted x2 DONE

almond trees planted x2 DONE

raspberry canes planted x4 DONE

blackberry canes planted x4 DONE

seedless table grapes planted x3 DONE

I couldn't wait for our last frost so I bought 3 heirloom tomato plants and planted them in 5 gallon buckets inside the greenhouse.  I will eventually transplant them into 15 gallon buckets.  I will get early tomatoes!  Yippee!

Please share what's been going on at your place and have a GREAT week!