Posted on 04/20/2012 10:06:22 AM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde
Good morning to my FRiends, fellow gardeners, future gardeners, and lurkers! It is beautiful and sunny today here in NELA. We received 2-1/2 inches of rain earlier in the week and it is still very wet in the yard and garden.
I've been keeping busy with my bee yard ... I got called about a swarm day-before-yesterday, about 25 miles south of my house. I still had all of my bee catching equipment in my truck from doing a hive cutout last weekend, so off I went. Below is a photo of the swarm when I got there, and the latest photo of my bee yard with the newest hives on the right-hand side.
It is my hope that everybody is getting the weather they need, and none of what they don't. Check-in and let everybody know what you're up to in your neck of the woods.
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
Do you think the celery would have developed roots if you left it in a container of water before planting? I have no clue.
Prayers for Mark.
My dh and I are thinking about bees. We had never heard of the top bar hive. I found plans for diy at http://www.saveourskills.com/downloads/How_to_build_a_TBH.pdf
Are you just south of Monroe or further east?
I am on I-20 40 miles east of Monroe and 40 miles west of Vicksburg. You pass my house every time you come through.
Pretty thrilled to see our fig bush absolutely loaded with baby figs ...... three days later, it is bare ..... evidently the deer were thrilled about the baby figs, too!
Got this picture of the inside of one of the 'black' iris that are blooming around the house ... not really black, but so dark purple they look almost black.
Thank you for the link. That was an interesting and very well-done presentation and instructions.
And, thanks much for the prayers.
Thank you so much! Extra points for the lovely photos!
Could you please add me to your ping list? Thanks in advance.
Or is that how you disperse a hive? Do you use some pheromone?
Well, in the case of a swarm, I am not concerned with *finding* the queen, you know that she is in the middle of that ball of bees, which is why they are in a ball -- to protect her and keep her warm.
This particular swarm decided to gather in this tree, which was just outside the front door of this little 90-year-old lady's home. She was frozen in fear that she would be stung and killed.
The swarm was about 12 feet above the ground, and I wanted to get every bee possible because of her concerns, so I got up on a step ladder and vacuumed them up with the bee vac. I started at the bottom of the ball, and about 15 minutes later I was done. I could tell once I had the queen in the capture box because the bees started voluntarily flying down the hose because they were following her pheromone.
We do place pheromone, or lemongrass oil which mimics queen pheromone, into swarm traps to try to catch one that might be in the area. Have 4 traps up in a 5 mile radius of my house, but haven't caught a swarm in one yet. Trying to get permission to trap my husband's golf club course because he has seen a couple of swarms go by while playing.
Had the swarm been closer to the ground, or further from this lady's door, I would probably have just put a hive box under the ball and grabbed the ball of bees and dropped them in the box. Once the queen goes in, the rest of the bees that may be straying around will follow.
LOL ... your question reminds me of a Erma Bombeck's book, The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank. The answer is really, I don't know. Can't honestly say that I've ever heard of anybody doing so. I do remember that my Granny's kitchen sink drained directly out of the house into a kinda trench that went across the side yard. She had the most beautiful Tiger lilies that grew along there, but that was way back before they started banning phosphates in detergent.
Yay for trees!! I think it is wonderful that your doc will barter with you ... great going! No doubt, he will enjoy your canned goods.
Please don’t go! At least stop in for the gardening thread ... you know we don’t let politics interfere with our fun here.
You are only the 2nd person I’ve ever known that grew bamboo on purpose. It does make a great screen and barrier to noise, which is what my neighbor has done with it. He blocks the view and the noise from the interstate.
Breathtakingly beautiful iris! Good thing you got a photo of the figs to remember them by. :)
Missing parts are shipping on Monday.
Again, you’re very welcome for the onions; raised bed sounds perfect.
I hilled up a raised wide-row, and planted 150-200 of Bonnie’s Walla-Walla Sweets (http://bonnieplants.com/products/vegetables/onions/walla-walla-sweet-onion) started-onions today...among some other odds & ends. I buy 2 bundles of them, 75-100/bundle. If sweet reds come in, I’ll buy them, too, as they did good last year.
I left the celery in a saucer for nearly 2 weeks, and it looked like it was starting to put out roots, so potted it. After about 10 days in the pot, it suddenly began to collapse. It may need to stay in water longer.
Oh, we finally got a broodie hen; been glued to the nest for 4-5 days now. She’s one of the Black Jersey Giants; and since both roosters are too, at least hers will be pure, but I’ll bet she’s also stolen some of Slow White Cross Rocks’ eggs.
I can now start to thin the flock down to a manageable size, and still have excess eggs. Neighbors flee when they see us coming, and it isn’t even zucchini season. LOL Boiled eggs—I did over 50 last weekend; pickled eggs; 8-egg lemon-poppy seed pound cakes; omelets; deviled eggs; ... egg foo yung .
Monday, a game warden from Iowa & his buddy showed up to fill their last archery turkey tag; been here a couple of prior years, too. Today, the Minnesota Highway Patrol, 3 of them, rolled in right on schedule for their turkey hunting; 2 of the 3 have been here before, also. They’re all really great guys; they also know & are liked by several of the surrounding neighbors, too.
Sorry for the delay, been busy with other issues today and just got back to the computer. We are projected to have a low of around 36 degrees here in SE Missouri. Cold enough to bring all the tomato plants and citrus plant indoors.
I think all the plants close to the ground and in raised beds will be ok. The plants up higher in the air were the ones that suffered last time.
Back in the mid-70’s, our landlord, and another tenant on the property grew a large patch of bamboo in one corner of the yard. Pretty stuff, and practical, too.
It was a very effective screen for their joint pot garden. LOL We had a large planter box next to our unit’s door, and I had to watch it like a hawk every spring, because a former renter had dumped their seeds in it, and volunteer marijuana seedlings look very much like tomato seedlings, until they start getting a couple of sets of true leaves.
That’s what happens when you live in a ‘student ghetto’ in sunny southern California.
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