|
Post by bestofour on Apr 18, 2018 15:10:44 GMT -5
Watered the tomato seeds in the little greenhouse. Checked on the peas which are still only about 5 inches high.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Apr 18, 2018 16:14:53 GMT -5
Some sad news today. We checked out honeybees and discovered that all 4 hives were dead. It appears that they starved over the winter. We fed them in the Fall but they must not have produced enough honey to get them through the winter. We didn't even harvest any honey this year. We left it all for them but it just wasn't enough.
We feel very sad about this and have not decided if we will start over with a new hive. I guess I will clean up the hive boxes and ask hubby to talk to the neighbor who keeps bees and if he gets a swarm that he does not want to keep later in the spring, maybe hubby will want to give it a home.
|
|
|
Post by september on Apr 18, 2018 17:03:23 GMT -5
That is so sad, brownrexx, I hope you will be able to start over.
|
|
|
Post by octave1 on Apr 18, 2018 20:44:12 GMT -5
That is terrible, brownrexx. One wonders why bees did not get to make enough food for themselves. If they "thought" they had enough, there is some kind of impairment in their neuro-cognitive functions--something that neonicotinoids are known to cause.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Apr 19, 2018 7:59:53 GMT -5
octave1,I am not sure that they actually make a decision on how much food is enough. They just keep producing honey (food) until it gets too cold to do so and the nectar sources are gone. Beekeepers feed them supplemental food in the fall so that they do not start eating their stored honey too soon and we did this but I wonder if we should have fed them for longer. Hives are said to need 60 lbs of honey to make it through the winter so beekeepers are careful not to harvest too much honey so that they do not leave enough for the bees use over the winter. We did not harvest any last year. Our hives did swarm more than we expected last year and maybe they never built up their numbers that were left in the hive enough to make sufficient honey for the winter. I don't know. Sometimes the winter is just so cold that the hive consumes so much of its stored honey that it runs out before spring and I think that this is possibly what happened because we found dead bees inside of the hives. With Colony Collapse Disorder, the hives will be empty like the bees have disappeared. You can't really check on the hive during the winter because if you open it then all of the heat will be lost and the seals around the lid that the bees have made to keep out the cold will be broken. This can kill the bees.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Apr 19, 2018 9:06:22 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear about your bees.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Apr 19, 2018 10:15:00 GMT -5
brownrexx, are you sure that's what happened? The place I usually get my honey lost all his hives over the winter. He's not sure what happened but he thinks it was some type of virus or mite. Another acquaintance lost 2 of her hives over the winter.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 19, 2018 11:02:02 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about the bees, brownrexx. I guess beekeeping is a lot like gardening - hit or miss. You just hope that it hits more often than not.
|
|
|
Post by ahntjudy on Apr 19, 2018 11:04:36 GMT -5
Wow...sorry to hear about your bees, brownrexx ... I know you've always taken care of them very well...
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 19, 2018 12:11:01 GMT -5
Lousy out again today, but I have another job that I need to do: wash dishes. The DW went on the blink. Naturally, when I had a bunch of difficult to wash, like dried on bread dough. I remember in '84, when I installed my first DW - new on the retail market at the time, as it was the first one to heat the water for washing - I tested it with some dishes with dried on bread dough! I said, if it gets that off, it will clean anything, and it did. If it hadn't, I would have taken it back. I always thought it was so stupid that we had to rinse off ALL the dishes, before putting them in DWs. Why bother?
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Apr 19, 2018 14:41:20 GMT -5
are you sure that's what happened? Not positive but pretty sure. There were dead bees in the hive and no food on any of the combs. They were completely empty. Honeybees are prey to a number of diseases and parasites like mites but we treat for them. They get medicated food in the spring and fall when they are not making honey for possible human consumption. I take part in a colony loss survey every year and the average colony loss in PA this year was 39% which is higher than they usual average of 25%. Loss is always higher in states with cold winters.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Apr 23, 2018 19:36:19 GMT -5
Finally an amazingly beautiful day out. I was able to get the lawn mowed, most of the trimming done, drained the water off the pool cover, got it removed and put away. We got new neighbors last year and I let them borrow a lawn tractor. They promptly blew the engine and left it out in the yard all last winter. My brother helped me get it back out of their yard today. Finished off by making dinner, taking a shower and trying to not fall asleep in my chair but to sore to move.
|
|
|
Post by farmerjack41 on Apr 24, 2018 0:12:43 GMT -5
Weather not bad today, so did makes some accomplishments. Used a scrub brush and cleaned the winter dirt of the deck. Deck is only about 400 sq ft so went quite well. Planted two more 60 ft rows of beets and one 60 ft row of spuds. (Thankful for garden tractor to do the work. Hauled about ten lawn trailer loads of fire wood from the drying racks to the woodshed. Though had it made till I checked the frost forecast for tonight, saying 27, so moved over dozen flower pots back inside. Anything else can wait for another day.
|
|
|
Post by september on Apr 24, 2018 0:17:02 GMT -5
Beautiful day and 68F for the first time this year - got to wear shorts and sleeveless top, but still a few north facing old snow banks around. I seeded some varieties of lettuce in flats, along with some herbs and chard. All the trays of peppers and tomatoes came out of the greenhouse to sit on the lawn, and have an hour or so of direct sun after 3PM. Another month at least before they go in the ground, but weather permitting, in about a week, they will only stay in the greenhouse at night or rainy periods.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Apr 24, 2018 15:27:21 GMT -5
Raining
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Apr 24, 2018 16:44:21 GMT -5
Garden season has not really taken off so today I took time and weeded the, mostly perennial, flower beds. I can't believe how the chickweed and the henbit takes over but I actually feel like I got ahead of it for once. Of course it is probably already growing back but now I am ready for the veggie garden which I enjoy a whole lot more than weeding flower beds.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Apr 28, 2018 17:01:36 GMT -5
My tomato seedlings had reached as high as the lights so today I potted them into their bigger pots. I watched the plants like a hawk to make sure that they were not getting too much sun and then after about an hour I relocated them to my front porch in the shade.
They will be brought indoors at night but will start spending their days outside on the porch with a little more sun each day.
I was reading my garden notes and last year I planted my potatoes at the end of April so I guess that I should start thinking about doing that. They don't grow for several weeks after planting so even if it gets cold or we get some frost, they should be OK below ground.
|
|
|
Post by carolyn on Apr 28, 2018 17:52:42 GMT -5
What little I did do was in the high tunnel. double covered the tomatoes as it is supposed to get down to 30 tonight. sigh! cleaned up the pile of rocks I kept chucking towards the same spot in there and buried the pile of compost I keep dumping at the end of it.. planted up a few seeds of dill, covered all the hanging baskets in the littlest high tunnel as there is no heat in there and then I vegetated.
|
|
|
Post by daylilydude on Apr 28, 2018 19:33:36 GMT -5
Well I'm probably making a mistake, but you don't know till you try... right? I went ahead and planted 4 cabbage and 2 tomatoes in their SIP buckets and 6 pepper plants in the City Picker planter... going to see the grand daughter tomorrow morning and when we get back I'll probably plant a few other goodies...
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 28, 2018 20:59:32 GMT -5
I don't have a lot left to do until I start putting tomatoes in on Tues. So today I made up a bunch of labels, and attached them to the trellises with twist ties. Then I added my little pieces of mosquito dunks to all the SIPs, along with fixing a couple of leaking joints. I also made a frame out of scrap wood in my workshop to put an LED light over my tomatoes on my back porch, when I bring them in from hardening off. Not a strong enough light to grow them under from the start, but better than nothing.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Apr 28, 2018 21:18:08 GMT -5
For an hour and a half I pulled bedstraw out of the daylily bed. I hate that stuff and it comes back every year no matter what I do. daylilydude,you'll have to keep us posted on your tomato progress. I thought about putting mine out earlier than later but I'm a little afraid to do it. brownrexx,I planted potatoes today. It's a little late for me but the ground has been too wet.
|
|
|
Post by carolyn on Apr 29, 2018 6:51:44 GMT -5
For an hour and a half I pulled bedstraw out of the daylily bed. I hate that stuff and it comes back every year no matter what I do. daylilydude ,you'll have to keep us posted on your tomato progress. I thought about putting mine out earlier than later but I'm a little afraid to do it. brownrexx ,I planted potatoes today. It's a little late for me but the ground has been too wet. have you tried a granular herbicide? there is one in a yellow container for gardening , which I believe, is comprised of cornmeal gluten or a by-product. it kills the seeds as they germinate which hopefully will reduce the number of them you have to deal with.
|
|
|
Post by paulf on Apr 29, 2018 9:57:33 GMT -5
We raked all the old leaves and grass off the steep hillside between our house and the street. This is our wildflower and ornamental tree area. This wore us both out but it was the last raking area. Spring must be close since most of the trees are in flower.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Apr 29, 2018 10:52:05 GMT -5
bestofour, I cut my potatoes into pieces last night and will plant them today. I have 10 lbs of Kennebec and 5 lbs of Yukon Gold. All will get "planted" in straw only - no soil. This keeps the potatoes from developing scab on their skins.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Apr 29, 2018 13:51:21 GMT -5
carolyn, thanks I’ll look into that. It’s never been so bad so I’d really like it totally gone. paulf, that hill is lovely. brownrexx, when I used only straw I didn’t get a great production so now I cover them with dirt 2 or 3 times then cover with straw. Usually don’t have an issue with scab. Today went to church, lunch, nap.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Apr 29, 2018 16:21:40 GMT -5
I am SO annoyed at one of our cats!!!!!
Yesterday when I was potting up my tomato seedlings I ran out of potting soil so I ran down to the local greenhouse to buy a bag. Well of course I looked at the veggie seedlings and couldn't resist buying a 4-pack or orange bell peppers and a 3-pack of red bell peppers.
I potted the peppers into larger pots like my tomatoes and I have the flats in my sunroom because it is too cold outside today. Well I looked at the plants this morning and they we all looking happy but then later I looked at them and one of the orange peppers was bitten right off and was laying in the pot!!! I couldn't believe it. I felt like smacking her but she wouldn't have understood so I have just been giving her dirty looks all day and the sunroom doors will be closed tonight. That room is going to be off limits to her when I am not home. The poor little plant is just a stem with 2 leaves now so maybe it will grow back. I hope so. BAD Nellie, Bad.......
|
|
|
Post by paquebot on Apr 29, 2018 21:35:54 GMT -5
Took the easy life. Sat beside ny garden and watched a friend and his son plant 75 potatoes. I cut the bigger ones into sets while makinh certain that my oxygen tank was handy. Them spuds put uo quite a fight!
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Apr 30, 2018 9:29:17 GMT -5
brownrexx, I feel for you about the cat damage. I had to keep my cats locked out of the room with my seedlings because they wanted to eat them, especially the pepper seedlings.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 30, 2018 11:32:09 GMT -5
I still didn't have much to do today. I put the tomatoes out again, watching closely, since it's somewhat breezy out there. In this week of hardening off they strengthened up well, and yesterday stayed out in the sun the whole day, with no problem. So, out they go tomorrow! I just hope that it won't be too hot for them - it already will be for me! I did get my melon seeds and cuke seeds started today - things that I don't grow for long indoors, so they usually go out in 10 or 12 days after starting.
|
|
|
Post by bestofour on Apr 30, 2018 14:01:15 GMT -5
Watered the tomato 🍅 seedlings. Not sure when I’ll be able to actually plant them because the wind is relentless so they’re gonna have to be larger than smaller.
Saw on YouTube to put the okra seeds a friend sent me (thanks hairymooseknuckles) in water in an ice cube tray, freeze over night, then plant the ice cube tomorrow for guaranteed germination.
|
|