Rhubarb Crumble. 5.4.14

Rhubarb Harvest for Crumble.  5.4.14

 I kept saying I was going to make either a rhubarb pie or rhubarb crumble.  Sunday I did.  Came out very good.  Easy, I don't know why I couldn't get myself to make it.

The rhubarb mix:

8 cups 1/2 inch slices of fresh rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

The topping:
1 cup flour
1 up brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats.
1/2 cup soft butter.

Preheat over to 375.
Spray 13 x 8 casserole dish with nonstick spray.

Combine rhubarb mix and spread into casserole dish.

Combine topping mix and sprinkle clumps over the rhubarb.

Bake 35 minutes until bubbling and hot in the center.

That's all.  Easy.

Rhubarb crumble.  5.4.14

Heritage Iris Bed. 5.6.14

Heritage irises in bloom.  5.6.14

 More of the heritage irises are blooming.  Iris florentina and Her Majesty continue to bloom and continue to be fragrant.  Indian Chief is blooming and is lightly fragrant.  Iris pallida dalmatica is the tallest and most fragrant so far.

Maybe with warmer drier weather the bacterial rot problem will resolve.  I hope so.  No additional compost or other stimulants.

I thought the Caen Anemones were all eaten by rabbits or deer.  A few are blooming after all.  They survived the big freeze, but the animals are another matter.  Maybe they will continue to survive.

Honeybees and Bee forage. 5.6.14

Honeybee cluster in new top bar hive.  5.4.14

Allium bee forage.  5.16.14

I opened one of the hives on Sunday, to inspect and see if the queen was released.  It was a bit chilly, so the vast majority - if not all - of the bees were in the hive, in a bee ball.  I didn't want to disturb them further, so did not look further.

Here's a problem to avoid.  One of the effects of my illness was weight loss.  My jeans tend to fall off, if I forget a belt.  Which I did forget.  Problem #2. I was commando.  Problem #3.  I was not careful to pull the bee suit down over the jeans.

Honeybees are really good about finding warm places to tunnel in and sting.  That's all I'm going to say.

Lesson learned.

I've been watching for foraging activity.  They have plenty of sugar water.  Alliums are a bee favorite.   Allium globosum is blooming now.  I'll let the onions and shallots bloom too.  Bees love those.

Next project- on a warm afternoon while they are foraging, I will check again for queen and comb construction.

Apple Grafting. Progress Report. 5/6/14

Apple graft, about 2 months.

 Here is another of the apple grafts.  This one is on a dwarf rootstock, that originated as a sucker off another tree.  It was crooked.  I don't think that will hurt anything in the long run.  A little zig zag just above ground level.

Looking at some of the grafting videos, there is risk of girdling if the wrapping isn't removed on time.  It's hard to identify when that is.  For a novice.  This was growing well above the graft, so I removed the wrapping.

The graft wound is well calloused.  It did not come loose.  It looks OK.

I also removed all new growth occurring on the rootstock, below the graft.

The last photo was via cellphone.  If I get a chance and remember, I'll replace it with a camera pic that is better focused.

Unwrapping the graft.  5.6.14

Apple graft.  Healed whip and tongue.  5.6.14 

Fruit Progress Report. 5.3.14

Hollywood Plum fruit set.  5.3.14

Shiro Plum fruit set.  5.3.14

 Fruit set so far.

Hollywood Plum.  Not a lot but better than I expected.  I did not hand pollinate this year.

Shiro Plum.  Much more than Hollywood.  I did not pollinate this one either.

Hardy Chicago fig.  Very few brebas.  Growth is good so far.

Petite negri fig / Petite aubique.  Generous production of brebas.

Hardy Chicago Fig.  5.3.14

Petite negri fig with brebas.  5.3.14