Apple protectors for birds and bugs. 5.15.2020

While thinning apples, I noticed some had been partially eaten by birds. I also read on a gardening website about people anxiously awaiting their Redlove apples, only to have them eaten by birds who apparently mistook them for cherries.

This year will be the first chance to taste my Redlove Calypso and Redlove Era apples, with only 2 or three of each per tree.  I'd rather be the one to taste them, not some stupid birds.

Last year I bought some organza gift bags, to see if individually bagging apples on the trees would prevent some insect damage.   Some people claim that doesn't prevent bird damage.  So, I sewed holographic scare tape to a couple of organza bags, and cut flaps so when the birds are looking at the bags and thinking "that stupid guy thinks those bags will keep us out", they will be distracted by the flashing moving lights.  Last year, the scare tape helped a lot with blueberries and cherries.

Organza bag / scare tape on a Redlove Era tiny apple.  5.15.2020

First Rhubarb Harvest. 5.15.2020

Today I harvested some rhubarb.  I was going to make a pie, but it was kind of a "COVID-19" and too much other bad news day, so I didn't.  Tomorrow.

I don't know the variety.  It was here when we bought the place, 8 years ago.  I'd like to divide it and plant in a nicer spot.  The stems are juicy and pink inside, an it makes a nice pink rhubarb pie.

Might make a good freezer jam, too.

More Bearded Iris Blossoms. 5.14.2020

Here is the white orphaned irise today.  It's nice.  Unlike "Immortality", it doesn't look like wet tissue paper after a rain. 

Here is what that iris rhizome looked like 5.21.2020 after I cleaned it up, after pulling it out of the brush pile.  It's amazing that it bloomed in almost exactly one year.  Irises are rugged.  That blossom was probably from the largest of these rhizome pieces.

Here is a view of the iris garden today.

"Immortality".  It actually does not look like wet tissue paper this time.  5.14.2020

Honorabile or Sans Souci, which may be the same thing.  5.14.2020

"Spiced Custard"  5.14.2020

"Red Dirt Road".  5.14.2020

"Edith Wolford".  5.14.2020

Some Efforts to Warm The Soil a Little. 5.14.2020

Soil temp is running about 58 to 60 this am.  I found some "Wall-o-water"-type cover   systems that I bought last year at Bi-mart but never used.  A long time ago, I used these to give tomatoes a head start. 

Since I have two "Bodaceous" and two "Better Boy" plants, I set up a water cover for one each of those.  There was one to spare, so I set that up on the "Early Girl Bush" tomato.

Today it's been raining all day.  After about 8 hours, the soil temp is only 62 in these units, but give them some sun and I imagine they will warm up better

After a week or two, we can see if the covered tomato plants are bigger than the uncovered ones of the same type.

For the raised bed with peppers, I added "Quonset hut" made from fencing, and topped that with clear polyethylene painter's dropcloth.  The Quonset looks like this, which is on some tomatoes.  An additional package of the polyethylene painter's dropcloth should come today via Amazon, in which case those tomatoes will also get a warming cover.

Here is the set-up on the peppers, in a raised bed.  Also, in front of that raised bed is a planted row of Lima bean seeds that I soaked last night.  I'm sure they also need some warmth.

Vegetable Garden Update. 5.13.2020

I planted some bean seeds, Landreth Bush Bean, shown.  These are some of my newest seeds, actually packaged for this year.  I'll soak the Limas overnight and plant tomorrow.

I think some of the other bush beans I planted two days ago have started to germinate.  I saw a couple of beans sticking above the soil.  It could be that rain washed the soil away, but I'm hopeful.  That was the Dragon's Tongue bush bean.

I think the soil temp is OK for about everything now  Today was overcast and drizzly, with soil temp 68 F in the afternoon.

Soil Temperature today, 5.13.2020

I cleared most of the rest of one of the messiest raised beds.  My inclination has always been to garden organically, but now I don't feel like I have that luxury.  Still, I'm not using pesticides, just Osmocote and a little Miracle Grow here and there.  For these, I treated the soil with Osmocote at the instruction amount.  This is not the Jalapeno bed, with two slicing cucumber plants at the back.  I raised all of these from seeds, planting last month.  For peppers, it might have been smarter to start in Feb or March, but I wasn't up to it then.  They are small, but I think they will do OK as the weather heats up.

Jalapeno Pepper Plants in a Raised Bed.  5.13.2020

I wondered if it was too cool a couple of weeks ago for planting pumpkins and squashes in the vegetable garden.  I did cover them at night for two weeks.  Since I stopped covering them a few days ago, they are really taking off.  I'm most interested in the Pink Banana Squashes, for nostalgic reasons.  It's growing nicely.  Those French Pumpkins are good too.  There may not be enough room for all of these, depends on whether the vines grow faster than the potatoes grow to clear out that area for spread.  It might work out OK.

Galeux d'Esynes Pumpkin.  5.13.2020

Pink Banana Squash.  5.13.2020