Bee forage

Bumblebee on Buddleia X "Peach Cobbler"

I don't see a lot of foraging by the honeybees.

Buddleia - bumblebees like them, and continue to forage.  But not honeybees.

Sedum Autumn Joy and similar - a fair amount of foraging.  I'm glad I moved these mature plants to the Battleground yard.

Sedum "Autumn Joy"

Sedum "Autumn Joy"

Lots of bees on these succulents.

Not much forage remaining on Oregano.  At this point, oregano is no longer a significant source.  Given how much it was foraged earlier, I want to add more, next year.

Anise hyssop is also done.  Coreopsis and Caryopteris are nearly done.

I can't imagine there is much more nectar and pollen remaining.  At this point, the honeybees will need to depend on what they have stored.  If that runs out, I might need to add some sugar water.

Harvest Early September

Harvest Last Weekend

Charlotte Peach with Yellow Jacket

Pepper barrel

Hawaiian Pineapple Tomato

Fresh Peaches

Today's Catch

Raised Beds. Renovated One and Added a New One. Multiplier Onions.

Kitchen garden, from the west

 I cleaned up one raised bed.  There were some plant starts I no longer wanted.  I saved the row of Egyptian Walking Onions to clean up, divide, and replant.  I planted some at the same time last year with good result.  The cleaned up bed will be Ning's Chinese Cabbage bed.

Egyptian Walking Onions, before planting

Egyptian Walking Onions, cleaned and arranged

 After carefully digging out the onion bulbs here is what remains.  It's enough for about 50 starts.

Egyptian Walking Onions Large plants in place, now for the sets.

I cleaned them up, cut off the tops, split apart the topsets, and planted into rows.  They are about 4 inches apart.  We'll pull out every-other-one for scallions, leaving them a reasonable 8 inches apart.

Now they are planted and watered in.

This raised bed is another "molehill gardening" bed.  All of the added topsoil originates as mole hills.  I go around the yard with the wheelbarrow and a shovel, removing the mole hills.  I keep them in a pile and when constructing a new bed, that is the source of topsoil.  I mix with about 30% compost.  The compost is "yard waste" compost from H&H recycling.  I'm suspicious, some of that yard waste is really demolition waste - they grind up old wooden waste - but I think that's OK.

The molehills are finely ground, light, no clods, no stones, no plant matter.  Since they originate fairly deep, using them brings minerals back to the surface level.  They are very easy to remove and haul to the garden.   I'm not worried about the lawn sinking - stomping down the molehills would not help with that anyway.  

Sourwood Tree profile. Oxydendrum arboreum.

I noted in previous post, I bought a fair sized specimen Sourwood tree.  Oxydendrum arboreum.

Sourwoods are native to the Southeastern united states.  They are relatively undomesticated.  In other words, there are few cultivars.  This specimen was labeled, just, "Sourwood Tree".

According to Portland nursery, in this area, the tree is upright, slow growing, with a rounded top appearance.   They grow 25 to 30 feet tall, but in their native habitat grow much taller, 100 feet.  They like an acidic, peaty soil, and should be mulched without much plant competition under the tree.

Portland nursery states when planted in lawns, the tree does not thrive. Since I won't have grass growing up to the trunk, and will keep it mulched and add compost, I hope it will do better.

According to http://forestry.about.com/od/silviculture/p/sourwood.htm, sourwoods tolerate clay soil, and loam, sand, acidic soils.  My soil is a clay soil, somewhat acidic.  Also stated there "Reportedly not highly drought tolerant, but there are beautiful specimens in USDA hardiness zone 7 growing in the open sun in poor clay with no irrigation."

 Pic from wikimedia commons .  Sourwood trees make a great varietal honey.   I will have a beehive near this tree, so maybe there will be a small amount of sourwood honey flavor in the honey. At least, it should feed the honeybees.  Along with the lindens I planted, and the fruit trees, and the herbs and flowers.

Yesterday I raked back the straw mulch, and added a few inches of compost to enrich the soil and feed the tree.

I hope it grows.

Planning for a less energetic tomorrow.

I have much less energy than a year ago.  i don't know how far or fast I will decline.  But I want to continue gardening.  That means planning ahead.  What will I do?

- Get the tree planting done now.  It almost is done - a few minor additions, but the orchard is a complete as it needs to be.  Other trees are just icing on the cake.

- Keep the trees well watered this year.  Water deep and with decreasing frequency, for deep rooting.  Mulch with compost, to make the ground more spongy.  Cover that with straw mulch - cheap, biodegradable, keep the ground moist, keep the weeds down.

- Change the circles around trees, into contiguous rows of trees, for easier mowing.

- The raised beds are almost all done.  Three more.  It takes weeks to build one now, that I put together in a day before.  But once done, they are so much easier to manage, compared to in-ground garden rows.  No tilling.  Weeds easy to pull.  Few weeds - grass doesn't enter from the sides.  Just replenish the compost every year or two.  The higher level is much easier to plant, weed, and pull, compared to ground level.

- Continue to convert to dry tolerant plants and trees.  Watering doesn't just take water, it takes time and is tiring.

- I may need to install soaker hoses or other type of sprinkler in the raised beds, so I don't have to haul around a hose.  Not sure about that yet.

- The tree cages - keep out deer - only need to be built once.  A few more are needed, then they are done.  Mulch keeps weeds under control, nicely, in those cages.




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