June 28, 2007

Woo, been a whole week!

Cooler today, less humidity. 85º breezy.
Yesterday there were some scattered wind and rain storms, nothing here but some thunder. Driving in Charlotte, we could hardly see the road.

Cut the grass today, even the parched stuff in the front of the house. New beans are starting to come up. Spinach is done, boston lettuce on it's way out too. The frame Scott built is doing a perfect job at keeping the birds off the strawberries. Missed most of them, though. Corn is almost to my knees, despite the dry hot weather. tomatoes on the two cherry varieties, flowers in the others.

Stella D'oro is just starting, daylilies have buds, bee balm is starting to open. 7 Sisters is almost finished. Shrub roses continue to bloom, though less than they were. Need to pick up some more rosetone. That stuff is magic.

FAR less mosquitoes this year. Must be the creek's dried up. We've had no real rain in a few weeks, I've had to put the sprinkler on the gardens.

June 21, 2007

Happy Solstice! 2:06 pm, it is now officially summer. 80º sunny/cloudy. light rain right now, thunderstorms possible later.

I weeded the beans - very poor germination and much of what did come up is leafless. Cutworms? I don't think so, the stems are fine. I suspect snails or perhaps birds. I found some of last year's Blue Lake seeds and filled in the spaces just as the rain started. Maybe they'll grow, maybe they won't. Whatever.

Onions still need weeding. Corn up about a foot.

June 20, 2007

Humid and thunderstorms yesterday, cooler today, breezy 80º

There are tiny tomatoes and snow peas! The birds have taken all the strawberries, we got one. I'm trying to work up a plan for a row cover using PVC and some black mesh I have in the garage. I'll build it and cover the beans, too. Stupid birds.

June 10, 2007

Hazy, buggy, 8oº very slight breeze

Cut all the grass today. Picked up a new (clearance!) mower at Sears today, so even the edges got done. Need to do the back area behind the trees, Matt skipped it this time, probably because of the line and marker Scott left.

Mulched the strawberries, need to get out and pick the ready ones. Rhubarb too. Raspberries are happy now, with the dead trimmed out. Beans are coming up, corn's about 3". Peppers and tomatoes seem slow, though one tomato already has flowers. Onions are coming, 3rd sowing of carrots is up. Spinach starting to bolt, I need to get out and cut more.

All 3 columbines are blooming, buds in the Lady's Mantle. Polemonium (Jacob's Ladder) continues to bloom, I'll cut it back when it's done. Daff foliage is yellowing, time to cut that too.

Got the hammock up. What took so long?

June 8, 2007

Warm and humid 85º.

The irises continue, gloriously. I'm looking for a pink one, for Alice Maurer. I suspect one will come home to live with me, too, if I ever find one. I suspect I will have no peony flowers this year - must dose everything with bone meal in the fall.

The pine pollen is outrageous. The grass needs cutting, but I might need a mask to do it.

June 7, 2007

Continued cool - 72º but no rain today, or in the immediate forecast.

I found some Miracle Gro in the garage - I'm going to start adding it to the watering can, get this show on the road!

June 6, 2007

Overcast, cool - 60º no more rain though it looked threatening once or twice

Corn's up! Beans coming. New growth on the onions. Pink strawberries!

Got the raspberries pruned yesterday - definetly a borer of some sort in the old prunes. Shoot. Maybe n the fall I'll cut everything to the ground and start fresh.

June 4, 2007

Raining much of yesterday, all of today. Cool, low 60s

Had a huge salad out of the garden today. Well, the lettuce and spinach were, anyway.

June 1, 2007

Rain threat continues to be just that. 80ish degrees, very humid. No rain.

I realized there was room for one more sowing of carrots, so I did. Maybe I'll hold the rest of the seeds and try a fall crop in September. With the glass, I should be able to grow until Christmas.