[i'm so glad i can edit an existing post instead of making a new one!] ah, nice to make some more progress, old-flowers gets a bunch of pictures taken out of it and the new page is: www.anthive.com/project/mixed-flowers there's a few pictures added and even one from this spring. and yes, i did combine three pictures for this one and made no attempt to hide that. just wanted to do something a bit different for a change. and now others... www.anthive.com/project/decorations www.anthive.com/project/from-the-roof www.anthive.com/project/edibles www.anthive.com/project/up-high www.anthive.com/project/tasks www.anthive.com/project/house Updates to: www.anthive.com/project/fungi how could i resist a morel picture? while i was at it i added four others... which now brings me to a good place to take a breather on web-site editing for a while. the old flower page is now completely removed and all pictures i cared to keep on-line are in their own places. i still have some pictures to put in the various places and may do that as weather and energy permits, but for the most part i'm done for now. yay! ok, maybe this summer on a really hot day i'll put up a winter/ice page... :smile: my next big web-site project will be to get the old new-layout page either removed or fully converted, but that is likely a coming winter project. we had a beautiful double rainbow yesterday and i took pictures, no idea if they turned out yet... in the meantime, finally to the point where i can get a new computer. this one is showing signs of failing... and the gardens are coming along well. too much rain recently to be out in the clay plus we have people coming over next week so there is spring-cleaning to be done including cleaning the windows and decluttering my room a little... peace and love
spring continues, hard frosts for a few nights. with the strawberries in bloom that is going to make some impact on the crop, but i think i have enough plants to offset that. we'll see. at least one large deer has been making frequent visits. almost all areas outside the tall fenced gardens have been pretty well browsed. a fair number of the strawberry plants have been trimmed back. i'm not seeing the deer poop contributions i'd like in return. anal retentive deer... now there's a philosophical thought... the honey bees have been on those strawberry blooms. with the large amounts of rain we've been having the farmers are having a tough time getting into the fields. this past week has given a break. starting to see more activities. mostly spraying herbicides for weed control. i've been able to do a little weeding. it's been a busy week with spring cleaning and indoor things. still, for the most part the gardens are ready to be planted i'm just waiting for warmer weather and a better chance at frost free evenings. speaking of weeding, one low area i was able to get through in about four hours total. it is a monoculture of luminaria (moneywort or creeping jenny) that will be overgrown by strawberries. i'm wanting to keep the grasses, horsetail, the small blue flower and some other weeds out of there. it looks nice when it blooms. i'll post some pics eventually... the other mixed garden space that i enjoy working on is going to be a good source of more green garlic. maybe as soon as tomorrow. if i'm back there weeding i'm also feeding this time of the year. i like to think it keeps the bugs away as well as the vampires. the grasses want to take over in there but i really want to have other plants instead. as i'm clearing grasses out i'm planting strawberries. even if the animals eat most of them i'll get a few for the efforts. and overall it is still a green manure patch so that is good for any of the other gardens which need it.
the plants from the greenhouse are all in. much happiness at getting that done along with using 6 buckets of worms. i'm downsizing from 17 containers to 10 (i need that floor space back). it was only a temporary increase anyways as several of those buckets were originally meant to go elsewheres. then after i started them up last spring i was told that we weren't doing that anymore. the planting i have left to do is all beans, squash, peas and a few beets. 5 more buckets of worms will be going out to amend the poorest soil gardens i have (which were actually designed and intended that ways). the tulip gardens have partially been cleared of the tulips that were in there so i can put these worms in there and then i'll put beans in those gardens again. it is all empty space otherwise for the rest of the season and i hate to have bare earth when the sun is shining. 10-20 kilos of extra dry beans are good to have. and speaking of beans the lima beans i planted first have been coming up and growing so that makes me happy. last year i didn't get any planted so i really wanted a good patch of them this year. we both love lima beans in about any form. i also like that they are different and interesting growing and harvesting - when the pods are drying they have a pretty sharp point on the end (it can be painful if you aren't careful) and the pod can fling open and you will hear them or even see beans flying around. strawberry season is coming along, starting to have more ripen, but until i actually get enough harvested to do something with them i just eat a few here or there. the animals are certainly getting their fair share. rains have come along when it has been getting too dry so no complaints there in the slightest. we even had two rainbows yesterday from a series of storms going through. i've got a list of other projects to work on (of course!) and such but for the next week i need to focus on finishing up what i want to plant (as many dry beans as i can, peas (a bit late), beets and a few squash). then i can get back to my other projects (digging out invasive thistles and grasses) in between projects that Mum wants to do (hauling bricks). going to be hot already next week. a few days in the high 80sF (31C) already. kinda early for that heat. the peppers and tomatoes will like that. it has been fairly cool at night here still the past few weeks. one reason why i've not really wanted to get the greenhouse plants out in the gardens before now... just been a bit too cool. ok, i guess that is the update for now. put up a new pic of some white flowering ground cover plant we put in last fall called sandwort. looks like it will do well in the current location. it is not an easy place to grow things and can be pretty hot and dry so we'll see how it goes through this summer season.
Songbird, how much space do you need to use to frow 10 kg of beans, in particular Lima beans? I cant get my head around producing that much!! and they are supposed to be my main source of protein. I have obviously not been doing something right cos I havent had much success with these and I do like them best out of all the dried beans. The Great White Northern beans did well, but certainly not 10 kg let alone 20. I am obviously thinking too small I think. What does your mum want to do with the bricks? Edgings or paving?
the bricks she's going to line the edge of the ditch some garden spaces she wanted to get rid of. a lot of work and something i'd never bother with. also she wants to line along the edge of the driveway cement, but i don't think we have that many bricks available. we'll see... it can start one way and end up completely different than what i expect. at least we didn't have to load them on the truck as my brother could use the hi-low. they are not free, but close enough. i would use them for something else where i could see them (and replace wood which will eventually rot). it's her gig. going to be hot here. great time to do such a project... the 10-20kg of beans are not all lima beans. last year i hardly planted any beans at all. this year i've planted about 20 varieties of beans including the lima beans: scarlet runner, yellow eye, greasy, pinto, appaloosa, painted pony, edamame, and a half dozen cross breeds along with the fresh eating beans (green and wax). still have one garden left to go. we have so many rabbits around this year i'm not sure anything planted outside the fence will make it. the scarlet runner beans are so pretty when they flower and are a perennial in warmer climates, the roots are also supposed to be and edible tuber. i've never seen them, if they grow this season i'll have to dig up the roots and check it out. for lima beans it takes 100-110 days for the Fordhook type we've been growing. you may want to try some other types. i pretty much like every bean i've ever tried. i have had no success with certain ones because of our climate (we get some rains later in the season and that doesn't go well with adzuki, blackeyed peas). even those that fare better i still often have to harvest the pods and dry them in trays out of the rains inside the garage to get any harvest. a Fordhook lima bean plant is pretty compact compared to some. one fits in a 50x50cm space, but i'm not sure how productive each plant is. i never actually count seeds i've planted to see what the end weight result per plant is. i could actually do that this season for the lima beans. they are in a nice row. by contrast some of the climbing beans i have get pretty big (3 meters or more), the greasy and scarlet runners can top our fence pretty easily. i like using the north side to grow the climbers since then they don't block the sunlight from the rest of the gardens. use that space! every year i keep finding more interesting things about beans and see more varieties than those that i have (and i have so many i can't possibly plant them all out each year). i find the cross-breeds interesting too. like pebbles on the beach with many not even looking alike. i wish it were easy to send seeds around the world as it is so fun to grow new things and to see how they fare in different places. northern beans are one of the standards grown in this area along with what are called navy or pea beans. a smaller white bean. having eaten so many million tons of them in my life already i don't even bother growing many of the white beans. the greasy beans are a white bean that i grow only because they are an old line grown in the southern states in the hills. in the older days each family had their own seed line. the ones i have are just barely able to put on a crop here. they need a bit longer season, but because they taste good cooked even when the pods are full of beans (but not dried yet). in the old days people would also string them up green and dry them for something called leather britches. which can then later be cooked/rehydrated. we like the dry beans and then cooked. i figure having a bean that can tolerate the hotter southern climate isn't a bad thing if the seasons get a bit longer and hotter up here. i don't mind if they cross-breed. i think it is always interesting to see what happens and then try to test the new arrivals out to see how they do in our soils and climate. some don't do well at all, but a few seem to do very well. i could use a lot more space and more people... hahaha... i didn't really even answer your question. i'm guessing i could get a kilo out of 3-6sq meters depending upon what type of bean it is. some of them are so small that it really takes a fair amount of space to get a kilo and i have a few varieties that don't produce very strongly in our climate and/or soil, but i like them for decorative or cross-breeding purposes so i will grow a few each season hoping to get them to cross with the pinto or other very productive varieties. the challenge of testing out a cross-breed in limited space is there too. going from one or a few seeds up to having enough that you can cook some up and eat them. i have too many now that i'll never be able to do that with them. i have a single container of thousands of beans most of them are different from each other. every season i get more...
Interesting about drying the beans whole. I used to get annoyed when I had a great crop of the top crop beans only for them to be so many that they were all stringy. I didnt particularly like them as a dried bean but that was some time ago, so maybe time to check them out again as well as the leather britches idea! I have now found some "Pean" bean seed and am waiting impatiently for spring. The only beans I got to eat as a kid was "Watties Baked beans" (in a tin) and green beans when we visited my grandparents who grew most of theri own vegies. Unfortunately, they also used to boil everything to death so they werent very tasty.
some beans won't work well for that (once they fill with seeds the taste gets bitter or off). so far i've only heard of a few that are considered edible that ways. otherwise most fresh beans are usually preferred at the stage where the pods are not all that full yet. i tend to eat most of them fresh out in the garden as i'm picking. otherwise we steam them for a few minutes and that is enough. the pean bi-color bean looks similar to some that i have bred here. yellow-eyes are not common to this area but i've grown them well i actually planted quite a few this year because i want to rebuild my stock for eating. i've also been trying to get them to cross with others i grow to get more varieties. so i have seen some brown ones and some purples. the black version are often called calypso or orca beans. not had very good luck with those here, so a cross from the yellow eye may improve their production. i ended up planting between 50-100 varieties including many not named and where i only had a few seeds. i also have been trying to get edamame soybeans to grow. with little luck. the chipmunks seem to eat them as fast as they sprout. the first planting was completely lost. the second planting looks like it will be mostly lost too. i'll need a better fence to get these to grow. the other fresh eating beans have not all made it either, but it is getting late enough in the season now that i can only expect production from peas and/or the few quicker bean varieties that do ok with 80-90 days. been way too busy here lately and a ton of rain too (about 30cm in the past week and a half). the cooler weather is nice, but now i'm way behind in projects i'm in the middle of outside and also trying to finish up some indoors projects too. cheers!
bean lady? haha, no... but certainly it has been a challenge for me to keep things sorted out. i tried for the past month to get my collection consolidated so it doesn't take up quite so much room, but i haven't finished yet and likely won't now until the winter months come along if then... if you go to the bean page you can click on the larger version of the pic and see more details. some of those containers have dozens of varieties and a few probably have quite a few more than that. https://www.anthive.com/project/beans/ the Edamame soybeans have almost all been eaten. i have maybe 5 plants out of several hundred seeds planted. hope i get a harvest... the rest of the beans mostly did well and were not targetted by the chipmunks. so i should get some harvest this year (crosses feathers)... nature took her fair share early this year. doing a lot of hauling bricks the past several weeks. a few more trips and i hope we are done. starting to get hot enough to make it a challenge. a good honest sweat is ok with me. will unload the truck in the morning tomorrow.
thank you. i have added some recent pictures yesterday (and maybe a few earlier now i'm not sure ) since it was raining and i had a few moments: - at the bottom of this page (several pics): https://www.anthive.com/project/tasks/ - 2nd pic: https://www.anthive.com/project/decorations/ - see the bricks... https://www.anthive.com/project/water/#chapter-5 early start tomorrow and short on time now... zzz. be well and have some fun!
three edamame plants out of a few hundred seeds planted. two of the three having been gnawed on. i don't want more gadgets/fences... not very good odds this year for those. the rest of everything is growing well. making dill pickles every 4-5 days. a new bee condo going up: closer, in places it looks like weaving:
haha, I didnt even notice the condo til I saw the second photo, I was looking too hard at the tile itself. What sort of bee makes these?
most likely some of these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_pipe_mud_dauber edited brick post above to add images...
the crazy season is here, or i should say the crayzier season. tomatoes are starting to come in, we put up 16 quarts last night (15.1416 Liters) more to go eventually. one more day to finish the north garden redo. my goal was to get it done by the end of August and here it looks like i should be able to make that. just in time to start the next two projects... beets got picked this morning. beans and red peppers need to be checked. the beans it will take me several days to get through all the patches. the peppers i can get through much more quickly since they are all in one garden. i'm hoping for a few that are ready and nice and red. either fresh or roasted they are one of my favorite veggies. the beans i go through and make sure that and pods that are close to being done are harvested so they can dry in box tops. we get heavy dew fall and/or fogs at night this time of the year (and also rains too) so it helps to get them harvested and drying to finish inside before i start shelling them out. shelling and sorting beans is probably my favorite garden task other than playing in the dirt. ok, finishing with a link to a video i took about a week ago of the turkey vultures soaring, very peaceful, i could watch them all day: www.anthive.com/img/misc/p8230010_soaring.avi cheers, peace, etc...
Great soaring video! You've got a good crop of beans ... voles nipped all of our bean plants at the base this year.
they are so relaxing to watch fly. like a fish tank... sorry on the beans. i lost most of the edamame soybean crop (due to chipmunks and groundhogs going after all the sprouts) i have three plants still alive out of several hundred planted. i'm not sure i'll even get any return from them as the plants are pretty small and the pods are barely starting and we're due for cool temperatures (39-41F the next few nights). the rest of the bean harvest will be interesting. i was hoping for not too cool weather to give me a few more weeks time to finish. the next few nights may tell the plants to just stop it all and i may get nothing much other than what is already formed enough. we'll see... i have to check the red peppers today. i know there's a few red ones nearly ready - i'll eat those. i hope you've had a good season otherwise with the trees and greenhouse? cheers
interesting late summer, those few cool evenings did not damage the peppers or tomato plants and the beans are gradually turning and some are still green. what i can pick and shell out i have been getting done at odd moments here or there. we've been putting up the tomatoes and that is going ok. red peppers i've been roasting and then packing into jars and freezing. very good eating - like candy, they are so sweet when roasted. mostly the lack of rain has stalled some things from doing much else but that is ok as we do have the well and hoses for watering. i'm keeping otherwise busy with projects while the weather is cooling off and i can get more heavy stuff done. the hard part is digging, when it is this dry the subsoil here is like concrete to get much done and my current job is to get the first strawberry patch dug up and renovated. i don't like that the patch is up so high and mounded so i'm removing some of the subsoil and then will bring in wheelbarrows of partially decayed wood chips to mix in and to top the area after i finish up leveling it. then finally replant. i was hoping for a short project but now looks like two weeks. normal...