Eldorado Windy Farm

Farm Blog, Summer 2012

June 21 - September 20

September 2 - September 20

Bees - The bees in hives #2 & #4 are still doing well. The temperatures are getting in the 40s now at night, so they are not as active as in the past. The bees in #5 are still alive but are not thriving. We will see what happens to them over the winter although I fed them lots of crystalized honey from last year.

Vegetables - All of the veggies that are left are still doing well (peppers, tomatoes, zuchinni, all the kale, eggplant). Many of the seeds in the covered beds are beginning to sprout. Looking forward to going into fall with the covering on them when the weather is freezing.

Fruit trees - I picked all of the Greengage plums, halved them and put them in the dehydrator. The pears are all picked except from the old Asian pear tree. All of the apples are still small and have not yet ripened. There are a lot of them though. The bird netting on all of the apple trees have kept the birds from eating them to this point.

August 19 - September 1

Bees - The bees in hives #2 & #4 are doing well. I removed three bars of comb from #5 that were inserted when I combined them with bees from #3. I also put in some crystallized honey, since they didn't seem to have gathered nectar enough to make enough honey.

Vegetables - The veggies are all doing well. I reseed the covered bed, since I caught three mice digging up the seeds that I originally planted. Now I have arugula, radishes, totsoi, cabbage, chard, bac choy, beets, radicchio, various lettuces and spinach seeds planted. I still have it covered with bird netting to keep out the flying criters.

Fruit trees - All of the peaches and plums have been harvested. The pears and apples are still hard on the trees.

August 12 - 18

Bees - This week I checked the bees. Bees in hives #2 & #4 are doing well. Putting up honey and making brood. I moved the bees from hive #1 to #5 since both seemed to be needing help. It will be interesting to see what happens, since they are two varieties of bees. The bees in #5 are the ones from the #2 split that I did earlier. We'll see!

Vegetables - I completed the raised covered garden for growing winter greens. The eggplants, kale & collards are all doing well. The broccoli is beginning to head as well. In the garden annex the tomatoes, zucchini and banana peppers are all in full production.

Fruit trees - I am making preserves from the peaches now. The Reliance and Red Haven have finished production. The garden peaches are ripening every day and the Elberta is still not completely ripened. The Greengage plums and the backyard European plums are almost ready to pick. The pears and apples are still not ripening on any of the trees.

August 5 - 11

This week I began work on a covered garden bed for fall and winter. I will plant the garden with leafy green vegetables (bac choy, spinach, chard, totsoi). The bees seem to be doing well and I will check them out next week. I picked all of the peaches from the Red Haven and Reliance peach trees. Didn't get too many, but the ones I did get were sweet. However, they were a little small. I had to use bird netting on them to keep the birds from eating them all. Hopefully the birds won't eat all of the Garden peaches before I can pick them! The pears and plums are still hard, but should be ripening soon. The apples are still small.

July 22 - 28

Didn't go into the bees this week. Everything else was the same as last week.

July 15 - July 21

Bees - I combined the bees from hive #3 into hive #1 on Tues. 17th. They were both week hives and I am hoping that the combination will become stronger before the winter. They still have until October to increase their numbers.

Vegetables are doing well. Squash beginning to become large enough to eat, tomatoes large but not red, peppers still flowering, eggplant flowering, green onions almost gone, plenty of kale and collards, broccoli not blooming.

Pears, peaches, plums and apples still green, but getting larger.

July 8 - July 14

Not much different this week from last. The lavender is finished, didn't check the bees, veggies and herbs were the same. There was no additional fruit maturing although the plums, pears, and apples are getting larger on the trees. I am beginning to pick some of the figs that are grown in the sunroom. A new Anjou pear tree was planted to replace the purple ash tree that died. The farm still needs a lot more rain. Everything must be watered from the house.

July 1 - July 7

Lavender - All of the lavender buds have been dried and have been prepared for market. (Culinary tins, potpourri bags, bunches, lavender candles, fire starter bundles)

Bees - Went into all 5 hives this week. They are all doing alright. Two very strong, split doing well, the two weak ones are still weak, but doing ok.

Vegetables & Herbs - Most of the herbs are flowering - bees love them. Kale, broccoli and collards doing well. Tomatoes in flower with some fruit forming. Vines growing considerably. Zucchini and yellow crookneck beginning to produce small fruit. Pepper plants growing well and putting on lots of flowers. Eggplants growing well with lots of flowers as well.

Fruit - Picked all of the crabapples to make jelly. Put up 9 1/2 pts. Others (plums, pears, peaches and apples all developing nicely.)

June 24 - June 30

Lavender - All the lavender buds and stems have been picked and dried. Now I am getting ready to prepare them for the Eldorado Farmer's Market in July.

Bees - I only observed the bees from the outside of their hives this week. All hives have bees flying in and out to bring in nectar and pollen. One of the hives (#3) still seems weak. I will know what to do with it next week when I go into it.

Vegetables - It has been hot and dry this week. The only leafy veggies that are doing well are the chard, broccoli and collards. The eggplants, tomatoes and peppers are all thriving in the summer heat! All of the herbs are doing well, but many are flowering and will be going to seed.

Fruit - I finally picked and processed all of the sour cherries and apricots. The pears, peaches, plums and apples are still immature, but are looking good.

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Summer Garden