Farm Blog, Summer 2014
June 21 - September 20
September 8
Bees - All three hives are doing well. They are bringing nectar and pollen and making honey. The old hive and the split from across the street are the strongest. I have moved two topbars of brood from the old hive to the new one split from it in the hopes that they will have enough bees to make enough honey for them to survive the winter.
Lavender - All of the lavender plants are putting on good growth. Flowering has stopped. I cleaned around each of them and added some Yum-Yum to each plant.
Vegetables- Collards, kale, spinach are doing well. Brocolli is putting on heads. The arugula is flowering as well as the dill. The corn is still tputting on small cobs. The squash are in flower and small eggplants are beginning to form. A couple of the tomato plants are making fruit.
Flowers - The agastache are in full bloom as well as the second blooming of the pruned catmint and salvias. All others that were blooming are setting seed heads. The stonecrops are blooming, the Maximilian sunflowers are still in bud and most of the chamisa are beginning to bloom on the property and in the neighboorhood.
August 2
(We are having a good monsoon. Lots of rain so all the plants are doing well.)
Bees - All of the bees are doing well. They are bringing in lots of pollen, but not making a lot of honey.
Lavender - All of the lavender plants are putting on summer growth. They have all been picked and are doing well.
Vegetables- Collards, kale and broccoli are doing well. The arugula is flowering as well as the dill. The spinach and chard are putting on new growth. The lettuce flowering and the corn is beginning to put on small cobs. The squash are in flower and small eggplants are beginning to form. A couple of the tomato plants got the wilt and had to be pulled, but the others are making fruit. None ripe however.
Fruit trees - All of the fruit trees are looking good with the rains, except the two pears that got lots of wind and the Damson plum that has developed a stem oozing. I have pruned off the dead part, but don't know how it will do in the long run.
Flowers- The agastache are starting to bloom as well as the second blooming of the pruned catmint and salvias. Others in full bloom now are the Russian sage, echinaeca, spirea, bee balm, spearmint, plumbego, and hollyhocks. Still to bloom are the stonecrops and Maximilian sunflowers. When they bloom the only thing left to bloom for the bees are the chamisa growing on the property and in the neighboorhood.
June 28
Bees - The three beehives are still alive. Two are splits and one is the older 4 year old hive. There has not been much moisture this year, so they are not thriving.
Lavender - The plants are all growing well. The Angustifoilia blooms have been picked, but the Lavindins are not quite ready.
Vegetables - Collards, kale, spinach, arugula and broccoli are doing well. Some of the sweet corn didn't come up, but where it didn't I replanted with beans. All of the tomato plants are looking good. Lots of flowers and small tomatoes. Six of the squash plants are still left after the others being eaten by who knows what.
Fruit trees - All of the trees are looking good, although the leaves on many have been beaten by the spring winds. Only the old sour cherry tree produced fruit and I put up 8 1/2 pts. of them as jam.
Flowers - Many of the spring blooming plants (catmint, salvias, Jupiter beards) have been cut back. The Russian sage are beginning to show a little color.