"Buzz Around, Buzz Around, Buzz Around...."

Bumble Bee on the Tomato

We've been having lunch out on the patio recently, which gives us a great view of the tomato bed.  The tomatoes are growing a rapid clip; one of them appears to have doubled in size in just a few days.  It looks like it might be one of the Carbons, but I don't know for sure which plant is which.

We also get a great view of the big black and yellow Bumble Bee who's been busy working the tomato vines the past few days.

Load That Pollen!

This bee has been back numerous times and it's fun to watch it pack the pollen onto the carrying pods on its back legs.  It's amazing how much pollen each bee can collect and carry.

We're very happy to have the bees help with the pollination; Cindy had gone out a few days before to shake the tomato cages to pollinate the plants, but we'll let the bees do it from now on.

Chioggia Beets

Last night Cindy grilled some of the Chioggia beets from last year that she had frozen and stored in the freezer, along with pork kabobs, some of our freshly picked carrots and onions, and some alleged "grilling" cheese.  The cheese sort of fell apart and stuck to the grill, but ended up tasting pretty good.

I can't say the same for the Chioggias; they're pretty with their pink and white striping, but they're still way too sweet and we still don't like them, even grilled.

This year it's going to be Detroit Reds all the way.

Did Dr. Seuss Design This Plant?

Leek Pod

A month or so ago Cindy noticed that one of the leeks in the raised bed was preparing to flower.  It looked kind of odd and we had never seen a leek flower, so she decided to leave it and see what it would do.

As the pod grew larger and larger, it began to look more and more Grinch-like every day.  We expected it to develop an evil grin some day and start filching Christmas presents.

Not the Grinch--It's A Leek Flower!

Then one day Cindy* came in and announced, "We have a Leek!"  I said, "A leak?  Where?  What's leaking???"  But of course she meant the Leek; the pod had split open to reveal white buds.  Then each day the split widened to show the delicate purple and white flowers inside until most of the flower was revealed and the buds opened.

The Honey Bees were all over it yesterday, mining the flower for pollen and nectar.  We're happy to see them thriving and they're welcome to the pollen.


(*And no, she's not Cindy Lou Who).

Up To Our Knees In Peas

Lots of Sugar Snap Peas

Both the Sugar Snap Peas and the Oregon Giant Snow Peas continue to produce peas.  Lots and lots of peas.  Lots and lots and lots of peas......

I had no idea these things were so prolific.  You can pick them all one day, or think you've got them all, and come out a day or two later and there are more of them all over the vines.  The Oregon Giants seem to be very good at hiding until they're huge.  You can think you've got them all, then find a monster one in plain sight just a few inches from your nose.

Cindy spent yesterday morning blanching most of the crop and preparing to freeze it.  She also took off some of the tougher pods (the gigantic ones I missed while she was gone) and chopped them up to go into the compost or to feed to the worms.

We're getting a bit tired of peas, but that seems to be one of the hazards of eating what you grow; the first peas or beets or tomatoes of the season seem so delicious, but after a while it gets to be, "Oh no, tomatoes again?"  But after the vines are done for the year and you don't have fresh tomatoes again for many months, they taste great again.  You can freeze peas or beets again and have some later in the year, but you just can't do that with tomatoes.

Tomatoes On The Vine!

Tomatoes On The Vine!

The tomatoes have begun to set on the vines!  All the plants are looking good, with dozens of blossoms.

The weather is getting warmer and the tomatoes will like that, but I'm not eager for it to get too much warmer myself.

While we were eating lunch today we saw a black and yellow Bumblebee working the tomato blossoms, so there will be lots more tomatoes setting on soon, I'm sure.

Vines Are Blossoming

Pumpkin? Squash?

From This....

Whatever it is, it's growing rapidly.  Cindy planted pumpkin and squash seeds before she left for Indiana a month ago.  She put these protective cages made of hardware cloth over the seeds to keep the squirrels, the California Towhees, the Mourning Doves and other ground feeders from digging up and eating the seeds.

It took a while for the seeds to sprout, but they did eventually start sending out a few leaves.  I left the cages on for a while but finally took the cage off the plant in the lower bed because the leaves were touching the sides of the cage.  Then I saw the neighborhood bunny rabbit out there one morning and had the horrible thought that it might be eating the leaves, so I put the cage back on.

To This

By now the plants are so big that they can't stay inside the cages any more although now the damage is coming from real bugs rather than from Bugs Bunny.

We're still not sure which is the pumpkin and which is the squash, but we'll find that out eventually.

Mystery Citrus In Bloom

We still don't know what they are.  We thought the bushes Cindy and Judy bought a couple of years ago were Meyers Lemons (see "Of Lemons And Limes"), because that's what the nursery had labeled them.  However, when the fruit stubbornly refused to turn from green to yellow, we began to think they might be limes instead.

But a couple of months ago, the fruit began to turn yellow.  They still didn't look like Meyers Lemons, but they also didn't look like limes any more.  We've been using them for cooking--they're definitely citrus, but don't taste much like either lemons or limes.  Limons?  We really have no idea.

While Cindy was gone a couple of months ago, one of the fruits fell off what we believe is an orange tree, so I put it in the kitchen.  When she got back, she opened it up, and said it was definitely an orange, but not completely ripe yet.  So now we know what that one is.  The third tree hasn't put out any kind of fruit at all, so we don't know what it is.

Here's an updated picture of the citrus plant out behind the fence.  The buds have burst into blossom (white blossoms, it should be noted) and there are even two fruits developing on the branches.  There aren't many leaves on this plant, but if the buds are any indication, it's a pretty happy plant.  It looks good in front of the blue Plumbago blossoms, too.

The citrus plant in front of the fence has a few buds on it, but it has a lot more leaves and is looking good, too.

Maybe someday we'll figure out what they are.

Tomato Report

The tomato plants have grown considerable since Cindy left for Indiana, so I'm posting these pictures so she can keep track of their progress.

Most of the plants are now up to the fourth rung of the tomato cages, except for the two plants in the southwest corner of the bed.

The tallest plants are producing plenty of blooms, and I'm thinking we should see some tomatoes setting on pretty soon.

In fact, I think the plants are growing so rapidly that they've grown since I took these pictures Thursday.  They're definitely looking good.

The tomato in the container is also looking good, although it's growing more compactly than the ones in the raised bed.

Squirrel Wars--Episode 3,254

The damn ground squirrels ATE MY BLUEBERRIES!

I had noticed two very cute juvenile ground squirrels in the back yard recently, probably attracted by the birdseed scattered under the bird feeders by the House Finches and Sparrows, who spit out the seed they don't like.  The ground feeders like the Towhees and the Mourning Doves generally clean up the seed, but the squirrels had been getting some of it, too.

Then I noticed that the ripening blueberries were starting to disappear, so I picked off the remaining ripe ones.  Then the next day even those that weren't ripe were gone.  It looks like we'll have to build a varmint enclosure to keep the berries ripe until we can get them.

Monday night one of the women in our flameworking bead class was delayed by a snake emergency; her family had found a four foot long snake in the yard and she had to deal with it.  They originally thought it was a Western Rattlesnake, but she determined that it was actually a Gopher Snake, Pituophis catenifer.  The Gopher Snakes' blotchy coloration makes them look a lot like rattlers and they actually make a hissing noise when disturbed.  They may also vibrate their tails and, in dry vegetation, that can sound like the rattle noise a rattlesnake makes.   I guess these defensive features may protect them from other predators, but humans sometimes mistake them for rattlesnakes and kill them.

They live on small rodents, so we may have to invite one into the yard to take out the squirrels.  However, they have also been known to raid bird nests and even eat the birds themselves.  So, in view of the pleasure we take from the birds we have invited to the feeder, maybe it's not a good idea to acquire a snake.  

Pumpkin and Citrus

Some of the other plants in the garden appear to be doing well.

Pumpkin Up!

Or maybe it's a squash.  Both of the plants in the beds behind the garage have finally emerged and are under protective hardware cloth cages.  The original idea was to keep the birds from eating the seeds, but with the squirrels and the bunny rabbit I saw last week around, I think the cages will have to stay on for a while.

Two of the citrus trees have been moved out behind the fence.  The lemon/lime or whatever it is doesn't have very many leaves on it, but it has two small green fruits on it and it's absolutely covered with new buds, so there's still some life to it.  Maybe someday we'll figure out what it is.

Lemon?  Lime?

The other citrus tree behind the fence isn't looking so good.  

Other Citrus Not Looking So Good

The third citrus is in front of the fence and is looking pretty good.  It has lots of leaves and a few buds, although not as many buds as the one out by the plumbago.

Tomato Progress Report

The tomatoes are growing!  This is where they were they at the end of last week; they were just up to the second rung of the cages.

Tomatoes Last Week

Tomatoes Today

And this is where they are today.

Can you see the blossoms yet?

Tomato In The Bag