alk747triodad
SILVER Star
8” of rain and counting.
The Gardening Thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter lt1fire
- Start date
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jfz80
Cruisin’
Yup ~11” and counting here since Monday am.
Emptied the Gauge at overflow status wed am. :/
Give it a month or two and we will be begging for a lil rain ha.
I've had good luck keeping the deer away by spreading moth balls around the base of the stuff they like to eat.
I had not heard that before! I'll have to give that a try, have deer all around my place as well.
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
Liquid fence works really well but needs to be sprayed every week for a while and then the deer seem to adjust their path to another place. It smells like death though so using around an area you spend lots of time around isn't the best.
LMK if the moth balls work for you too - I didn't hear of it before either, but I knew the basic concept of assaulting the deer's sensitive nose and hoping for the best and it's seemed to work so far. That, and I had just bought a bunch of moth balls to use to keep the raccoons from nesting in the attic - same concept. It gets hot up there and the smell is unbearable for anything with a sensitive nose.
The Dam Racoons ate all our watermelons and sweet corn last year one day before the planned harvest! Guess none of the animals have an affinity for radishes.
we've used Irish Spring bar soap in the past. It seemed to work pretty well. Same concept, but isn't quite as offensive to the us
afgman786
SILVER Star
Anyone use moth balls or anything to keep squirrels away? Pretty sure its squirrels digging away and eating at the flowers. They seem to be a lot more active and about since this whole lockdown
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
Building a small retaining wall at the mountain cabin. Best part is working in upper 60s / low 70s temps.
Rotary laser level is an amazing tool.
Rotary laser level is an amazing tool.
I’ve had squirrels wreak havoc before, destructive little creatures. Lead is the go to squirrel solution for me.
Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, all going bananas.
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
An initial honey harvest last weekend. Only one hive this year. I hope to get this much or more one day this coming week.
It’s always neat to see how the honey color and taste varies year to year.
It’s always neat to see how the honey color and taste varies year to year.
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
Second (and likely) final honey harvest for the year...pretty insane the differences in color.
Jar on the left is from last summer, middle jar is from yesterday harvest and jar on the right is from 2 weeks ago. All taste just as different as they look.
Jar on the left is from last summer, middle jar is from yesterday harvest and jar on the right is from 2 weeks ago. All taste just as different as they look.
afgman786
SILVER Star
Do the bees harvest at a stronger rate certain times of the year or something along those lines? Curious to why the huge color difference, along with is the darker sweeter/stronger than the light?
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
Simple answer is yes.
The darker isn’t anymore sweet but has a more pronounced taste. Sort of like an IPA vs a Pilsner.
The honey/nectar flow in the NC Piedmont is only 6-8 weeks out of the year and is usually from late April to early June. There is a fall honey flow but the honey produced from it isn’t that great for people consumption (smells like sour feet).
Outside of having hives near a farm crop (e.g. blueberry, blackberry, buckwheat, etc.) the main nectar source in this area is tulip poplar followed by aster, sourwood (stands are more common a bit west of the triangle) and clover.
The tulip poplar starts early and ends early with aster and clover being later in the aforementioned 6-8 week flow. I ‘think’ the reason for the major color and taste differences is the nectar source. Tulip poplar honey is very light colored and clean tasting followed by clover honey and then aster on the darker side.
Last year I pulled frames in late June so maybe most of the honey was aster. This year I pulled frames from the lower super (likely filled first) a couple weeks ago and it was the light color. The frames I pulled just yesterday were from the top super (filled last) so maybe more aster.
That’s all a lot of semi educated assumptions as honey bees forage up to 5 files from the hive. I could talk about bees for days and bitch about them for weeks...beekeeping is also (aside from parenting) the one thing I’ve attempted to do in life that never gets easier. Even after the 5th year at it I feel like a total newb each season. The lack of control in guaranteeing success is humbling...sometimes the bees do what bees do regardless of the keeper.
About 15 C.Y. of mulch & wood chips I 'stole' from the tree guys later...
Now the fun part - picking up more plants. Something I intentionally deterred myself from this year until I completed this project.
Now the fun part - picking up more plants. Something I intentionally deterred myself from this year until I completed this project.
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
Just back from a few days ‘working’ at the cabin. More retaining wall done and some French drain action. Plan to head back this weekend to finish the wall (stack more blocks and add capstone) then a pea gravel / flagstone path and a bunch of mulch spreading.
S4Cruiser
SILVER Star
First batch of onions dried and cleaned up. Second (and final) batch on the rack drying.
Reds are these - Red Candy Apple Onion Plants
Yellow are these - Candy Onion Plants
Reds are these - Red Candy Apple Onion Plants
Yellow are these - Candy Onion Plants
