After a beautifully cool spring, summer is easing its way into our neighborhood. Highs in the mid 80's and lows in the 60's is great weather - but the afternoons have been pushing (and reaching) 90. Can true summer be far behind?
Yesterday was a working day - put in another small raised bed for blackberries. Now our future fruit harvest should consist of blackberries, red raspberries, 5 kinds of apples and peaches. I also ordered 2 more kinds of apple trees from starkbros.com, so in a few years we should have fresh apples from July through mid-November...and applesauce for the rest of the year!
The garden is growing quickly! The zucchini plants are getting big, peas are getting tall, and I saw a cabbage butterfly leaving unwelcome eggs on the broccoli plants. I haven't decided how far to go in abandoning the true organic spirit of gardening. Last year's garden was quite a disappointment with how well the pests grew compared to the vegetables, so I'm thinking that this year I'll use a small amount of pesticides to keep the squash bugs and cabbage worms in check.
Now that school is done (or mostly) I'll be able to get back into my routine of working in the garden for about 1/2 hour in the morning after walking the dogs. That's the most enjoyable part of the day for me - before the sun is high, while everything is still fresh and cool. We walk our two miles through the neighborhood, then the dogs chill in the back yard while I clean up their messes, fill the bird feeders and take care of whatever needs to be done in the gardens. I know that tomorrow morning it's going to be weeding the flower bed at the mail box. I started on that yesterday morning, but quit when Floyd was ready to take the trip to Lowe's to get the lumber for the blackberry bed.
At the same time that I'm working outside, I can get some serious birdwatching done! More on that next time....
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