Rainy and hot couple of weeks

A review of the past couple weekends in pictures!

I'm sorry - some of these are out of order.

shell beans are pretty when they bloom!

Pumpkin going for a swim.  This rain is insane!

Bok-choi or Chinese Cabbage.  I really put this is way too late.  I am surprised it hasn't bolted yet.  I need to learn more about this veggie I guess.  Bugs are eating it like crazy - see the many holes in the leaves?

There is a sweet potatoes plant in there!

Cabbages?  Broccoli?  Its some kind of brasica!  Some of these are looking bad because they are sitting in water for weeks now!  I hope they don't all rot off.

Sweet-potatoes are hanging in there.    I think there are 4 of the original 10 that I ordered still alive.  I really 

A river runs through it!

My yard that is...

Really need to de-weed the sweet-potatoes, but its a mud pit!

more sweet-potatoes

Water is pooling in the paw-paw patch now.  Pooling means the ground is saturated!

Japanese Beetles on the Cherry Trees!  They are coming out like crazy now!

I bought 2 20lb bags of Milky Spore treatment and did the front lawn (cherry trees) and the grapes and orchard.  It takes time to work though.  

I am surprised to see these cherries.  I thought for sure the birds would have eaten them all by now!

These are the good ones.  There were quite a few that had bird damage.

Just a lawn shot.  Here you see the electric fence surrounding the cherries.

A view of the front patch from near the entrance to the shop.

I also bought 2 Japanese beetle traps and set them up.  This one is downwind of the cherries.

I keep having to put supports on the persimmons!  They are looking good though.

New portion of the front patch.  Weeds have pretty much taken over the potatoes and onions.  

The old portion of the front patch.  The corn is looking good.  Weeds are hitting the strawberries hard.  Garlic is holding its own.

These are the blackberries that I got from mom.  I think that there are still 23 of them alive and growing.

Blueberries - getting riper!

Another shot of the corn.

Look at all of these elderberries!

Green beans - planted from saved seed from 2013 (I think - maybe 2014)

Shell beans - I forget which ones - nearest the paw-paw side

Pumpkins are heading for the beans!  I can't get in there because of the water!  I would sink up to my knees in mud!

Green beans - they are blooming - just starting to bloom really.

Shell beans.  They are also blooming - white blooms don't show easy on the photo

Deer protection

The deer have been a real nuisance this year.  They have eaten and damaged my new elderberry plants and my apple trees.  The solar powered electric fence is partially to blame.  Its battery died and there was no indication.  The deer never learned that the fenced area was "dangerous" and therefore ignore the fence entirely now.  I switched out the fencer unit and re-baited the fence, but there continues to be new damage every week.  This weekend I tried to do the "double-fence " trick that I had read about somewhere.  I also put of cages around the new, more delicate, dwarf apple trees.

They are a dickens to mow around, but it may work.  Fingers crossed!

Grape Rust issues

I am very concerned about the "marquis" grapes, well, all of the grapes actually.  They have "rust".  I haven't been able to determine if its fungal (probably) or mite(less likely).  I have been trying to contain it thinking that it was powdery mildew, but grape rust seems more likely.  I looked it up and found that garden sulfur spray was recommend.  I couldn't find any of that at Zimmerman's, so I got the "copper" based fungicide.  I  applied it as directed and along with some sevin.   Unfortunately, it was only on the grapes for about 10 hours - rain came and probably washed most of it off!   It has been raining so often I don't know what to do.  I can't de-weed in the gardens and I can't spray in the orchards!  Ack!  I did spray, obviously, but I don't know how much good it is doing.  I hope the fungicide works, things are getting dire for the older grape vines!

See how small and damaged they are?  The vines directly blow this row don't seem to be as susceptible to the rust and are huge!  The top 3 rows were all planted at the same time.

The  top row.  It is showing some bad damage from rust as well.

These are the new vines, planted this year.  I have seen a couple of small spots of rust on them, but by and large they are rust free - currently.  I still need to put up the wire for them to sprawl on.

So wet!

This year has been so wet so far!  To think I was worried of a drought earlier this year! Hah!

These cabbages are starting to show signs of water damage - their leafs are rolling up!  Not to mention how small they are. I think next year I will make this portion of the patch more elderberry area!

"Lake Walipini" is usually dry or almost dry this time of year!  Its almost FULL now!

Miscellaneous Garden stuff

The "outside" the fence plants by the big garden are doing ok so far.  I think I saw one cucumber that may have succumbed to a SVB attack, but so far there has been no large scale damage.  SVBs don't like cucumbers, according to the literature.  Also, the castor beans are coming along.  Still kinda small.  I hope they kick into high gear soon.  They can be so pretty when they get big!

cucumbers - they are starting to bloom!  minimal SVB damage - so far

Castor beans!  I can hardly wait for them to get bigger.  I remember them being so pretty when mom and dad grew them.

Random Views from the Back 40!

Here are some current views from the edge of the forested area and back along the nut tree area.

With the mountain to the left, this is the view of the pecan trees.

With the mountain to the right, this is the view of the pecan trees.

With the mountain to my back, this is the view out toward the valley.

The English walnuts are doing great!  They are bout 6 feet tall now!  The butternuts seem healthy; they are in the tubes in back of the two English walnut trees.

I am trying to start a little "pine" forest here.  This is where I transplanted my spruce trees from the front lawn.  I have also been transplanting pine trees here as I find them around the property.

Looking up towards the mountain.  The tubes in the distance are the Pecans, Butternuts and English walnuts

Closer view of the nut trees