the alfalfa leaf cutter bee cocoons have spent the requisite month at room temperature and now it is time to leave them to the vagaries of an outdoor life ( with a little fudging on the gardener's part )...
i pulled back the anti-squirrel chicken wire on the bee house...
opened one end of the cocoon boxes, set them in the bee house, and replaced the chicken wire...
then i zip tied a layer of half inch mesh critter net over that to foul the birds up ( and another layer for the miserable squirrels to get though )...i cannot control the ambient temperature but i have defended them against predators as best i can...
i even hung up an "evil eye" which is alleged to deter birds...we'll see...
then it was off to the community garden where the asparagus is still looking robust...
it has "ferned" and flowered and is throwing up the occasional spear..one presumes because it has not turned into a hot summer just yet...
over in my bed things are fine...
the spuds are coming along and the michigan purple in the center of the second photo will be in bloom soon...
not to be outdone the alfalfa is booming along after a shocking start...
there are a couple of teocintli plants taking hold...so it was time to plant their descendant...
i soaked half a dozen maize seeds for a day and planted them in a row across the north end of the bed where they should do no harmful shading...
i tossed in a few bush beans as well so two of the three sisters will be in the bed...there is no room for squash i'm afraid...and there is enough of that in my yard...
the lawn around the garden is still tall grass prairie with plenty of clover for the bees...unfortunately, despite looking, i haven't seen any bees this year and that is profoundly disturbing...
what i have seen is the non-native solanum family ( cousin to the spuds ) member carolina horse nettle...in the beds and in the lawn...temperature gradients are moving north...just another line of evidence...it survived a spate of sub zero weather over the winter...hardly little spiny plant
and a profusion of maple seedlings all over the beds...
when i got home ( yes it has been a busy morning ) i took the four pieces of the bison variety spud i had cut and calloused...
and planted each in its own container for a harvest in september sometime...and that, i believe, brings the gardening portion of the day to a close...more later.
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