Accessible Gardening: #21 Practical Matters for Phsically Challenged Gardeners, 3 by seacanepain

seacanepain wrote:
I like the analogy of a construction worker wearing an Easter bonnet for a blooming cactus, but my mind conjures a dapper Mafioso. lol
The bees have kept me jumping the last few days. Hive beetles got into a hive box. Grrrr! In apiary slang, getting hive beetles is aptly known as \"being slimed.\" Italian honeybees are great housekeepers, but they can\'t keep up with the mess hive beetles make. The bees aren\'t able to evict the beetles themselves. Beetles are death for a hive, if the beekeeper doesn\'t step in. The only thing to do is remove the Queen and her court from the hive, clean, sterilize, set everything up anew, and set traps for the nasty vermin to keep them out in the future.

I\'m feeding my little ladies supplements to make re-establishing the hive easier, but luckily this has been an unusually cool year thus far. It was an unheard of 51 last night. This means there is plenty of floral goodies for the ladies to feast on. The spring flowers are still hanging around plus the sauna summer blossoms are arriving. Nadi said our micro-climate has recently been re-classified as 8a. I didn\'t buy into the re-classification even though we usually run two weeks behind higher places further from the river. The land seems to be trying to live up to its new zone. We still have pansies and violas blooming and the bridal wreath spirea is still flowering.
. I think the milder weather is why the peaches are doing so well this year. Don\'t worry, TTC. I wouldn\'t do like Bet did with her tomatoes and go on about how succulent, sweet and juicy the peaches are, how the juice runs down my chin whenever I bite into one, how I\'m just so tired of eating prime, organic peaches. No, I wouldn\'t do that because I\'m not the least jealous that you have established neatness and order and it is a chaotic mess here. . ;-)
Actually, this is our first real success with growing peaches organically. I guess the peach trees heard me say I planned to cut them down because they were not producing.

Lemon cucumbers just look a little like lemons. They ripen yellow and grow to the size of a large lemon, but they are picked when they are golf ball size for best flavor. Their skin is thinner than other cukes and they don\'t get bitter as readily. Best of all, they are an heirloom variety that comes true from seed.
It is the olive cucumbers, I\'m not sure about. They have to be picked at precisely the right time to be eaten fresh, but they make good pickles if that magic moment is missed. There is just a large seed that has to be removed. They\'re incredibly easy to grow and they have medicinal value for controlling cholesterol. It would be something if I could get off a drug by eating pickles. lol. The vines do grow fast, but it is a delicate looking plant. It doesn\'t have the big leaves I associate with something in the cucumber family.
I\'ve made it a habit to walk the entire property every morning with my camera to make sure I don\'t miss a single daylily bloom. Then, I can label them again and know what is planted where.
Photo #1: DL/\'Willow\'
Photo #2: DL/Red ?
Photo #3: DL/Orange ?
Photo #4: Chinese lagustrum (Privet) Sigh. The honeybees like them. They may need to stay another year.
Photo #5: Poncirus japonica \'Flying Dragon\' I banned this beast from its place of prominence on the south side of the main building. Kay loves the beast. She says the large thorns aren\'t a problem for blind people. It\'s those bristly, hair like thorns like on prickly pear she has a problem with. I hardily disagree. I think this critter is jealous of my place in Kay\'s affections. I swear it is out to get me. It is relegated to an out-of-the-way spot now and daring me to come mow beneath it.
(Jim)