growing challenge: Cool garden check in.

It's been one week!  According to the chart, we should see lettuce, cabbage, bush beans, spinach, sugar snap peas, and turnips.  And what do we have?

Four out of six!!!

The turnips are the most impressive.  They are showing one large green streak under their protective screen.  I'm realizing we'll need to balance the need to keep the cat out vs. the parsnips growing through the screen.  May try to lift them on blocks or bricks to provide a bit more space and protection.

The "Lettuce" patch is a mix of butterhead lettuce, arugula, and romaine lettuce.  eep!  We may need to thin.  Or find a bunny. 

A few tiny cabbage plants are poking their heads up. 

Sugar snap pea!  I was so excited to see this teeny sprout.  Grow seed grow!

I did not see any bush beans or spinach.  Hopefully the seeds are doing ok.  Starting tomorrow we're supposed to get weather.  The forecast says Monday night to Tuesday morning we are to get some high winds and a half inch or more of rain.  It's windy now, but that's not unusual.  I'm excited for it to start raining.  I think not driving makes me love the weather more.  When I was driving, the sillyness of drivers when subjected to weather would make me insane.  (the lack of gutter clean up planning and thus road flooding also made me insane.)  The train and bike or train, rail or bus, and walking give plenty of time to watch and enjoy the rain.  And I've got extra socks at work, so I'm safe from wet feet. 

I also stood and watched the hive for a bit.  Urania is very ready for harvesting again.  Loved seeing the industrious golden bees sliding in and out of their hive.  I'm seeing fewer and fewer drones around.   Once we harvest, we're going to do a three-time powdered sugar treatment for Varroa.  Not sure how the fall / winter is going to be.  Most of the books out there seem to be written for areas with big cold winters.  It's rare for it to freeze here, and plenty of things flower year round.  Will we leave the hive untouched until Spring?  Will we have winter harvests?  The current plan it to harvest at least two of the honey supers, if not all three.  Then we want to put back at least one, if for no reason other than providing the girls room.  They have plenty of stores, the hive definitely passes the heft test.  The other thing we are directed to do is remove the queen excluder.  Heat rises, so if the hive moves up to keep warm, we don't want the queen left behind. 

(this would be so much more regal if she didn't have cobwebs all over her face.)

Time for a glass of wine, some chicken soup, and some relaxation!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.