Busy Bees
The weather minimally cleared this afternoon, enough that the bees were out and about. Watching the hive entrance is a social studies/science lesson in itself. There are bees flying in and out at a continuous pace, with about one fourth of those incoming full of pollen. Pollen pollen bright pollen - mostly yellows and orange, and stuffing back leg pollen sacks to the brim. Some bees seem so heavy they appear clumsy - almost like maneuvering an overloaded cargo plane into a tiny terminal. They are relentless in the quest for food.
Springtime at the House
The green is beautiful... a soft framework around harsh angles. It makes me want to roll down a hill and eat garden chives.
A Plastic Garden
It would seem plastic is inevitable for a successful Flathead garden. My broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage seedlings - so spindly from their indoor plantings - have enjoyed their own personal milk jug greenhouses for the past couple weeks. They were anorexic seedlings when I transplanted them, but now are bulking up and flexing their strong leafy muscles.The cold frame in the background is rebar, 6 mm plastic and some old PVC tubing... pretty simple. I did transplant two tomatoes - two that were starting to look pretty rootbound themselves - to see if my cold frame experiment will work so early in the season. After the transplant I had a sudden surge of tomato empathy and ran into the house, microwaved a bowl of water, shoveled some woodstove coals, and gently poured both amongst the two plants. We'll see what happens!
Hey, good job on the cold frame!
ReplyDeleteI think we could lay some 2x6s on top of the sides for a better seal....and maybe cut the plastic better and do the same with 2x6s for the ends. We've got plenty of the lumber lying around and I think it will allow for better protection...gaps won't hold the heat in that great
good luck to your tomatoes! mine are in the compost. i am buying tomatoes this year.
ReplyDeleteLove your cold frame! We made a hoop garden like this with net to keep the deer from eating the lettuce, but 'd love to try this as a cold frame! No luck on the broch. here...We had moths/worms so bad it wasn't worth trying again.
ReplyDeleteThanks! The "cold frame" is something my dad has used for years - I like that its simple and cheap. :) Oh, too bad about the moths/worms - don't give up on it yet - maybe look into companion planting to keep those pests down a bit?
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