:D
Happy New Year!
2 weeks ago
:D
For the longest time I couldn't figure out what was happening to the disappearing slug/snail bait. It seemed like the slugs/snails were consuming the bait, but they continued to live and prosper on my leafy vegetables. Maybe the bait wasn't as effective as the company claimed? Or there were more slugs/snails than I thought? Then I realized what was really going on...
Turns out tiny, reddish brown ants were feverishly collecting the bait. They didn't leave one single bait left on the ground.
Talk about team work!
These little guys were never a nuisance; actually, they provided both my niece and myself hours of entertainment much like the rolypoly sowbugs that excelled at faking their deaths and fuzzy bumblebees that have a weird habit of attaching themselves to the side of my house. There are only two or three harmless colonies, so I'm leaving them alone for now. Now I have to set out several bowls of alcohol in the ground to contain the slug/snail problem. I feel queasy just thinking about their gruesome deaths.
Turns out tiny, reddish brown ants were feverishly collecting the bait. They didn't leave one single bait left on the ground.
Talk about team work!
These little guys were never a nuisance; actually, they provided both my niece and myself hours of entertainment much like the rolypoly sowbugs that excelled at faking their deaths and fuzzy bumblebees that have a weird habit of attaching themselves to the side of my house. There are only two or three harmless colonies, so I'm leaving them alone for now. Now I have to set out several bowls of alcohol in the ground to contain the slug/snail problem. I feel queasy just thinking about their gruesome deaths.
It's... so big.
It had trouble getting into the sieve, so it ended up in the sink.
Nothing beats a nice, relaxing coffee break in the middle of the day.
He never forgets to kiss each of them good night.
It's been extremely hot for the past several days, which translates to unexpected bolting time for all the cool crops. Poor things didn't even get the chance to grow up and enjoy life before hopping into my mouth : /
The first to bolt was none other than the spinach. I forgot to buy spinach the other day at the supermarket and resorted to collecting some of these leaves. They were a bit bitter but still edible :D
I had the goal of growing the biggest napas in the neighbourhood, but that won't be happening with the sudden onset of the sweltering, hot weather. They're showing signs of bolting with their bundling heads and "raised butts."
Bunbun is getting used to the flood of veges coming in.
Aside from a bit of yellowing, all the lettuce is fine : D
The first to bolt was none other than the spinach. I forgot to buy spinach the other day at the supermarket and resorted to collecting some of these leaves. They were a bit bitter but still edible :D
I had the goal of growing the biggest napas in the neighbourhood, but that won't be happening with the sudden onset of the sweltering, hot weather. They're showing signs of bolting with their bundling heads and "raised butts."
Bunbun is getting used to the flood of veges coming in.
Aside from a bit of yellowing, all the lettuce is fine : D
I was reaching into the mini greenhouse to water some of the hidden seedlings when...
...AHH, a wasp and it's building a hive! I stood there screaming until my dad came out with a broom and boldly knocked it out of the greenhouse. The wasp quickly buzzed away without harming anyone. Now I feel kind of bad for ruining its little home.
Adzuki bean leaf hearts you.
They're ballooning.
Bunbun gets first dibs.
Nomnomnom
It took an hour to get to the 150 acre farm located in Caledon Hills from the downtown campus. We got lucky and narrowly escaped rush hour :D
We took stacks of damp logs to the equipment shed...
...where we drilled several dozen holes into each one of them. We had difficulty at first as the drill kept getting stuck in the thicker logs, but it wasn't too big of a problem.
These petite shiitake mycelium plugs topped with styrofoam circles went into each hole.
Three full hours passed before we could finish drilling and plugging all the logs. My back aches just thinking about it!
After all the hard work, we took a relaxing ride on the back of the tractor with the mycelium filled logs to the forest.
Sam ran after us while collecting a number of sticks. His fur is so very soft.
Into the dampest part of the forest we went.
We stacked all seventy five of the soon-to-be mushroom logs in rows for easy access. Now let's hope forest creatures keep their paws off of our precious.
Good-bye, farm! I'll be back next Spring when shiitake mushrooms start popping out.
By the time I was done repotting a huge array of plants, I didn't have the energy to clean up the crazy mess. This is only a snippet of the disaster; it's ten times worse on the porch and backyard.
It has been a few days since the sudden onset of the cold weather, and I'm glad to announce that everything is fine and dandy :D Cool crops are much more hardy than I thought.
The ten week old cauliflowers are looking rather stunted. Maybe it's due to the lack of sun in their shady territory.
One and only strawberry plant looking even better than before.
Poor lettuces are the only exception. The ones that were transplanted as small seedlings are fine, but it looks like these big guys have just encountered a twister.
Four week old sesame with funny looking long leaves.
Four week old sweet pepper.
Five week old pomodoro tomato.
Five week old beefsteak tomato. It's huge compared to everything else.
Seven week old sweet pepper.
Seven week old black beauty eggplant.
My neighbourhours have warned me many times: use good seeds! Haha! Looks like I got lucky with these supermarket seeds. Here are some ready to bloom pepper buds.
Pepper flower. Hope the pepper doesn't come out all deformed and ugly.
It's chilly even in the greenhouse in the middle of the day. How strange because the warm crops are supposed to be transplanted to the ground this week : /
Last minute cloches in case snow falls. The giant Costco chicken containers were great :D
A row of five day old mesclun seedlings. I should sow lightly next time.
Six week old giant napa. These grow fast!
Four week old bok choy and tatsoi.
Six week old lettuce.
One week old beans that remind me of my neglected Venus flytrap.
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