First, Friday being Independence Day, I “made” Bookman bake the most American of pies. Yup, apple pie from scratch. And even better, the apples were from our own garden, canned last fall. Oh so yummy! I could seriously eat apple pie all the time but it is probably best that I don’t because bending over in the garden would quickly become difficult.
Along with baking a pie on Friday, Bookman was tasked with helping me build a new compost bin. Our old bin that we have
had for years was one we got for cheap from the city. A black plastic thing whose parts hook together. There is a lid and a door on the bottom of the bin. The door is supposed to make it easy to get your finished compost out. Ha! When we could get the door open we could never get it to slide up quite far enough which meant the easiest way to get compost out was by taking the bin apart which wasn’t really easy at all so we rarely did. We’d just scratch out a little compost from the half-open door and complain about what a bad design it was.Well no more! We built our own bin from metal stakes and chicken wire and zip ties. We made a two-room open bin so we can actually turn the pile and move almost finished compost to one side. Also, with each side being 3X3 feet (Just under a meter each side, the most productive composting size according to the literature), it gives us enough room to actually get everything into the pile instead of filling up the black bin and then starting a second pile off to the side. We are so very pleased with the results.
While we are excited about the new bin, here is the most exciting thing. After Bookman took the plastic bin apart and stuck the fork into the compost pile to move it so we could build the new bin, we discovered there are bumblebees nesting in the pile! Oh, they got a bit upset and we retreated for a while to let them settle down especially since Bookman removed part of the roof of their house. After they calmed down we decided to build the new bin around them. Their nest is in the left side, the new compost pile is now on the right side in the new bin. They didn’t mind us building around them though they did mind the vibrations when Bookman was hammering the metal stakes into the ground. We’d take breaks to let them calm down. Because of the bumblebees it took all afternoon to get the new bin built but it was totally worth it. After we were all done I carefully put dry leaves and grass on top of their nest to keep out rain and sun. They did not mind me doing this at all.While we were working on building the new bin it was hard to not just stand there and watch the bees all afternoon
instead. They are so fascinating! I tried to get a photo but my camera doesn’t do closeups of small things like bees very well, still you can kind of see the bee in the photo, just follow the arrow. I spent what amounted to about two hours on the computer trying to identify what kind of bumblebees we have. There are so many varieties and they all look so much alike that it was hard going. Finally I am pretty confident that they are Bombus impatiens, common eastern bumblebee. They are among the commonly found bumblebees in Minnesota and generally nest in the ground but will also nest in compost bins. They are solitary bees but share a nesting site which can be as large as 400 bees. I have no idea how many bees are in mine. When they were upset after discovery there were as many as a dozen out flying around but that doesn’t mean that was the whole nest because there were probably a good many out foraging for pollen and still more inside.I don’t have to worry about the compost pile being a permanent hive. It will empty out in October. Most of the workers will die and the queens that hatched over the summer will go find somewhere else to hibernate for the winter. Supposedly. I have to do more reading up on it because if they keep the nest I don’t want to destroy it. I feel like I have been given a big gift having the bees in my garden. I keep going out to check on them and to say hello even though they don’t fly around the compost pile and since I gave them a thatched roof the opening to their nest is no longer exposed and I can’t see them moving around, though with patience one inevitably makes a brief appearance.
It was a week of insects in the garden. While picking peas I discovered a tiny, fuzzy white caterpillar. I think I spent almost as long on the internet trying to identify it as I did the bumblebees. One of the hardest things about identification is not just that there are so many varieties of caterpillars, but also, even when looking at the same kind of caterpillar they can look different. I finally figured out it was a white woolly bear which will turn into a tiger moth. In my searching I discovered that folklore says woolly bears can predict the weather, specifically winter. Most woolly bears are black or black and brown striped and a wide middle brown stripe means a mild winter. If the black stripes are bigger, it will be a harsh winter. But what if the woolly bear is white? A snowy winter of course!
I’ve seen the black and brown woolly bears around here before but only in the fall and they were huge. My white one was small, probably just recently hatched. I hope it hangs around and doesn’t get eaten. I’d like to see it grow bigger so I can actually get a photo of it.
Also in the garden I’ve been keeping an eye on a big red beetle that has been hanging out in the milkweed. Whenever I bend over to try and get a look at it, it sees me coming and retreats. But with all my half-looks I was finally able to get a decent idea what it looks like. It was easy to identify when it came down to it. Googling “big red beetle on milkweed” took me to the red milkweed beetle. If only the bees and caterpillar had been so easy! The beetle is a handsome critter even though its long “horns” kind of give me the willies. But identifying it makes me grow rather fond of it instead of being nervous about it. It isn’t going to jump on me and bite me so I have nothing to worry about.
A friend and former coworker told me last week that she had had a dream about me and in it I had a baby (since I have never been pregnant this kind of freaked me out a little bit). She was surprised about the baby but then hadn’t seen me in awhile and then recalled that she had indeed seen me pregnant a few months prior to this dream meeting. These are the kinds of dreams other people have. What do I dream about? I woke up about 5:30 Saturday morning and Bookman was still sound asleep and the cats were curled up asleep around me. I dozed off for about 20 minutes and during that time I dreamt that Bea the honeycrisp apple tree was not doing very well. That Walter the crabapple was doing great and getting
pollinated, obviously since there were loads of apples, probably from the apple trees in the front yard. But for some reason Bea was not flowering. We decided there was something wrong and instead of getting another apple we would get a peach or cherry tree instead. When one of the cats stretched and woke me up I was debating peach or cherry and had a list in my head of all the benefits of each. In my dream I decided cherry but when I woke up and realized what I was dreaming I was surprised at my choice because conscious me would go for the peach without a second thought. I am sure there is nothing wrong with Bea, but if I ever get another chance to plant a fruit tree it will be a peach.I have a big bowl of peas in my refrigerator and I have been eating them as much as I can. Almost all the pods on the vines are picked now and they have started to put on new growth to try and make more peas. We are entering hot and humid summer now so I am not sure if they will manage to make more peas before the heat becomes too much for them. I hope they can, I want more peas!
The beans are doing great. The Jacob’s cattle beans in the polyculture bed have big long pods on them. These are dry
beans for soup so I leave the pods on until they turn brown. Same with the black beans in veggie “M” garden. For eating beans we did the yellow wax beans the purple beans again. The purple beans look like we might be able to start picking in a week, maybe two. The yellow beans will start a week or so after that. I have pole beans climbing up my corn. Those haven’t even flowered yet and won’t for another few weeks. I think the timing might work out that the pole beans will be ready about the time the bush beans are finishing up.And the corn is doing really well. There is a saying around here about corn, “knee high by the fourth of July.” That’s how tall you want it about now. As you can see most of it is close to that or even taller. I’ve not figured out yet how to keep critters from eating my corn and since in another month or so I’ll have some I had best get on it!
My lettuce is still going, hasn’t bolted yet. But I have a feeling it will start heading that way soon given the warmer weather these last few days. The forecast for the foreseeable future says hot summer so I will be picking a lot tonight for a big dinner salad and if it starts to look like bolting will happen I will go on a crazy lettuce picking binge and take as much as I dare and eat as much as I can, keeping the extra in the cool fridge for as long as I can. This is the first year we’ve ever managed to have so much lettuce and actually be able to regularly make larges salads as well as add it to sandwiches. It tastes so good just picked and we are so pleased about it. We planted leftover lettuce seeds in a shady corner of the garden and hope they sprout up for an end of summer lettuce fest. Fingers crossed!I’ve included two full garden view photos in this post to give you an idea about how the whole thing is looking these days. I actually have a video camera now. Would a garden “tour” video be of interest?
Yes please, I would love to see a garden tour video, I should do the same sometime. I’m so jealous of all your produce, it’s so difficult to get any veggies to grow well in our weather – or maybe it’s just me.
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Pining, ok, I’ll work on a video. Would definitely love to see one of your garden too! We are really good at growing above ground plants but have trouble with root vegetables because our soil is so sandy. We keep adding compost and keep trying though and one of these days I will be able to pull up a beet big enough to eat!
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what fun! I’m gardening vicariously. your lettuce: I remember
when I was young my mother was always growing “leaf lettuce”
and she loved making a fresh lettuce sandwich.
Yes, please! a video tour!
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booksandbuttons, we were CSA members for a number of years before we got our current garden really going and we’d get big heads of lettuce in our box picked just the day before and I thought that was amazing. But eating it right after it was picked, even better! Will work on a video 🙂
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Would love a garden tour. I’m definitely enjoying your garden as much as you are !!! Loved this post & all your garden stories 🙂
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Helen, I am so glad you enjoy hearing about my garden. I will get to work on a video tour!
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Lovely photos – including the one of you in your knee-pad gardening pants?
A garden tour video would be great.
Love your compost story, bees and all. I have spent I don’t know how long on the internet trying to identify creatures – mostly insects, reptiles and plants – when I catalogue out photos. Soon I’d get cluey and decide not to photograph plants and little critters!. As you say there can be such little variation between different ones. Anyhow, we have not had a compost bin for years, not since Mr Gums found a rats next (or was it mice?) in ours in our previous home. As I recollect it was after the house had been rented while we were living in the US so the compost bin (a homemade one) hadn’t been touched. When we moved to this house there was another homemade one but Mr Gums would only use it for grass clippings – no food scraps – to reduce likelihood of more critters. Not as great compost but we did use the broken down clippings in the veggie garden before the drought. Eventually though the homemade bin disintegrated – like the one he built it was made of wood planks. And now we have none. I’ve been eyeing off the ready made plastic ones but now I’m wondering.
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whisperinggums, oh yes, those are my gardening pants. They look a lot baggier than they feel but then I’m not usually just standing there! Will get to work on a tour video.
It is fun trying to identify creatures but it takes so very long. I have a butterfly book I looked through first for the caterpillar and discovered that it has photos of all the butterflies but none of the caterpillars and has nothing about moths. I’m not sure if it is more efficient to search the internet or to invest on some really good reference books. Sounds like you have had some composting adventures of your own! We haven’t had any trouble with mice in our bin, they seem to like our garage better. There is nothing wrong with the plastic bins if all you want to do is put stuff in and forget about it. It is impossible to turn the bin contents or do much of anything with the compost unless you take the bin apart. But if you don’t mind that, then go for it. I’d send you mine if you were closer 🙂
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LOL, Stefanie, I do want one that I put stuff in and forget about but I’m not sure that those really work very well in the end do they?
As for identification. I do have some books – particularly for birds and flowers but the more general the book the harder it is to find what you want e.g. Wildflowers of Australia versus Wildflowers of the Alps. I find that even then they don’t have what I want or the image isn’t good enough so I find myself sometimes moving between the two to double check.
Then the trouble with the internet is you get a lot of photos from people (e.g. flickr) who haven’t identified the thing they’ve photographed. Best are authoritative sites but they aren’t always easy to find or don’t have what you want. As you say, you can spend a lot of time searching!
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Heh, it works to just put stuff in and forget about it but it takes a long time before you can take anything out. I have two really excellent books that are well-thumbed, one on wildflowers of MN and one on birds on MN. Each is organized by color and then by size. I love these books and I usually can find what I am looking for and be confident that I am right. Now, if there were only similar books for butterflies and moths and caterpillars and bees, and…But I suppose I am asking too much for someone to create a brilliant way to bees or other insects to make identification easy and then have professional photos of them.
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Yes, I have some flower books that are colour organised – that helps a lot. Most of the bird ones tend to be categories, like waterbirds, birds of prey etc. Trouble is some of the etcs (forgotten what they are) aren’t necessarily obvious (to me anyhow, resulting in lots of little brown birds scattered over different groups. I have learnt to look for features like beak types, eye rings or not, tail shapes…)
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Love the bee discovery and the photo of the elusive gardener!
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Jeanne, thanks!
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What a lovely post – buzzing with life! Congratulations on the apple pie and the bees. It would be nice to see a garden video tour.
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Ian, thanks! I’ll get to work on a video tour 🙂
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Yes, a garden video tour would be most welcome! I learn so much from your gardening posts (and book posts too).
We have one of those black composters too and we’ve always had to take it apart to work the compost. Sometimes, the entire top half comes off when I try to open the lid. It’s frustrating because I usually have messy hands from cooking and am holding a big metal bowl of veggie scraps to toss in.
I’m happy to read of your bumblebee nest and horned red milkweed beetle. Those surprises are always fun when working in the yard. I don’t think I’ve ever spotted a white wooly bear; in August when I go running I have to dodge the brown and black striped ones as they like to hug the blacktop.
Your corn looks great! I like your tee shirt too by the way.
Lastly, I’m trying not to think of how good Bookman’s apple pie tastes. 🙂 I like the lattice work. Pie does seem fitting for the Independence Day weekend somehow; any flavor will do 🙂
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Vanessa, well I will get to work on a tour then!
I am glad I am not the only one who is frustrated by the black compost bin! When we first got it and had never composted before I thought I was incompetent! Now I know it is the bin design and not me and what a relief that is! When I first started gardening all I could think about were the bad insects, the grubs and aphids and spider mites and slugs. But with all the things we have been doing the past few years the garden has become hospitable to all sorts of interesting insects that I never considered would come and visit. It’s really delightful. And while the red milkweed beetle might chew on my milkweed leaves and make them not perfectly beautiful and the woolly bear might nibble on my pea leaves, I don’t mind. They aren’t an infestation of “bad” bugs but surprise guests.
Heh, glad you like my shirt! And you are right, any flavor of pie for Independence Day will do 🙂
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Aren’t gardens and the creatures in them fascinating? I’m glad you’re appreciating your bees. I love little creatures, too. I’ve just been so mad watching advertisements for chemicals to kill ants in houses. All you have to do is sprinkle dried mint leaves where the ants are coming in and they’ll go away. They’re not killed and your house smells lovely. I’ve done this successfully several times.
I’m also jealous of all that great produce! I miss that!
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Joan, they sure are! I have been continually delighted by the critters that come and visit. I am so happy about the bees. With bee decline being all the talk in gardening circles and garden centers offering classes on how to make bee houses and attract pollinators to the garden, to have a bumblebee nest amazes me. We used cinnamon this year for ants and it worked pretty well. In the past we have used cayenne pepper. The cinnamon made the house smell much better. I haven’t tried mint though. I’ll give that a go next spring, much cheaper than even the cheap cinnamon at Target. In a few weeks when the summer squash starts going gangbusters I’ll have more than I will know what to do with. Stop by if you are in the neighborhood and I will load you up with some 🙂
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We might have our own squash this summer! As I think you know, we live in the heart of Philly, so there’s little green around us. With our neighbors, we planted a Winter King hawthorn street tree two years ago and it’s doing very well. This year, there’s a vine that looks like pumpkin or squash growing in the tree pit. I have no idea how it got there, but I’m hoping vandals don’t rip it out some drunken night. I’m curious to see what it turns out to be!
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How exciting! I hope it turns out to be a yummy squash and no one ruins it!
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Can I join in on the garden tour please? No need for a beehive on top of your garage anymore now, how wonderful. I can imagine your excitement as I tend to get excited about the one bee visiting my lavender each day.
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Cath, oh yes! I will start working on a series of videos I think, short instead of one long one. No, no need for a beehive after all! I love bumblebees, they are so fat and furry looking. Even after a few days it still makes me smile that they have decided to make a home in my garden.
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The Bears are very confused. Most Woolly Bears in their experience remain as Bears for the whole of their lives. They are now very concerned that one morning they may wake up and find that they are something else. I think they deserve an apple pie in recompense for the fright you ahem given them 🙂
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Alex, oh yes, the Bears most definitely deserve something for their fright, some extra marmalade, perhaps? Though if they over do it they just might puff up and really turn into something else! 😉
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Your efforts and time spent in nurturing and growing your garden is impressive and most admirable, Stefanie. My appreciation for home-grown garden have increased from watching this movie: Haute Cuisine (just posted my review). However much I love gardens, flowers, freshly harvested veggies, I like to remain a virtual gardener. Just visiting your blog is satisfying enough. 😉
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Arti, thanks, it’s easy to do when you enjoy it so much as I am sure you know from your bird watching. Maybe because I come from a do-it-yourself family with generations of farmers behind me that I find it all so satisfying. I think everyone should love gardening but I understand that not everyone does and that’s ok. I am glad you get virtual enjoyment from it 🙂
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Oh yes, definitely share a video–how cool would that be! You don’t have a nice garden bench so you can just sit and relax in your garden (or is there no such thing as relaxing in a working garden? 😉 ). It looks like such a nice comfy space–If I wasn’t too embarrassed to show my poor unattractive backyard I would take a photo and ask for advice on what to do to make it have a similar feel (though not quite so extensive…). I have always wanted a compost pile, but I never get past the thinking about it phase. I had no idea bees might nest in such a place–but it must be all warm and private for them. And so nice to see your smiling face–are those the Duluth garden capris? Very cute!
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