March 3, 2017
Bishop
Beekeeping, berrries, Berry Preserves, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, jam and jelly, Strawberries, Vegetables
bee sting, bees, chickens, eggs, lemons, peas
Nearly started off with an interesting typo! “Good Thongs From the Yard” – that could have raised some eyebrows! Spring is here and good things are showing up.
One of the yards that hosts a couple of hives also has chickens. For my garden I receive some chicken fertilizer…. nice way to say it! Almost as good are the excess eggs I receive. Yum!
Little ones, medium ones and big ones! He has about 20 chickens and they are laying very well now!
Carrots, I grow short ones because of my clay soil. They may be short but they are very sweet.
Unwashed but yummy. I put them on the grill the other night with some asparagus and chicken. Very yummy. When the sugars carmelize they are so yummy.
Snow peas and sugar snaps are blooming and producing. The early pods never make it to the house. Insert smiley face and tongue licking lips here!
And yes…..strawberries. I have made two batches of preserves so far. One plain and the other with vanilla. I am hoping for so much more.
And bees too. The Meyer Lemons are blooming and the bees are working. Mine and many others. Such remarkable creatures!
Ok, enough for now! Just one sting today out of 6 hives inspected today! I can always attribute a sting to a faux pas on my part! Yes, I have made a mistake or two! Most of the time I have no swelling but this one……hit my left hand and sure enough – a little ballooning on the back of my hand. Ok Hun- please kiss it and make it better.
TTFN
Bishop
December 1, 2016
Bishop
Fall, Gardening, Vegetables
beets, carrots, fresh seed, sugarsnap peas
I have been trying to get my Sugar Snap Peas up and going for about 6 weeks. I have planted the pea seeds 3 times with no luck. I am usually gifted with a green thumb and most often have great results with my garden. I have been disappointed with my efforts to get the peas going this Fall. Yes, I have soaked them. Yes, the soil has been the right temperature. But……being a cheapskate, I dug through my box of unused pea seed packages from past years, rather than spend $ 1.89 on current year offerings. The date on the packages is usually just a guide and I have had seeds several years old germinate.
Apparently not this year! About 10 days ago I coughed up the $ 1.89 and bought “2017” dated pea seeds. I soaked them over night, actually a little over 24 hours before planting them. I was a bit concerned as the Houston weather was starting to cool off, soil temperatures should be above 40 degrees F for best germination. The weather cooperated and they have sprouted. Lucked out, it dipped 41 degree air temperature today so I dodged the bullet.
The key piece of information – lower right corner – Packaged for 2017
Planted 7 days ago….the package info appears to be correct!
Yes dear, I read the instructions! The results are very encouraging. I hope to have some pods in 6 weeks or so….”fingers crossed”. The shoots are working their way up through the fall oak leaves and looking healthy.
I made the same mistake with my beets and Swiss Chard. I finally have some beets up through the soil, but , I am 6 plus weeks behind what I wanted. Yes, I just planted the 2017 beet seeds last week. I am soaking a few more for a second planting……with the cooperation of the weather. Swiss Chard…..2017 seeds in a day or so!
I did have some success with my 2-3 year old carrot seeds…..but I think I may have learned my lesson! Let me write that down so I don’t forget!
TTFN
Bishop
November 24, 2016
Bishop
bananas, Beekeeping, Gardening, honey, Tomato Groeing, Top Bar Hive, Vegetables
Family Beekeeping, garden, gardening, houston
The garden is pretty quiet right now. I have a potted Juliet tomato that just keeps on producing, a few pole beans from a volunteer Kentucky Blue wonder variety and now the carrots and beets are popping up. Oh yes, and a large bunch of Burro bananas – hopefully it will be another mild winter and they will fully mature.
About every other day I pick a handful just like this….picked these on November 22nd! The plant is still loaded.
Now for the bees. I visited my remaining topbar hive yesterday. Nice sunny day and warm enough to open it up. This hive is the remnant of the colony I rescued over a year ago from a downed tree near downtown Houston. They split themselves several times, I split out a queen cell and a few frames into another topbar, robbed a queen cell for a queenless Langstroth hive and harvested about 4 bars of honey from the original. They have been gentle and prolific.
I last opened this hive in early October and they had pulled comb back to about the 18th bar. I had intended to move the divider up and shrink the hive for winter but was then distracted and didn’t return. Now, on November 22nd I open it up and they have pulled comb back to about bar 24. Nothing put away at the back end but nice looking comb. I brought six empty bars and intended to remove any empty comb as I slid the divider forward. In hindsight I could have pulled 10 bars of drawn comb…..next time.
A little peek inside before removing some pulled comb.
I really don’t lean like that ….. all the time. Daughter Ashleigh loves angled photos.
I worked my way up into the front third before finding brood. Some pretty good honey stores but lighter than I want so I am still giving them a little heavy syrup until it becomes too cold.
Nice looking bar….
A little closer look. About what I would expect for this time of the year.
Son Joe getting a lesson on lighting the smoker.
Joe, keeping his distance as I start the inspection.
Ashleigh doing the selfie thing with Joe and myself geared up and ready to go.
TTFN
Bishop
December 30, 2015
Bishop
Berry Preserves, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, jam and jelly, Tomato Growing, Vegetables
winter
Took a tour through the garden today, December 30th. In the northern hemisphere it should be winter! Apparently not!
Asparagus should be sleeping, not! I found 3 lovely stalks poking up through the cover of leaf mulch. They are so sweet and tender.
Those young purple stalks are amazing!
Tomatoes – the variety that hasn’t succumbed to our “winter” is Matt’s Wild Cherry. Picked a couple of handfuls and noticed that there are still blossoms forming!
I thought the green beans were done but I am finding new blossoms. I have a number of very mature pods that I left on the vines for seed but tucked away in the foliage are new blossoms and some developing pods.
My sugar snap peas are behaving as if we have the cool spring weather that they thrive in. It is not a surprise to see them doing well at this time of year.
All photos today from my iPhone. Handy and they do make a decent image.
Lemons are ready to pick, beets are very slowly gaining ground and the strawberries are blossoming in earnest! The yellow onion sets are looking great. I don’t have high hopes for my blackberries, may have to rely on the wild ones – the wild ones are small, have too many thorns, scratch the heck out your hands but make great jam!
Last note; my “Garden Hives” are nearly ready. I have put the natural finish on two of the four and then the weather changed. Next week we should be above 60 degrees F, so I can finish the last two.
Unfinished and then finished.
TTFN
Bishop
September 11, 2014
Bishop
California, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Travel, Vegetables
chickens, environmentally friendly, garden, gardening
Los Osos, a little town near Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo, is gardener’s paradise. It has that Goldilocks weather, not too hot and not too cold, it is just right. The soil may be a bit on the sandy side but add some compost and it will drain well and produce amazing crops.
I have been wanting stop and look at the corner lot in town near my mother’s place for several years and finally decided to stop and look. It looks a lot like my hair on a windy day, disheveled yet remnants of a part still visible. There is obviously a plan but the owner of the plot, I am sure, never worried about staying in the lines while coloring.
Cool weather crops can pretty much be grown here round and warm weather crops benefit from the warm sun and soil after the morning fog rolls back. By stopping and looking, I noticed his “girls” in the fenced run at the far side of the garden. Looks like 8-10 well feathered hens of various colors and varieties. I am certain that they produce some tasty and beautiful eggs.
Buying a lot in Los Osos to vegetable garden would probably not payout in several lifetimes. Unless, of course, it was inherited from way back when they were begging people to buy lots there in the 60’s and possibly earlier. I have tried to talk my mom into allowing me to put in some edible borders at her place but I haven’t convinced her yet. Yes, the cost of water in this extended drought they have been facing is a real concern, we could use drip irrigation. Whaddya say Mom?
From this angle it looks disheveled, yet interesting!
Now I see some organization and pretty decent spacing.
Looking back toward the street .
Look closely and you can see a few of the girls.
I am going to use this as a model for my fall peas!
TTFN
Bishop
July 17, 2014
Bishop
Beekeeping, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Tomato Growing, Vegetables
cucumbers, gardening, melons, tomatoes, worm poop
I do believe that I am a 6 year old trapped in the body of a 63 year old man. We have had a couple of good downpours today – I wish I could send some to my California friends – mixed with gentle sprinkles. During one of the misty lulls I went out to the garden inspect and snack….
Inspecting how the bees were doing, I am happy to report that they are doing very well. Here is where the curiosities of a 6 year old kick in. I stand off to the side of the take off and landing pattern. I marvel at the roles visible at the entrance….some bees just hang out there as guard bees preventing “robbers” from getting in and fanning at the entrance to help maintain proper hive temperature. The others that were zooming in and out are the foragers, the last period of a worker bee’s life. They are on a mission! When they arrive at the entrance from a foraging flight, it is all business and they disappear inside immediately. The foragers departing don’t display quite the same sense of urgency…. some wander around for a few moments…possibly checking out the proposed flight plan and then off they go. Others, the hesitation is very brief and then off they go. I feel such a sense of wonder, almost mesmerized, as I watch the choreographed activity!
If you haven’t had the opportunity, follow a 3-6 year old child as they wander around outside. Watch to see what they find fascinating and attempt to see it through there eyes….some amazing things are taken for granted in this natural world around us….never lose the ability to see and appreciate the simple wonders around you.
Post rain – the bees are slowly beginning to forage and defend the entrance.
Snacks…My Juliet tomatoes are such a sweet snack. I picked a large number of the little cherry tomatoes and have about a dozen or more of the Juliets ready to be picked for the kitchen. Post rain they are so picturesque! Beads of rainwater still clinging to their skins and begging to be picked and consumed. Who am I to argue! Several found their way into my mouth!
Small, probably 2 ounces, but prolific and tolerant of the Houston heat and humidity.
Going vertical….Cucumbers and yes, even watermelons. My pickling cucumbers succumbed to the nasty white flies….the Lady Bug beetles were working hard but not enough to keep them in check. I still have Straight Eight and Armenian type growing and beginning to develop fruit.
An Armenian Cuke developing.
I am growing a variety of small watermelons. A refrigerator type and growing them vertically. As the fruit develops I will have to hang a sling to keep them up off of the ground…..I can’t wait. In the background is a banana plant that should bear fruit next year. I met a Mexican worker on a pipeline job that I am supporting that gave me the corms. He grows many varieties of bananas in his yard south of Houston. It is an apple banana, Manzano Banana tree! Looking forward to harvesting!
A developing melon. Full sized will be just a bit smaller than a volleyball.
The vertical climbing vines with the banana tree in the background.
I finally got a “round to it” handed to me concerning my worm farm. We have all used that phrase I am sure….”Yeah, I’ll get a round to it.” – But we never do…..I had a coworker who had a bunch made up – they look like wooden nickels and he hands them out to procrastinators…..I received one…what does that tell you about me? Yes, I fit the description! I harvested at least 10 pounds of wet worm poop and made several gallons of diluted worm poop tea! After spreading the gathered goodies I heard some “oohs” and “ahs” as the garden absorbed the delicious feeding!
TTFN
Bishop
May 3, 2014
Bishop
berrries, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Strawberry, Tomato Growing, Vegetables
asparagus, beets, cucumbers, lettuce, Mater Sandwich Tomato, Pineberry, strawberries, strawberry jam, vegetables
With 10 half pint jars of low sugar strawberry jam in the pantry and enough berries for another batch….. am Berry happy. As noted in the title…..this is a Berry good time of the year. My strawberries have been in full production and recent exploration of the local woods show a bumper crop of Dewberries ripening.
Dewberries pose a challenge though. Number one they are small and it takes a LOT of picking to make a batch. Secondly the vines have tiny hook like thorns…..curved perfectly to snag a stray hand, finer and/or arm…..it is usually AND! I will head out this weekend to gather some up….A lesson learned from last year – I will wear long sleeves and wear some gloves, thin enough for dexterity and thick enough to prevent the hundreds of micro-scratches!
Wild Dewberries…tiny but very tasty! – Shaky iPhone photo
The strawberries may be slowing down…..the” June Bearing” varieties peaked in late March early April. I have about 100 new” everbearing” types that will give me a light crop through the summer and go like gangbusters next year. Those added this year are the Ogallala variety. Les prolific in my backyard farm are my Pineberries. They are hardy and spread like crazy but the berries tend to be small. They are a taste treat……It was a bit of a learning curve to tell when they are ripe.
So – Which berry is ripe? They both are. The berry on the left is the Pineberry. When the seeds are red and a hint of pink is showing….it is ready to pick, taste, consume and enjoy!
The Pineberry taste is a mix….the first is the tart-sweet and then an instant later a pineapple like flavor. I have decided to just add them to my freezer bag for the strawberry jam making! These Pineberries throw off a huge number of runners. I would say that they would be an ideal edible ground cover!
What else am I eating from the garden…..asparagus, not too much this year but the newly planted crowns will create a good crop next year. The snap peas are done and just harvesting mature seed pods for next year. Lettuce….good crop but showing signs of bolting. Harvested the red and white onions yesterday and letting them dry out….not real big but so fresh and tasty. White radishes and beets….I will let the beets go another week and then pull them up. Elephant garlic is looking very good and healthy. The red potatoes have about another 40 days to harvest although I am tempted to did down and gather some babies! Tomatoes are looking very robust and healthy……a new variety for me this year is the “Mater Sandwhich” variety. I looks like an heirloom and I am anxious to taste test it. The unfortunate truth is that is a hybrid variety. I like the looks of the fruit…..can’t wait to taste test! Cucumbers are coming up nicely and I hope to be overwhelmed with Cucumbers in about 45 days or so.
TTFN
Bishop
April 17, 2014
Bishop
Composting, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Vegetables
compost bin, newsprint compost, sheet composting, shredded leaves, Weeds
I just cleaned out my carrot bed – one that I had allowed to be infested with too many weeds. It started innocently enough….the carrots were sprouting and I had made a halfhearted attempt to both thin the carrots and keep the weeds at bay. My work took me away for several weeks while the weather was perfect for the weeds…..I returned to a green mass with carrot tops poking through.
I harvested the carrots and decided to take a low tech approach to fight my “war on weeds”! I took bunch of newspapers and covered the bed about 3 sheets deep, some place a little more….it is a low tech approach so uniformity was not a big concern. My concern was coverage! After the newspaper I added a thick layer of shredded leaves from the bottom of my compost bin. It looks very good now and at least for now, the battle is looking like a victory in the making.
The other beds have been well covered with shredded leaves and are relatively weed free. The covering of leaves help smother the weeds and those that do manage to make it through are leggy and easy to pull. I believe that extra barrier of newspaper will make it even more difficult on the evil weeds.
FYI, the Houston Chronicle uses a water based, non-toxic ink. Non-toxic to readers and the environment. Newsprint will breakdown nicely in the garden as well as in the compost bin…..I use it both places.
Spreading the newsprint…spraying with water to keep it from blowing away!
Newsprint covered with the shredded leaves.
Some of the carrots ….stubby due to my heavy soil but still very tasty!
TTFN
Bishop
November 25, 2013
Bishop
Composting, Gardening, jam and jelly, Strawberry, Vegetables
asparagus, carrots, compost, cucumbers, gardening, peppers, strawberries, sweet potatoes, worm poop
I haven’t written much lately about the backyard garden but it has been slowly morphing into a winter garden. I harvested the last cucumbers two weeks ago because I knew that the Houston winter temperatures were coming. On the vines were a few edible and nearly a dozen immature cukes that became worm food. The sweet potato vines finally showed their dislike for anything below 50 degrees F. They weren’t grown for tubers this year, but they did provide great ground cover. I found a couple of nice sized tubers and a bunch that were restricted by the heavy soil to elongated sausage looking things. The dying tomatoes were pulled up along with the Poblano pepper plants.
I left the Serrano peppers in as the plant is still setting fruit. I made a batch of Serrano Pepper jelly last week and may make another batch soon. This week I also made a couple of pints of lemon curd from my Meyer Lemon tree. What an amazingly rich treat – 4 very big lemons, 2 cups of lemon juice, at least 2/3 cup of zest, 12 egg yolks, two sticks of butter and two cups of sugar… I am afraid to calculate the calories per teaspoon! I will send a jar to my granddaughter – she loves it!
Over the past two weeks I pulled about 2 large wheel barrow loads of compost out of my bins to amend the beds. I fed a bunch to the asparagus bed hoping to get it producing better during this next spring. I added a bunch to a section of the beds that I have designated as the carrot patch. That same bed is also home to my sugar snap peas – hopefully this planting of peas will be the one that produces. I tried on two previous efforts to get them to sprout and the cool weather never showed up. They don’t like warm weather! I hope I didn’t miss the weather window!
Some of my strawberry plants are confused. Weeks ago I had a number of them blossom and I plucked the blossoms off. After traveling and working for a few weeks out of town, I ignored them. I now have green strawberries – about 3 plus months too early! My 100 new strawberry plants planted in early October have settled nicely into their new home and will hopefully bring me a couple of good years of harvesting pleasure.
I have four pineapple plants started from tops nearly two years ago. They are now beginning to leaf out vigorously and who knows, this may be the year. A little research says it takes 2 years and maybe more if it is cold, in order to flower. The leaves look like they are becoming mature so this could be the lucky year. I put another top in the ground a week ago to add to my collection. According to the research the buggers will start spreading on their own. May wind up with 30 or 40 before long.
My little buddy Caleb and his now walking little brother Levi, stopped by for a visit a few days ago. Caleb is ALL boy….gotta keep an eye on him. Levi loves to munch on cucumbers off the vine and the cherry tomatoes, not so much for Caleb. They both enjoy the strawberries when they are in season. I hope to have them back this week to help plant my beets and turnips. I was in the process of harvesting the worm poop and adding another bin to the top of my worm composting bins during their visit. Being boys….they both loved touching and playing with the little wrigglers! Mom wasn’t as enthused or amused as the boys were! I sent them home with a couple of long stemmed roses for their mother……she left smiling!
The new carrot patch….waiting for the emerging tops.
The old sweet potato bed – cleaned out and what next ????
Pineapples – hopefully this year they will fruit.
Those danged, confused strawberries.
Strawberry towers planted with about 75 of the 100 new plants.
TTFN
Bishop
October 11, 2013
Bishop
California, Healthy Lifestyle, Strawberry, Vegetables
Carpenteria Farmer's Market, Cork Tree Bistro, Friends, Island Brewery, strawberries, tomatoes
Thursday Afternoon – We, my wife and visiting friends from Canada took a stroll down the 800 block of Linden Avenue in Carpenteria, California. The weather was perfect and our friends, Alan and Jan, seemed to enjoy the day.
Below are a few shots I took as we wandered down the street, puntuated with stops at the brewery a few blocks away toward the beach and at the Cork Tree Bistro on the way back. It was a great evening.
Orchids – so beautiful!
I wish I could get my heirlooms to grow this beautifully. Jan had the green striped variety with her lunch on the pier in Malibu.
I couldn’t resist – I bought three baskets! Yum
The colors and variety are a visual treat as well as nutrional treat.
TTFN – Houston is cooling off but it will never match the weather in and around Santa Barbara!
Bishop
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