So, we have had this tremendously wonderful summer. Really we have, honest! Week after week of sunshine, hardly any thunderstorms, its been just great. The garden is fantastic and now is the time to start harvesting some of that produce.
We have been eating lettuce, cucumbers and zucchini for weeks. A while back, I took quite a bit of the broccoli and got that put up into the freezer-safely blanched and vaccum sealed. I have ripening tomatoes (and yes, some we have already enjoyed), peppers ready and the corn is setting ears like crazy in the greenhouse. The dill outside is ready to pull and hang for drying, and I could probably take the celery too. The cauliflower is busy setting heads, over softball size now and I know they will really come on in size in the next two weeks. I have blooms and baby green beans all over the three short bean rows, and the carrots are well up and getting some size too. Even the onions-which I have had miserable luck with, are actually making-well, onions! The peas are pretty much buried in weeds when they fell over in a heavy rain a week or so ago, but they are ready to strip also.
So the broccoli plants have tons of side shoots which are ready to harvest. Yesterday, my SIL came over and the plan was to take the broccoli and peas, and get it processed for the freezer. As it happens, yesterday was warm and sunny-would have been a perfect day to be upside down, rooting around in plants......except for one very big problem.
Bees.
I have bees everywhere. Not just honey bees, but hornets and wasps. They showed up about three weeks ago or so, and have been a problem since. We have located two very large nests and they have been zapped with bee killer. But it seems I have one or two? nests in the garden itself. Somewhere, probably right in the broccoli. My SIL is a former beekeeper, she knows her stuff when it comes to these creatures and could identify them for me....as I was not too sure which was which. It was quite unnerving to walk in the garden and see literally dozens of them buzzing around, right at plant level. We managed to get only three grocery bags worth cut, with me using the hose (and ice cold well water) to knock them down, while she cut as quick as she could.
But my gosh they were getting aggressive and would trail you a good 50 feet.....they are all over the garden! So we went down to the greenhouse and it seems they have set up shop down there too, although not so many. We took about ten pounds of cukes and some bell peppers and then we just gave up for the day.
So there you have it, stymied again-pfft! I will have to wait until a good soaking rain comes along so I can get in there and harvest what needs taking. I had left two broccoli heads to flower so that honey bees would come to the garden area for the green beans, zucchini, and peas. Now I am regretting that decision.
Funny thing is, I had no bees in my garden a week or ten days ago, except pollinators. So this must be a whole new hive that has taken up residence. Those wasps and hornets are pretty nasty tempered, and even though we did not get stung, neither of us wants to get close!
2 comments:
Must be pretty bad down KGB as I have heard several 9-1-1 pages go out for bee stings in your area. I'm up off Schrock and while we have the regular bees I haven't (knock wood) seen the ones you are describing.
I wasn't able to bathe the horses this weekend either-when I turned on the hose, the wasps must have taken it as a threat and came out in good numbers. Some will land on you but if you are very careful you can brush them away without a sting.
I am thinking about setting up some water traps, I don't know what else to do. Working in the garden will have to wait until there is a good soaking rain going on I think.
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