Busy As A Bee

I do have Honey Bees now,and they are not the only ones that are busy around my yard.The weather has warmed up a bit, but even though Mother's Day has come and gone, there is still a chance for another frost.We haven't broken our garden yet since we had a few days of rain, and too, with the cool days we've been having, we felt there was no need to rush things.Nothing grows very good until the ground warms up and then there are the cutworms.They are really bad when it's this cool.Pop says we can put a paper collar around the tender stems of the things we set out, and then there is the nail trick. You can place a nail down in the ground,about an inch or so,just up against the stem of the plant.That sounds like a lot of extra work to me, especially since the later garden catches up and many times, overtakes the early plants. Many plants simply do not do good when the air and ground is too cold, however, there are many vegetables that prefer the cooler temps.Onions and radishes are about the extent of the cool weather crops that we grow.

my new raised bed in progress

We've recently got acquainted with,Dan, a new comer to our area.He has been in the Army for 20 years and just recently retired. His parents, and I assume he,too,were living in Alaska.Now they have all relocated. His parents to West Virginia and Dan to Kentucky.Dan is a young man,say fortyish, and he has gone 'hog wild" with his newly purchased piece of land. He has 60 acres to play on and he does just that. Anything that interests him, he has around him.I guess with him being a single man and having a decent retirement from his service to our country, he can afford to play all he wants.He has animals of every kind. He has a new orchard. He has honey bees. He has every piece of woodworking tools known to man. He raises strawberries.I could go on and on, but one thing he has caught my eye, and I just had to have one. I have had raised beds in the past, but nothing like his raised beds. He has three. All made from railroad ties.They are waist high.An arm span across, and approximately 30 feet long each.Now that's my kind of gardening. Pop has never cottoned to that kind of garden,so I didn't pursue it to heavily. It got the best of me though, and I came home from our visit and began to assemble one for myself. I don't like to spend money needlessly on anything if I have something already at hand, that will serve the same purpose. I scavenged through all of the left over lumber piles around the property and found enough supplies to make a decent raised bed. I have worked on it for a few days now, and I think I finally have a raised bed to suit my needs. This year, I will be filling it with grass clippings,home made compost,dirt, worms and all of my garden refuse.Hopefully, by next year, I will have it in great shape.