I’m on mandatory shelter in place order along with most of the San Francisco Bay Area, so I’m taking the time to experiment. I’ve never done any canning before, but someone sent me some special spices from Louisiana to make pickled eggs from, so I did a tiny batch to see if I like them.
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Given the decline in bee population due to over-use of pesticides, keep those little guys safe! We need them far more than people realise - all those food crops don’t pollinate themselves…
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According to most bee keeper groups the pesticides are less of a big deal than the lack of pollen bearing plants and the huge monocultures out there.
And the honey bee isn’t native to North America, so we’re keep a species alive here that isn’t designed for it. OTOH, there are issues with ground bees and such since new construction is killing them. And carpenter bees are actively treated as a pest.
So, how are people’s gardens doing? My beans and zucchini are off to a good start. My tomatoes are still in my window sill. My poor green onions are infested with aphids. 
I wish I could let my quail loose on them to eat the aphids, but they would destroy the onions too.
I hate that we have a pandemic, but it is causing a lot of people to start gardens and keep backyard livestock which will help us reduce our carbon output.
I’ve been making a lot of pickled eggs. I have the ingredients to try a new recipe today, which will make 3 varieties that I make so far.
It’s been super wet here so I don’t think my wife has really even looked at the back yard garden yet.
I’ve done nothing. May not have one this year what with the move and all. Boo!!!
Can’t plant till after Mothers day here.
Don’t ladybugs eat aphids? Maybe you could get some and introduce them to your garden.
I’ve done that before, but they just fly away. I still have a few ladybugs in the garden, so whenever I see one I put it on the onions.
On the positive side, my rakkyo is doing really well. I’ve always had bad luck with onions and garlic, but I think I’ve used the wrong soil. I’m going to try them again but with the cactus soil that I used for the rakkyo.
Having a good time wandering around and seeing what’s growing. There’s a flowering vine on a trellis in one part of the property that I’m interested to see what grows. I’d love for it to be grapes.
Thinking about putting a few plants out but will probably end up waiting until next year, sadly…
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Did a lot outside today.
Mowed half the lawn before I had to come inside to cool down and rest. I’ll do the rest tomorrow.
We found the Snow Drops in the back yard, because they haven’t been mowed down yet. Moved them somewhere else that we can enjoy them longer.
The back yard is littered with little white flowers; probably wild strawberry. Lots of Grape Hyacinths and Violets. Some purple tulips came up in the back flower bed.
Weeded and cut down some nasty shit that keeps coming back every year. If I don’t keep on top of it, it becomes a problem.
Tired now. Beer, shower, nap.
What’s the weather like there? Weren’t you saying it was super cold a couple weeks ago? (not trying to be a smart-ass. genuinely curious)
Supposed to have highs in the 90s here this week. Wheee.
It hit 21 of our Earth degrees yesterday, but we had a frost warning 4 days ago.
Our weather is quite variable. Our growing season is hell this year.
I’m old and out of shape and haven’t had to mow the yard in a couple of years. I have the time this year, so thought I’d save myself a thousand dollars and do it myself.
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Tomorrow and the rest of the week we’re fliirting with a humidex of 40. Madness.
That’s just gross.
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I started growing some bulbs this year in pots. I have rakkyo, garlic, and I just got my order of saffron bulbs. I also bought a container for a mini pond that I want to grow some lotus in. I’d go for water chestnuts, but the bulbs are horribly expensive and I’m not willing to spend that on an experiment.
We planted some sunflower seeds today. That’ll probably be it for the season 
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I love to eat sunflower seeds, but for some reason sunflowers creep me out.
It’s because you eat their babies
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My wife has tried them in previous years, but they’re either eaten as seeds by squirrels or get so big they collapse under their own weight when a storm comes through.
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