Spring is all around us. It’s Camas time, or at least it is bloom time. We planted them two years ago and have watched each year as we have had more blooms. Now, the entire bed where they are planted has a purple hue. This year, we will mark them for harvesting in the fall.
We have several new plants blooming. We have added borage flowers to the edible flower harvests. We also have calendula for the Spa and the long-awaited chive blossoms!
Strawberries
The strawberries are in full bloom, and berries will soon follow. This year, we are trying an experiment by covering a long section of the strawberry bed with plastic for the early part of the season to see if we can get berries sooner. We will have more on that as the season progresses.
The ground has dried nicely this week, and the cover crop has been mowed. We are expecting to start rototilling next week. We have so many plants staged waiting to go into the ground. We are like anxious racehorses at the starting gate.
Edible Pod Peas
The first blossoms have appeared on the edible pod peas! We are headed for an abundant pea crop. As always, we watch the weather as a heat wave at the wrong time shortens the harvest time.
The event tent was installed this week in anticipation of a summer full of garden events. We weeded the surrounding flower beds and spread bark dust, hopefully aiding our weed control.
Honey Bees
The final entry in my “Signs of Spring” is the arrival of the queen bees. Each year, we attempt to thwart the swarming impulses of our bees by taking five full frames from the mother colonies to make new colonies. We then add in the new queens. It makes for a busy few days. But all for being a good neighbor and for honey production.
Come on out to the Garden to see what else we have growing.
-Anna
