How very cool. I have learned much today. Mostly learned how much I’d like to be in the tropics, but there ya go. 
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It’s a high production year, plus we have a mating pair of trees. Last year I got bubkiss, the squirrels and robins fed their offspring. It was the “on” year for the apple tree, so I still got something, just not those super sweet and tasty cherries.
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Mostly some kind of small beetle that infests them. Biggest issue is they will tend to dry up if not picked.
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banana update, 23 June:
after cutting the male flower off (and preparing a lovely curry dish - see food and drink thread) the banana fingers got fat and started to bunch.
will update again when they turn blue, then again when we harvest.
never knew they took so long to mature!
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Bunches of grapes. Im hoping to gather enough to make a crap wine, but doubtlessly the birds will have their fill first, and thats fine
Cucumbers are starting to climb the trellis. They need a bit of training at first.
Garlic is almost ready to harvest.
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Not sure where to put this, but here seems as good as anywhere, since we’re all working outside.
I just learned that if you have ticks in your area, you can send them in to be tested for diseases. Local cost is $15.
Search “tick test (State)” to find a place near you.
The Mr. and I each found one already “embedded” after recent camping trips. So far no “Lyme’s rashes” but we’re thinking the more information, the better. Stay safe and healthy, fellow outdoorsy mutants!
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Go here. There are dozens of videos on many topics, all to do with veg growing and he films stuff so that both UK and US audiences are catered for. (Many of the comments seem to come from USians.) Videos are usually around 10 mins and get straight down to it - no waffle.
He even has a set of videos aimed specifically at newbies.
His non-Youtube site is here
Subscribe and get a new video link in your inbox once a week.
Yes he has an app to sell but you would never know that if you just watched his videos, far from ‘hard sell’ it is pretty much ‘no sell’ on YT.
I’ve been subscribed for a few years and I still learn stuff from him, and I’ve been growing veg for many, many years.
(And having discovered this thread, I’ll try and find time to come back sometimes and check out what’s going on.)
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Excellent, thank you! I will check that out post-haste.
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12 days since the last pic, varying from 100° temps to torrential downpours. Plants seem very happy. A little bit of algae on the grow bags where I accidentally got water on them refilling the kiddie pool.
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Our moon flower was doing it’s thing last night. This is right before sun up. The Pixel really does an excellent job in low light.
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Canned 3 more quarts of goumi berry juice. Never have i seen it commercially, which is weird considering how easily it grows and how heavily it bears. Tastes like cherry spiked with citrus. Yummy!
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TIL:
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I need to take getting a goumi under serious consideration if that’s what they taste like.
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I put them in mostly as nitrogen fixers in the orchard. Interplanted with the trees, they are shown to increase yield by 10% give or take. The berries are a bonus.
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Do they help keep birds out of the tree fruits?
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No clue. I planted a mulberry tree for that. I get the low ones, they can have the high ones.
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That’s pretty much the deal I have with the robins at the cherry trees. Most years, they get the better end of that deal; this year, us humans are getting a very decent haul, too.
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