Well ole mother nature had one last blast of chill left in her. Last evening the temperature in the middle garden dropped to 37 degrees. As we planted a bit earlier than my father has always recommended we chose to buy a little insurance. The low tunnels we installed earlier in the season seem to have done the trick. Not sure of the impact on our strawberries or grapes but we will get a better idea over the next few days.
I can only hope that that this bit of cool weather has set the flea beetles back. They seem to have enjoyed our warm winter and early spring a bit more than anything else. Honeybee activity has been very light this season. Our blackberry bushes are loaded with blooms but we are seeing few honeybees this year. Looks like it may be time to install a couple of hives.
We are expanding our little patch of garden to encompass another two acres. The soil is some of our fine Mississippi clay. We will work the beds this weekend and plant our first cover crop (soybeans). It will be a year before we build up enough organic material for the beds to be usable.
Time to head for the office. Back to the gardening later this afternoon.
Danny J. Spreitler 