re: 2024 Spring Garden Thread

Those little bastards have been digging around my garden also. They didn't dig up any of my plants, but they certainly are getting too close to my liking. I set up the squirrelinator trap last week. Already caught 3. All males. I'm pretty sure there's more.

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I need to get one of those.

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It has been well worth it for me over the years.

I recommend the Squirrelinator. I do not recommend releasing into the wild unless you drive to Oregon or New York.

My wife says the same thing. I ask her… “Garden or squirrels? You can’t have both.”

As long as I’ve kept the bird feeders filled they’ve been staying away from the garden. The squirrels eat off the ground whatever birds drop/throw out of the feeders.

Reading through this thread has me pretty jealous. Tax season has mostly kept me out of the garden so far. There was one day I was able to get in there though and plant strawberries around my fig tree and then plant my tomatoes and 2 pepper plants that I bought in another bed.

I've currently got 6 more peppers and some cucumbers waiting to go outside that lagged behind everything else and 5-6 watermelon seedlings that I'll have to find a home for. I'm hoping this weekend I can get outside and start hardening off what needs to be moved so they will be ready to plant in a couple of weeks.

I was also able to check my hives and they look solid. One seems like it was fighting something for a while, maybe a virus? I need to do a mite check. Tons of dead bees on the ground in front and on the bottom board but everything else looked fine. Eggs, larvae, capped brood, and they were busy bringing in pollen and nectar. It is slightly behind my other hive but not by much and now the dead bees are gone so hopefully whatever it was has passed. Honey supers were added and last I checked they had quickly started filling those up.

2 more weeks and I can have fun.

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Tons of dead bees on the ground in front and on the bottom board but everything else looked fine. 

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Yeah that's interesting. Usually when I have mite issues it's in the fall when hive population is dropping.

I can't get out to check mine until next week. I ordered a new package, so have to pick up and put it in a hive. And I'm hoping this blackberry season was enough to fill a super two for a little early harvest.

Found a couple of visitors in the garden this afternoon. This one was hanging out under the blackberries.


This one by the onions.

Speckled kingsnake?

I wish I had one of those spotted beauties. I have black racers instead.

Yeah I’m glad I don’t have to deal with gophers and groundhogs here. The moles are getting pretty bad, though. I’ve given up on trying to catch them.