May can be such a variable month! This morning it was pouring with rain and chilly. This afternoon the sun has come out and it's HOT! Actually pretty good weather for getting a number of chores done indoors and out.
After we cleaned out the pond filter (whew! stinky!) I planted out the melons. I grew them in the compost bin last year and am doing the same this year. I am, however, preparing a little better. The wood bugs attacked the young plants last year and I almost lost them.
This year I dug holes in the compost and filled them full of potting mixture. I transplanted the young melons into the mixture, firmed and then carefully put a water bottle collar around each, then applied a generous ring of diatomaceous earth around each one. That should keep them safe!
Strawberries are forming and some of the berries are getting quite large. Keep your fingers crossed that the birds and raccoons leave us some! The last time I grew strawberries, I protected them with special bird netting cages. Just as the berries were ripening I went out one morning to find all the cages thrown off and no berries left. Raccoons! It was the same for the grapes and hazelnuts.
The beans are lapping up the heat. The beans on the rack were started in the potting shed and are ahead of the half barrel beans. They're starting to form vines which will quickly scramble up the rack.
The half barrel beans aren't far behind though, and they got a good dose of pond filter water to help them along. All in all, the garden is coming along well. I planted out the last of the corn today - Peaches and Cream as I'd run out of the Bodacious seed. So the Three Sisters bed is mostly Bodacious with one row of Peaches and Cream planted 4 days later. When the corn is 6" tall, I'll plant Fortex beans.
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