It's June

 June has arrived and we are still busy working and hopefully improving our property.  If not actually improving the property, we are at least making it easier to maintain.  We killed grass and mulched a large portion of the rear of our lot.  You can see our two dwarf apple trees (that still haven't produced any apples) and at the left of them, one of our butterfly bushes.  More perennials and flowering bushes will be added.  The goal is to draw more honey bees and butterflies to our yard and also have less mowing.

If you remember the first photo of the emerging snow peas, this is an update.  Some plants are even beginning to show blossoms.  This week we will insert stakes at the end of the bed and add string for the plants to hang on to.  If they grab the plant next to them, it is difficult to pick the pea pods.

Another photo showing the progress made by the broccoli this last month.  It has been very cool and cloudy for the past month and the broccoli has been happy.  We should be harvesting by the end of this month.  Hopefully our cage idea will work and we will have no cabbage worms to deal with. The real success will be not having to use sprays, even the so called "organic" ones.

The cabbage (center) and cauliflower (in left bed) are now sporting their own "redneck" wire cage.  The cauliflower is a new venture for this year.  We will learn if it is worthwhile to grow or too much trouble.  I am already getting out my cabbage soup recipes.  In the rear you can see another of the square beds with strawberry plants.  These were "runners" from existing plants in the larger strawberry bed. I couldn't just throw them away. 

Speaking of strawberries - we have picked berries three times and have gotten about five quarts.  Next year we will begin planting the new runners in one of the larger empty beds and after harvesting, will dig out the plants from this bed.  We researched strawberry growing and the so called experts say to tear out your strawberry plants every three to four years.  This is why we call our blog "Trial and Error gardening".  We are learning as we go.