Below: These are Jerusalem artichoke plants. They are actually a species of sunflowers. After the plant dies, the tuber is harvested to eat. The tubers are scrubbed, and maybe boiled or baked. They are very mild tasting when served with a little salt and butter. Remember- too much of a good thing may not be good for you. Eating a large portion of Jerusalem artichoke may cause digestive problems in some people. Moderation is the key! Also, some tubers are always left in the ground for next years crop.
Below: The cantaloupe and honeydew female flowers have appeared and some seem to have been pollinated. Hopefully some of these will soon be melons. Flip through the slide show below to see the flowers and the tiny melons on these plants.
The rain gauge showed a pitiful quarter of an inch of rain fell while we were gone. Areas around the farm got a decent shower, but the clouds parted as they passed over the farm. We don’t want a flood, but it would be nice to get an inch of rain because every plant is very thirsty. The heat let up a little today. It only reached 90 degrees with a 15-20 mph wind. It was “almost delightful” this afternoon.
BELOW: We have a bee keeper friend in Alaska whose name is Leize. She sent the following information and pictures about feeding bees. Thanks Leize.
If there are frames of honey in the hive, they won’t need to fly out to feed, they will eat their stores.
I will take a picture- may need to go out to barn.
Two recipes :
White cane sugar only ( not beet sugar)
Warm water to dissolve sugar : for winter build-up use 2 parts sugar to 1 part water
To encourage queen to begin laying: 1 part sugar to 1 part water
I use a plastic nut jar with pin holes punched in plastic lid ( can use a heated paper clip end to burn holes or a tiny dremmel to drill holes) use the pattern of holes to match the top opening in the inner cover.
Fill jar , invert until pressure equalizes and stops dripping then places over hole in middle of top of inner cover. Place empty deep super over this and put on cover- prevents bees from swarming onto plastic jar.
Below: Back from the beach and at the first day of the school year! Calder, Beckett, and Oryne seemed excited to return to school.
