Buckwheat

The peas are out and the Buckwheat is in.  For several years now I have kept a bag of Buckwheat seeds handy and every time I have an empty bed I put in Buckwheat as a green manure crop.  As an added benefit it feeds the bees.  Just in case there are any left on the planet.

Now, at the beginning of harvest season, it is fun to be able to plant something new.  This is really the part I like best.  I enjoy preparing the soil, knowing what challenges I may face and formulating a plan.  In this case we have a Mourning Dove nesting 20 feet from the garden in the Viburnum bushes.  And Mourning Doves love Buckwheat seed.  I'm not going to scatter it on her front porch and expect her to stay out of it.  So I'm covering it with burlap until it germinates.

I have some heavy wire coat hangers I use for rafters.  That will just keep the seedlings from trying to grow up through the weave.

I'm not worried about it blowing away so I just stuck some pavers along the edges.

In the other pea bed I transplanted the pickling Cucumbers.

The varieties are Supremo which I have grown twice before and Cool Customer which I am trying for the first time.  I also have two Marketmore plants for eating fresh.  I am covering them with row cover to keep the cucumber beetles off them until they get some good leaves on them and can take the damage.  I'm using the wire cloches and clothes pins to secure the floating row cover.

Except for these little guys.  They are going to have to fend for themselves.

Once I take the cover off I will put the supports up for them.

The Picolino vines are finally taking off and putting out flowers.

I also have two Bristol vines in this planting for eating fresh.

The past few years I have grown so many slicing cucumbers that I had to start giving them away.  I try to adjust my production to what we actually use.  Note to self: don't plant quite so many peas next year.

Also happening today:  I hung two Japanese Sex Beetle traps.  I always hang two.  I know people say that when you put out these lures you draw more beetles to your yard.  My belief is that these people grossly underestimate the number of beetles they actually have in their own garden.  I'd rather see them in the trap than pretend there aren't thousands in the immediate vicinity.  I haven't found any beetles IN the garden the past two days.  But there are sizeable swarms in other areas of the yard.  Its really hard to just do nothing when you see so many.  And I would rather trap them than use the chemical spray.  I did spray  the ornamental sweet potato vines in the planters around the house because they aren't flowering plants and it seems to be working on those.