Taking advantage of warm spring days

Let's see, in the back alley garden we planted onion sets and Easter egg radishes and I transplanted the arugula and Swiss chard. I also planted rhubarb inside our back garden in a spot close to the kitchen window. I am not a patient gardener and the thought that it will be two years before harvesting rhubarb is pretty annoying.

Kai and Malin want their own garden plot this summer so they've pulled a ton of weeds in the space next to the vegetable garden. I'd like to build a frame around this area to make the soil a bit deeper so that's a project for the weekend.

Down at the community garden, the snap peas that I've neglected are starting to come up. I planted a bunch more today and have resolved to water them more regularly. I also transplanted Swiss chard and argula and onions down there and planted lettuce seeds.

While I was working there today, a guy from the DC Department of Transportation rode up on his bike. He told me told me that his department was interested in placing four pairs of beehives in fenced community gardens in Ward 6 and was there to check out our garden. It's my understanding that a few years back, some folks wanted to place a beehive at the garden, but others were worried about allergies to bee stings.

As an aside, that sort of thinking drives me crazy. Honeybees don't fly around looking for people to sting. And, it really makes no difference if the beehive is located at the garden or if the hive is a block away, the honeybees will find their way into the garden. In our two full summers of having bees literally above our back door, our family has been stung two times by honeybees in the backyard. The first time, our older son stepped on a bee with bare feet. The other time, a honeybee somehow flew up the leg of our daughter's pants and instead of brushing it away, she freaked out (which was understandable) and it stung her.

Anyway, I outed us as beekeepers on the Hill and he was pleased to learn that there would be advocates for bees at the garden. In the end, however, after eyeballing the space, he didn't think there would be room for a hive. The Virginia Avenue garden is a pretty compact garden and nearly every square foot is used. Instead, his recommendation will be to avoid the politics of beekeeping at the garden and house the beehives in a fenced in yard that is used to store trees ready for planting. It's only a couple blocks away so the garden will still get the benefit of honeybees.

Finally, several of the fruit trees down at the community garden are in full bloom due to the mild winter and really warm days we've been having. Not a honeybee in sight that I could find, but the trees were covered with dozens of fast moving smaller bee-looking insects.

Potato Surprise

Malin and I had a surprise while turning over the garden. I guess I missed harvesting some potatoes last fall.

The peas I planted last month are finally sprouting.

Arugula and lettuce is taking off up on the porch.

And on top of the beehive, we've placed spinach, Swiss chard and tomato seedlings.