Chickadee

Visited the feeder this evening.  Couldn't tell which food was the preference.

So, so far in the last week since putting back the feeder, have seen song sparrows, goldfinches, and chickadees.

2 cabbage aphids? walking on top of the kale's tulle

Found 2 of them, on top of the central bed kale's tulle.  They're very cute -- bright green (not gray at all) and kind of slow-moving, easy to catch.  I feel like I saw these last year on the cucumbers and they ended up not doing any harm.  Relocated these, will monitor.

FIRST ZUCCHINI HARVESTED! (Eight Ball) It's a beauty!

Woo hoo!!  The zucchini plants are all doing great, knock on wood!  The Eight Ball are definitely more advanced than the Golden Glory, but the first Golden took and will be ready in a few days.

Pea plants finally flopped over (after having out-stretched the top of the structure by at least 2 feet)

^^^

Piracicaba broccoli harvests going great -- another basketful today

Loving the piracicaba!  Wow, today harvested another basketful after having harvested a previous basket on Wednesday!   Sure grows fast.  It's a "hassle" yes having to remove the tulle and place it back carefully each harvest, but totally worth it.

These peas are delicious!! So sweet and flavourful

No idea why this year's peas are so good -- they're the same as I've grown in the past.  But dang they are GOOD!

Kaolined the cucumbers after having removed total of 6 cucumber beetles

Decided to jump on the kaolin clay now.  Same batch/bottle from earlier in the season.

Kaolin clay in Ontario -- reference websites

Ontario:

https://agrinews.ca/those-organic-farmers-are-spraying/

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/IPM/english/tender/diseases-and-disorders/sunburn.html

http://omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/09-039.htm

https://www.ontario.ca/page/weather-risks-strategies-mitigate-risk-excessively-hot-temperatures

https://www.mgoi.ca/resources/Newsletter-Archive/Newsletter06Winter.pdf

Canada:

https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/ongc-cgsb/P29-32-311-2020-eng.pdf

Cucumber beetles on cucumbers (only a few, couldn't catch them) (none on tulled zukes yet)

Ah, just when I thought my trick of camouflaging the cukes among the peas was working.  Saw two this morning for the first time this year (on the cucumber plants), but they were gone by the time I came back with a container.  I haven't been looking closely at the cukes so they might have appeared earlier.  At this point will monitor/remove, though really I should probably kaolin.

Have not seen any in the zukes yet and those I'm monitoring very closely, picking the male flowers every day.  All of the zucchinis are under tulle (except the two late-sowings which are a long way away from flowering).

Song sparrow, goldfinch

So far, visitors to the birdfeeder, who I've seen, are the song sparrow and goldfinch.

First yellow zucchini flower opened, but is deformed (8-ball zukes are further along)

 The first yellow zuke is from the west bed, north two, east one.

General update: Everything doing well; hardly any insect pressures; zukes looking great

Other than a handful of flea beetles a while ago, no insect pressures yet to mention.

The tomatoes are looking slow to take off -- the one Jasper has a few flowers and a handful of tomatoes forming, and the Scotia has a few flowers, but everything else is taking a bit longer.

Oh and the cucumbers aren't thrilled about being crowded in among the peas and potatoes -- but I think they'll get there.  

Lots of green healthy growth everywhere.

Even my home-sown basil looks fabulous!  Except for 3 or 4 of the southmost ones which maybe didn't covered as well during the cold (?) as they now have some weird / bad-looking leaves.  But the rest look amazing.

And the zucchinis!  WOW!  Even the two that at first looked pale and I was sure I was going to pull, have pulled through and they're among the first I'll be harvesting from!  All 7 of the main* zucchini plants look like they'll be producing fruit instead of the fruit petering out even before the flower opens, as was the case so often in recent years.  I can only imagine it's from not putting too much nitrogen, and from adding in the kelp and mineralized rock phosphate?!  *One zucchini in the Waltham broccoli bed was verrry late to get planted and is shaded by those broccolis so is unlikely to do much.  Also planted 2 late starts a few weeks ago, will see what they do (one in the a/c bed, the other in the south center of the central bed).  Oh and all zukes are under tulle except those two late starts.  I feel like maybe, just maybe I've given them enough space with the tulle this year that maybe I'll be able to keep the tulle on well into the season.

Piracicaba harvest -- nice basketfull today

 ^^^

Kale galore -- doing great

^^^

Peas: First harvest today (just 3, but many more on the way)

Birdfeeder back

Put back the birdfeeder today, only with the two trays.  (Millet in the small tray, other stuff in the bigger tray.)  Haven't had it out since.... last fall?

A house finch couple has a home in the neighbour's hedge thing and often hang out in the dead lilac tree, hopefully they'll check out the offerings soon.

Hopefully the last cool night and the last night of covering the basil

Nights have been going to below 13, even single digits the last 4 or 5 days, so have been covering the basil (with upside down pots covered by blankets).  Ready to be done with this soon... but the pesto and zucchini sauce is so worth it.

Celery turning yellow (oldest leaves) -- will add alfalfa pellets for nitrogen

Both the potted and in-ground.

Picked off the yellow leaves from the potted a few days ago, and now more are turning yellow.

So, today added alfalfa, but to the potted only.

I don't think the celery had the yellowing last year; hopefully it's just a nitrogen deficiency.

Reference: Veganic amendments

A handy list of various options for veganic amendments -- 

from https://www.groworganic.com/blogs/articles/vegan-organic-gardening:

Vegan-friendly products and methods

• Down To Earth Vegan Mix fertilizer
• Alfalfa meal
• Cottonseed meal
• Neem seed meal
• Soybean meal
• Corn gluten meal
• Kelp meal
• Arctic humus
• Soil inoculants and mycorrhizae - read the label first, as some products contain animal-derived fertilizers too. Chappy’s and MycoMinerals are both vegan-friendly choices.
• Mulches–like Mega Mulch
• Cover crops, and cover crop inoculants
• Biochar
• Compost made from green waste (not manure)
• Composting at home
• Liquid kelp
• Calphos, gypsum, greensand and other mineral fertilizers. Many vegans avoid mined minerals though because of the effects mining has on local animal life and the earth as a whole.
• Humic Acids, such as Humax (also a mined product)
• Peat moss (vegan, but controversial due to the effects of harvesting it on the environment)
• Coco coir or coco peat
• Homemade potting mix: combine PVFS compost, perlite (or substitute vermiculite), coco peat (coco coir), and your choice of nutrient-rich ingredients such as limestone.
• Any pesticides that are barriers or deterrents (gopher wire, for example).
• Pest prevention techniques such as companion planting, removing fallen leaves and other pest hiding places, crop rotation, etc
• Biological controls (introducing new beneficial insects or pest-specific diseases) is debatably veganic. It is preferred to encourage native species and only introduce new ones as a last resort.
• Mushroom kits (except for the white buttons and portabella kits)

And, here's what looks to be a Canadian source of organic soybean meal:  https://boogie-brew.ca/product/soybean-meal

No pollen on this morning's male squash flowers! Is it the cold? (so used a fridge flower to pollinate)

Today makes two zukes hand-pollinated on same-day opening.  (both rondes)  Looks like the first, from a couple of days ago, took!!!

Piracicaba broccoli harvest ongoing

Lots of side shoots to harvest.  Getting a nice amount every ~week or so.  Even if I'm a bit late and the yellow flower starts to appear, still tastes fine.

First two female zukes opened, while I was away camping! :(

Argh!  Because of course under the netting, they didn't likely get pollinated.  Tried pollinating them with spent males, just in case.

Both these females were the Eight Ball -- no Golden Glory to that point yet.

Peas forming, probably first ones will be ready within a week

^^^

Ruby leaf lettuce lasts longer than Black Seeded Simpson

The BSSs have mostly started to climb up toward bolting, but all of the Rubies are still low.  Maybe grow less BSS next year, and more Ruby.

So, harvested most of the BSS, letting a few grow to seed.

Mock orange in beautiful full flower! Many yellow leaves -- must be Gold Leaf Mock Orange!

I can't remember if it flowered last year, but my post on May 22nd 2001 commented on how horrible it was looking.

This year the flowers are gorgeous and smell amazing, lots of bees and flies etc. visiting the flowers.  However, most of the leaves are very yellow, like last year.

Oh, wait!  Google says there's something called a "gold-leaf mock orange", and the photos look similar to mine!  This must be what it is!  Yay!

This post talks a bit about pruning it, removing the oldest stems, etc:  https://awaytogarden.com/great-shrub-gold-leaf-mock-orange/

Some more posts:

https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56959/

https://bambooplants.ca/product/philadelphus-coronarius-aureus/

Mystery solved? re: yellow powder on basil -- pollen?

Noticed some of the same yellow powder on a zinnia's leaves today.  I think it's just pollen from the neighbourhood, and presumably the rain has washed it off the upper side of the basil leaves so I only see it on the underside.

The 1 Golden Glory and 1 Eight Ball zucchini transplanted (from PT a few days ago)

The 8 Ball is in the hose bed (added 1 Tbsp mrp and 1 Tbsp kelp), and the Golden is in the central bed where I removed a puny Waltham broccoli to free up space (didn't add anything here since I think I already added for the broccoli).

Grass mowed for first time, and round 2 or 3 grass sprouted

^^^

Basils have yellow powder on underside of leaves -- what could it be? & harvested/pruned

Hmmm...  The plants look super nice and green on the upper sides, but noticed today while pruning/harvesting that most leaves have subtle patches of yellow powder.  Sort of reminds me of last year's downy mildew except totally the wrong colour, and not fuzzy.  

Oh well, it washed off well, so fingers crossed!

It's on both varieties -- the hybrid I'm trying for the first time that's DM-resistant, and the classic Genovese that I bought from the store.

Runtiest potatoes planted in a/c bed

 7 runty leftover Banana potatoes (one of which was really runty/shrivelled) planted in the a/c bed.  

Basil (home-sown) looks GREAT now!

Wow!!   All of a sudden they went from looking like I thought most of them would make it, to wow they all look GREAT!  Maybe yesterday's big rain helped.  I mean, they're not huge yet by any stretch, but definitely a really nice green.

(The store-bought basil looks good too.)

Buckwheat sowed (after sprouting in PT)

 In the SE corner of the central bed.

2 zukes started in PT to replace sickly-looking ones

2 of the 8-Ball zucchinis look pale/wimpy (including the itty bitty 8-Ball zukes which look pale already, I'm sure they have no hope), whereas the other zucchinis are looking promising.  So, started 1 8-Ball and 1 Golden Glory in PT today, to replace those.

Buckwheat started in PT

To fill in a few empty areas.

Flea beetles have arrived -- only a few so far, so kaolined sparingly

A few flea beetles seen on the weaker of the central tomatoes, and in the potato bed.

Kaolined select tomatoes and potatoes.

Coneflower x 2 (bought from store) transplanted into southwest mini-bed

"PowWow Wild Berry Coneflower" aka "Echinacea purpurea PowWow Wild Berry".

The coneflower outside the fence had been totally eaten (the seeds) by the birds over the winter, whereas the black-eyed Susans not at all.  So maybe these coneflowers will help bring some birds into the yard this fall/winter.

Grass round 3 sowed; round 1 doing great where it did grow

Pre-mixed seed with topsoil, then scattered this onto the thin/bare patches.

I don't see round 2, but round 1 is going gangbusters in the many places where it did come in well.