On the 5th, we cleaned out the last of the lettuce that was planted during the warm spell in March. It is noticeably bitter, but not too bad. I applied about a quart of COF (Complete Organic Fertilizer) and top dressed both frames with half a bag of Bumper Crop in preparation for the next crop.
The salad frame that was planted in early June is almost ready for selective harvesting. I have decided to stop using the mesclun mix because I have a lot more radicchio than I need. I would like to have more control over the lettuce varieties. For the next salad frame, I will be starting seeds indoors and then transplanting them out once they are an inch or two tall.
I gathered about a 4' pile of weeds from the backyard that I will use to build a compost pile this fall. When the compost pile is built, these weeds will become the carbon supplemented by fresh nitrogen rich greens and microorganism rich topsoil.
Youngest daughter heard the first cicadas on June 28, I first noticed them on the 30th. I have been dropping Japanese beetles in rubbing alcohol for about the past week. This seems to be controlling the population and defoliation of our grape, cherry and plum leaves. The mornings are noticeably quieter now that the bird mating season is winding down.
We have gladiolus, lily, pink spirea and mullein blooming in the front. Next year, I would like to add some bee balm, echinacea and other flowering perennials.
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