Today I got the netting up over the arbor and the strawberries. My wife had been after me to do something to cover up the strawberry pyramids because of some stray neighborhood cats using it as a litter box!
So I finally got out the netting that I made last year and put it up over the arbor and the strawberry beds – it took a few hours to finally get it just right to allow it to touch the ground on all sides. The main purpose was to keep the birds from getting to the grapes and strawberries, but this will also keep all the other animals out as well.
After getting the netting up, I figured a close-up of some of the growing strawberries would be a good idea! I didn't follow the rule with these strawberries though. Rule of thumb is that newly planted strawberries should have all fruit pinched off for the first harvest and then the second harvest allowed – so that way the root systems have a good chance to grow. Well, I didn't want to do that as I couldn't bring myself to pinching off some good fruit in progress! In addition, the plants seem to be growing quite well as they are putting off some runners as well.
I haven't posted any good pictures of the green beans coming up – so here is a whole row of green beans that are coming along quite nicely. A row was placed on both sides of the raised bed that hold the lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and peppers.
To my surprise, I went outside yesterday and noticed that the peas were already putting on flowering pods! Oh boy.. just in time for our vacation! I hope that it takes a while for the pods to fully produce because of an upcoming vacation. Really would be a shame that if we got back, all of the peas would be past their prime and couldn't be used. Anyways, here is a close-up picture of a couple of those flowering pods getting ready to come out!
