It has been some time since I posted to my gardening blog.  Life has prevented me from posting and I apologise to my readers for my long absense.  The photo above is a shot of the back veggie garden this year.  It has been a disappointing year so far.  We had weeks of rain to deal with that threatened to flood the gardens.  When it was not raining it was overcast and cool.  The bees were affected as well; bees don't tend to forrage when it is pouring down rain.  I have managed to get a few courgette/zucchini but at this time no yellow squash.  The okra is still short and not producing anything.  With the lack of bees, I am getting only a few green beans.  My corn; to the left of the photo above, is stunted and probably won't produce anything.  The only veggies coming out of the garden are tomatoes; they are self polinating.so were not affected by the lack of bees, and eggplant.

Yesterday I went to check on the garden and found several of the early yellow squash plants dead.  I checked and the squash were covered in squash beatles.  I took action against them but I think it is too late.  I think I will sow some seeds and see if I can get some late squash before the frost comes and end the gardening season.

As my readers may recall from last year, I decided to build an electric fence around the back veggie garden to deter the deer from eating my garden to the ground.  The fence charger you see below can deliver a hefty shock to the deer; and a good strong fence charger is needed.  The hair on deer is hollow and this acts as an insulator not only from cold and heat but from the charge of electricity from the fence charger.  The current is low so the deer are not harmed.

My New Fence Charger Box

Today I set to building a new box for the fence charger.  I made the box plenty large so that it would have plenty of air space around the charger.  Plus, it is made of wood so the sun will not shine through as it did with the plastic box.  I also designed the box with a ventilation slot at the bottom and the top; as the hot air in the box rises, it will pull in cooler air through the bottom and will have a natural air cooler.  I will monitor the temperature inside of the box and if need be I can put a small ventilation fan to assist with the removal of excess heat.  The box was made with excess materials on hand; the sides are from a board I got from a pottery shop that shut; it was used for shelving to hold greenware.  The plywood and roof shingles were left over from the roof repairs on the house.  So total cost for building the fence charger box was zero.  I formed the plans for the box as I went; I think it turned out rather nicely.  The box is held together with galvanized wood screws so it is very sturdy.  All that is left to do is to make a door; either a single one or two smaller ones hinged on both sides that opens in the middle..

 

 

Fence Charger Installed

 

 

The Back Veggie Garden

I was out in the front garden barefoot this afternoon talking on the telephone to a friend and examining my flowers. I felt pain in the sole of my foot and collapsed to the ground. I saw a bumblebee had attached its stinger to the sole of my foot. Not a good thing at all. I brushed the bumblebee off and, switched off my phone, and headed inside to treat the sting. The pain did not last long but my foot is slightly swollen in the arch area and it is rather sore.

I have a lot of clover in my front garden and I know the bumblebees come to feed on the blooms. I normally watch out for the bumblebees; especially if I am barefooted, so I don't step on one. However, I let my caution drop because I was engaged in conversation with someone. Bumblebees have a barbless stinger so they can sting more than once. I brushed the bumblebee away and it went on its way; normally bumblebees are harmless and when they are feeding they are no danger to one but stepping on them is another thing.

Bumblebees are on a decline across Europe, North America, South America and also in Asia according to a study by Mark Brown of the University of London. Bumblebees are an important pollinator so this is of some concern.