Wrapping up May

Here in north Georgia, it is hotter than usual for this time of year.  With June coming on tomorrow, I see the signs of nature confirming that summer is upon us.  One of the things I look for are the lightening bugs or the embroidered  term "fire flies".  Two evenings ago I thought I saw one but since I was indoors I was not positive.  Then last evening, sure enough, there they were everywhere, blinking all over the yard in front of my house.

The cool of the morning and the cool of the evening are the best times for me to observe things in the plant world.  Early morning is the best time to do some watering and it is paying off nicely.  I am seeing little green tomatoes on my plants.  This morning I spied something I had been working for, tiny yellow crookneck squash on the plants.  Since I was watering them slowly I saw my old enemy, the squash bug coming out of the soil around the plants.  I was able to catch four of them and destroy them.  They keep showing up, so, I will keep watching for them when I soak the soil.

The blue lake pole beans are starting to bloom so they got some extra water to encourage them to keep on keeping on.

The one chore I had on my calendar that  I was able to take care of, is propagating kiwi.  I am not doing this for myself, rather my primary care doctor.  She loves my kiwi and wanted some plants for herself, exactly like mine.  Last year I got a male and a female plant for her, but somehow they died after I gave them to her.  So, I was waiting for June to do some propagating for her.  I printed instructions from an online source and loaded my golf cart with the necessary tools to do the job.  Four quart size plastic pots filled with Miracle Gro potting soil well watered, a jar of Root Tone, hand shears freshly disinfected with rubbing alcohol, a trowel and a permanent pen for marking which is male and which is female.  My plan was to try for two of each.  Now they are sitting on my back porch in the shade, and up off the brick porch so the sow bugs and other crawling critters will not reach them.  This will be an interesting experiment for me.  I have tried to propagate them before without success, but this time I think I may have gotten it right. Time will tell.  And I will be sure to report the results whether positive or negative.