Weekly Gardening Outlook: Rain, Rain Go Away!

This will be a continuing series where we look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.

Well.  That was a lot of rain.  Northwest Arkansas got 15" of rain in a few days, resulting in the biggest flood I've seen in my 14 years here.  Check out the pictures HERE.  You can compare the picture of the dam at Devil's Den State park to my recently posted picture.  Let me take this opportunity to brag on the raised bed system.  Unlike in-ground beds where water can sit for days and smother plants, my raised beds were drained within an hour of the rain stopping.

Hoverfly on an onion flower

Honey bee on an onion flower

In addition to the normal honey bees, I spotted a hoverfly in the garden recently.  These beneficial flies are often colored like bees, but are harmless to humans as they do not bite or sting.  They are pollinators as adults and some larvae eat soft bodied pest insects like aphids or stink bugs.  HERE is a study showing the connection between plantings of attractive plants, hoverflies, and a decrease in pest insect populations.  HERE is a link with lists of attractive plantings for various beneficial insects.  Consider planting things like dill, fennel, or parsley to make your garden more attractive to these unpaid mercenaries in the fight against pests.

Onions, arugula, cilantro, and flowering bok choy

Week old onions (purple and yellow)

Bolting bok choy

The onions and herbs are doing great.  The bok choy bolted quickly and is quite bitter.  That just goes to show you that buying plants on a whim doesn't usually work out. 

Arugula after harvest

Fresh picked arugula leaves

I recently harvested the center leaves from the arugula as an addition to our dinner salad.  I really enjoy the nutty flavor that it adds.

Strawberries

Strawberry runners

The first harvest from the strawberry plants is close.  If you have strawberry plants, be sure to be removing the runners right now to increase fruit production.

Blueberry flowers

The two remaining blueberry bushes are flowering nicely.  Hopefully they will set fruit.

Chicken and Egg Report:

We are getting five eggs a day from our backyard flock of 6 hens.  The person that took us up on our recent offer to help get a backyard flock going has obtained six 2 month old chickens.  On Friday, we will be rehabbing an old children's playhouse to serve as a chicken coop.  Look for upcoming posts about that.

Weather Outlook:

-Look for a break in the rain for the next two days and then another chance of rain this weekend.  Expect typical spring temperatures of between 40 and 75 degrees.

It's still a little too cool to plant warm season crops outside like tomatoes, eggplant, squash, or cucumbers.

-Ten day forecast

What's Being Harvested:

-Herbs

-Arugula