Hi All, Lane County Extension Service Master Gardener John Fischer here with KLCC's Good Gardening.
If you get help around your garden, it is only fair to offer something in return. Honey bees do a lot of work for me, but their favorite food - pollen from flowers is in short supply this time of year. While drying pears in the sun, I noticed bees grabbing a bite or two - LOTS of bees. So many that I had to wait until dark to move the pears into the oven to keep drying them overnight.
I have plenty of windfall pears and apples, so I have been crushing them with my shoes to make it easier for the bees to have a feast. The video I put on KLCC's web site looks a little scary at first, but happy bees won't sting you. Eating is their way of saying thank you.
You can do yourself a favor by planting some greens, beets, and maybe even carrots after our soil dampening rain. Given how early in the month it is, fresh salad could hit the table before October. Many greens - arugula, kale, spinach, chard, mizuna, radicchio, and yes - lettuce will sprout better with the cooler soil, - and fall days are still long enough to produce a crop before real winter arrives. And don't be in a hurry to remove summer crops. The cooler weather will help them put on a flush of new growth and provide you with another meal or two.
This is also a good time to plant a cover crop. My two favorites are fava beans - a crop that puts nitrogen into your soil for summer crops, provides foliage for winter salads, and produces beans in May and June for your dining pleasure. And favorite two is crimson clover. Again, a nitrogen fixer, and an all time bee pleaser during it's vivid spring bloom period.
I'm John Fischer with Good Gardening.
