Lacto-ferment for sour pickles? Cucumbers certainly ferment well. For the price of a little non-iodized salt, cucumbers can be transformed into sour pickles. Lactic acid generated by the fermentation is softer on the palate than vinegar (acetic acid). Lot’s of how tos online. I think it is roughly 3% salt by weight of cucumbers and water, but I’d look it up if interested.

Hokowase Strawberries are back and picking well, picked 900g/2 lb, which will cover tonight plus two more feeds and a few (about 12oz/350g) for the freezer, they don't hold in good condition much longer than that. Getting a good set on late summer flowers so far, just got to keep pulling the runners off and keep the blackbird traps set since I only recently purchased them. English blackbirds are an absolute pest down here.

[attachment=0]IMG_20250128_095439_341.jpg[/attachment

Planted out some Asters a while back, took them a bit to get going but they are starting to flower now, which is good as of Sunday I now have 8 beehives on the place. One of the hives put out a small swarm, which landed on some blackberry canes. A few quick cuts and shakes and bees were in spare catch box even before beekeepers arrived here.
Small swarm that was in an easy place to catch


A few of the Asters and other flowers. Petunia Night Sky would be pushing 1.5m/5 feet across

Absolutely gorgeous flowers there Whwoz. Bees make an excellent excuse!

Unfortunately the swarm of bees has decided to move elsewhere. Went out to check on them and could see no activity, so back in for long trousers and bee suit as the box is only a meter from a hive each side, then out to open hive with no bees to be seen.

I had to zoom into those yellow flowers, since I was amazed that your violas are looking so good. I have always thought that those do not like hot weather. Violas are frost hardy and those are the earliest summer flowers I plant and already in July they start to look bad.

Some of the other violas are starting to show their age @svalli and this weekend will lead into a few hot days, 39 C for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at this stage will test them.

Do you have any idea why the bees moved on? Do they commonly seek new territory? I hope it's not mites or colony collapse!

No idea @JayneR13 , sometimes they just decide that want to move on to new territory, particularly if the scouts that go out looking for alternative sites comes back saying that they have found a good home.

All the existing hives are still happy and healthy

Update time.

The owner of the bees is a bit concerned about the box that the hive that I found and mentioned above went into. Checking his records, that box has been used 3 times for a new swarm in the last 18 months and each time the swarm has moved on. I went over and pulled it apart, no sign of rot or any pest problem so unless there is some chemical contamination we are none the wiser.

Wife had her 8 week review of the ankle, surgeon was very happy with progress and has her in a figure of eight brace for 4 then walking without support as per normal.

4 weeks ago I popped a Baker's cyst in the back of my right knee, a legacy from an ACL rebuild 33 years ago. Has restricted movement a lot the first couple of weeks. Swelling is mostly gone which may allow me to clean up the tomatoes that made it into the ground for there are some ripe fruit on them if I can get to them.

Found this tonight
A Big Malaka, there is a second one perhaps slightly larger that I will extract the seed from tomorrow out there still.

Picked another 1.44 kg/3.2 lb of strawberries today while pulling off a lot of runners and finding a dead blackbird in one of the traps.

I'm glad to hear that the both of you are recovering well. I hope that your lives can get back to normal soon.

A lovely find on that tomato. I can only dream of the next time that I see something like that in my garden.

How does Big Malaka taste?

About average to me @MissS. Daughter said yum, but that was it, son said a bit of tang. Maybe if looked after a bit better it would improve, but can't see it reaching outstanding under my conditions

It’s always something!

You are getting a heck of a lot of strawberries.

PlainJane wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:30 am You are getting a heck of a lot of strawberries.

Yes, and they keep coming, which I am very happy about as commercial ones have a rubbery look to them at the moment.

Today's pick
Another 1.9 kg/4 lb close enough @$3.90 per 250 g in the shops for the low quality ones, I am miles ahead.

What I have done with some of these for the MIL
Those little containers hold about 3 Oz/85g and the contents get mixed with her morning yoghurt after defrosting. Very appreciative she is and I am more than happy to do it.

That's the kind of thing my Mom would love, Whwoz.
How much space do you have in strawberries?
I bought seeds from a Ukrainian seed seller, Renaissance, Lizonka, Baron Solemacher and sweetly sent me a free one too, Regina, then Nicky sent me Reugen, and they all have some sprouts now so I could end up with lots of plants, I hope! They are all everbearing types according to the description.

2+ months of good production sounds fantastic. How long is you harvest season?

There are few things I enjoy more than fresh homegrown strawberries. Nice job Whwoz!

@bower , there are 80 plants out there at 40 cm spacing in a double row. Deliberately planted heaps to build up extras for turning into jam.

@Wildcat82 production here starts around the start of October and ends around the end of December if I don't pull runners, not sure how long it will go for now. Over winter I need to top up that with extra compost/soil and I will be setting up the strawberries so that I can mow them as soon as they finish the first crop, which should solve the runner issue.

Strawberries are still going strong, with the heat then the rain, we had not picked for 4 days. Between what I picked for dinner last night and the wife picking them today, another 2.5 kg has been picked with more greenies still on the plants although I think that flowers may be getting fewer.

Had a look tonight after work, strawberries certainly appear to be finished flowering, plants upto 45cm/18 inches across, with over 24 ripe small berries on some plants. Would be over 1.5 lb per plant if they were full size fruit.

An assortment of bee food out in the garden still. Petunia Night Sky is pushing 1.8 m/6 feet across

Wow, fabulous!