2018 Season in Belarus

Andrey_BY · May 15, 2018

First pictures of my father-in-law country house with some bee-houses in the yard. He is a big fan of honey and bees

Early in April we had a lot of birch tree juice (as seen on the picture)

Backing to our dacha our old greenhouse (25 years old) has been refurbished in April/May.

Old shed (also 25 years old

had been diassembled and a new one was built by our local pale. Now there is a place for a teetor-tottor there under the roof.

Almost everything but pumpkins and summer flowers has been already transplanted.

After a long winter with a lot of snow in March till early April there is a lot of warm sunny weather in May with +20 +30 C, but with minor raining.

Hensaplenty · May 15, 2018

Very nice place! Love the bee hives! Thanks for sharing!

NarnianGarden · May 15, 2018

Yes, it's good to see those bees!

Andrey_BY · May 15, 2018

And some more photoes.
A lot of blooming Apple, Pear and Cherry trees... lilac and strawberries.

April 30 - first Gyromitra mushrooms)

ddsack · May 15, 2018

Thank you for the tour through your property, Andre! Very enjoyable to see where you and your family live and garden. You are lucky to have a nice place away from the city apartment, wonderful greenhouses! Your season is much ahead of ours, our tree leaves are just starting to green up. No apple blossoms or lilacs for a while, yet!

Andrey_BY · May 15, 2018

Thanks, Dee.
We had snow till mid April and it has been getting warmer after that so we translant all the tomato and sweet pepper plants early in May and even started cucumbers.
It is still quite cold inside our dacha house so we are heating it by wood. It's a weekend place 60km away from Minsk to work on the garden and to have a rest sometimes

aftermidnight · May 15, 2018

Thoroughly enjoyed the tour of where you live and garden, my garden is not even postage stamp size next to yours. The Piekny Jas you sent us are starting to climb the netting, doing the happy dance. A few seeds have also made their way to the UK, almost a round trip

.

Annette

Andrey_BY · May 15, 2018

Annette,
don't let these photoes get you wrong about the size of our land.
It is only 6х100 square meters including a small summer house with a wood heating, summer kitchen, a small sauna (Russian banya), 2 sheds, 2 greenhouses for tomatoes and 1 small greenhouse for sweet peppers + 1 old ex-greenhouse - now for firewood, 3 apple trees, 3 pear trees, 2 plum trees, 1 blackberry, 1 gooseberry, 1 cherry, 10 garden blueberry bushes and a lot of black and red currents, strawberries + flowers and conifers.
Actually we live abstemiously with no excesses)

Old School · May 15, 2018

Beautiful pics

Are those mushrooms edible? They are scary to look at

How is the taste if they are edible?

Andrey_BY · May 15, 2018

Frank,
yes, Gyromitra is edible, but only after a lot of treatment. So we don't risk. It is just like a first prize but when you should give it back after you win))

Barb_FL · May 15, 2018

Loved the tour of the garden and beehives.

GrowingCoastal · May 15, 2018

Wonderful Andrey! Nice to see.
Are the bees in Belarus in good condition or do they suffer like ours in North America?
How is it that the shed has such a nice floor? My kitchen is in envy!
Lovely spring flowers. Tulips do not last very long but are so welcome for their vibrant colours early in the year.

Harry Cabluck · May 15, 2018

Very nice, thanks for the tour.

Andrey_BY · May 16, 2018

As for bees I believe they have same population problems like everywhere over the world due to the climate changes and industrial fertilizers.
From 7 active bee houses there was 2 where bees died during December-January time when they had to sleep, but actually not sleeping because of abnormal t C and they had no enough food during this time...
We like tulips as well and have several ways of their blooming from very early varieties to some late yellow and dark purple ones like now. All spare places are ready to invite Asters, Zinnias, Nasturtiums and other summer-autumn flowers...
Petunias and Pelargonias have been already transplanted in flower pots. And I've got several Siberian roses to add on our small rosarium.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrowingCoastal

Wonderful Andrey! Nice to see.
Are the bees in Belarus in good condition or do they suffer like ours in North America?
How is it that the shed has such a nice floor? My kitchen is in envy!
Lovely spring flowers. Tulips do not last very long but are so welcome for their vibrant colours early in the year.

NarnianGarden · May 16, 2018

I wish I had Gyromitra growing in the area nearby, I would gladly have one meal a year with them. They are a pain to prepare (boil, cook, boil, throw the water away and don't inhale it while it's boiling), and there is still some controversy about the safest method. (drying vs boiling)
Much of the flavor is lost in the boiling process, but there is still enough left to make a delicious sauce with cream :-)

May 15, 2018	#5
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	Thank you for the tour through your property, Andre! Very enjoyable to see where you and your family live and garden. You are lucky to have a nice place away from the city apartment, wonderful greenhouses! Your season is much ahead of ours, our tree leaves are just starting to green up. No apple blossoms or lilacs for a while, yet! __________________ Dee **************

May 15, 2018	#6
Andrey_BY Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Minsk, Belarus, Eastern Europe (Zone 4a) Posts: 2,278	Thanks, Dee. We had snow till mid April and it has been getting warmer after that so we translant all the tomato and sweet pepper plants early in May and even started cucumbers. It is still quite cold inside our dacha house so we are heating it by wood. It's a weekend place 60km away from Minsk to work on the garden and to have a rest sometimes __________________ 1 kg=2.2 lb , 1 m=39,37 in , 1 oz=28.35 g , 1 ft=30.48 cm , 1 lb= 0,4536 kg , 1 in=2.54 cm , 1 l = 0.26 gallon , 0 C=32 F Andrey a.k.a. TOMATODOR

May 15, 2018	#8
Andrey_BY Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Minsk, Belarus, Eastern Europe (Zone 4a) Posts: 2,278	Annette, don't let these photoes get you wrong about the size of our land. It is only 6х100 square meters including a small summer house with a wood heating, summer kitchen, a small sauna (Russian banya), 2 sheds, 2 greenhouses for tomatoes and 1 small greenhouse for sweet peppers + 1 old ex-greenhouse - now for firewood, 3 apple trees, 3 pear trees, 2 plum trees, 1 blackberry, 1 gooseberry, 1 cherry, 10 garden blueberry bushes and a lot of black and red currents, strawberries + flowers and conifers. Actually we live abstemiously with no excesses) __________________ 1 kg=2.2 lb , 1 m=39,37 in , 1 oz=28.35 g , 1 ft=30.48 cm , 1 lb= 0,4536 kg , 1 in=2.54 cm , 1 l = 0.26 gallon , 0 C=32 F Andrey a.k.a. TOMATODOR Last edited by Andrey_BY; May 15, 2018 at 07:03 PM.

May 15, 2018	#9
Old School Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Central PA, Zone 6 Posts: 93	Beautiful pics Are those mushrooms edible? They are scary to look at How is the taste if they are edible? __________________ -Frank

May 15, 2018	#10
Andrey_BY Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Minsk, Belarus, Eastern Europe (Zone 4a) Posts: 2,278	Frank, yes, Gyromitra is edible, but only after a lot of treatment. So we don't risk. It is just like a first prize but when you should give it back after you win)) __________________ 1 kg=2.2 lb , 1 m=39,37 in , 1 oz=28.35 g , 1 ft=30.48 cm , 1 lb= 0,4536 kg , 1 in=2.54 cm , 1 l = 0.26 gallon , 0 C=32 F Andrey a.k.a. TOMATODOR

May 15, 2018	#2
Hensaplenty Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 122	Very nice place! Love the bee hives! Thanks for sharing!

May 15, 2018	#3
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	Yes, it's good to see those bees!

May 15, 2018	#7
aftermidnight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Vancouver Island B.C. Posts: 116	Thoroughly enjoyed the tour of where you live and garden, my garden is not even postage stamp size next to yours. The Piekny Jas you sent us are starting to climb the netting, doing the happy dance. A few seeds have also made their way to the UK, almost a round trip . Annette

May 15, 2018	#11
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	Loved the tour of the garden and beehives.

May 15, 2018	#12
GrowingCoastal Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Vancouver Island Canada BC Posts: 1,253	Wonderful Andrey! Nice to see. Are the bees in Belarus in good condition or do they suffer like ours in North America? How is it that the shed has such a nice floor? My kitchen is in envy! Lovely spring flowers. Tulips do not last very long but are so welcome for their vibrant colours early in the year.

May 15, 2018	#13
Harry Cabluck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 217	Very nice, thanks for the tour.

May 16, 2018	#15
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	I wish I had Gyromitra growing in the area nearby, I would gladly have one meal a year with them. They are a pain to prepare (boil, cook, boil, throw the water away and don't inhale it while it's boiling), and there is still some controversy about the safest method. (drying vs boiling) Much of the flavor is lost in the boiling process, but there is still enough left to make a delicious sauce with cream :-)