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rumblebee.bsky.social
@rumblebee.bsky.social
120 followers 48 following 970 posts
Raised bed gardening, heirloom vegetables, cookbook collector, native plants, anything old-timey. Zone 5b, Ecoregion 53b Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains, Kettle Moraines.
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rumblebee.bsky.social
Invite elegant and classic Rosa Bianca to your garden next year. Watch her blow your mind 🤯! #gardening #vegetables #heirloomvegetables 🌱 #zone5bgardening
Photo of healthy, no-worse-for-the-wear, heirloom Rosa Bianca eggplant. There is visible flea beetle leaf damage yet recovery and vigorous new growth is evident. Multiple young fruit are visible. Rosa Bianca continues to be a crowd pleaser for bees visiting new flowers. When harvesting, it's either duck the bees during the day or frantically flail at mosquitoes later on. In this photo, flea beetle damage and heat stress are evident. However, the plant shows remarkable resilience. Larger fruit is seen along with newly forming fruit. Leafy growth continues. Opinion: Rosa Bianca, in my Zone 5b, erratic, unpredictable, sometimes damaging weather, contines to thrive. For me, it out performs 'standard' Black Beauty in every way. I'm surprised each time I make my way back to her corner, small raised bed and see at least 3 or 4 more eggplants ready to go, with more on the vine. I just have 5 plants. I think she's a bit of a show off. She is a beauty!
September 6, 2026 at 3:33 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Yesterday's picking. Today's processing. #gardening 🌱 #heirloomtomatoes #heirloomvegetables #cannimg
Colorful haul of various heirloom tomatoes - Mortgage Lifter, Black Krim, Opalka, Abraham Lincoln, Arkansas Traveler, Boxcar Willie, Giant Crimson; Rosa Bianca and Black Beauty eggplants; Melrose, Sweet Banana, Big Jim peppers. Tomatoes waitimg to be made into my gramma's chili sauce condiment, sweet and savory. More cowboy candy or some pickled peppers. The eggplant? Thick slices, breaded, air fried golden and crispy, with choice of dippin' sauces. Partially seen are a couple blue buckets sharing the kitchen table with their haul.
September 6, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Reposted
colleengruver.bsky.social
#SussexSquad
August 29, 2026 at 5:03 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
🤔 =💡 A forgotten party favor becomes the life of the party! #gardening #hotpeppers 🌱 #canning #somedontlikeithot #foodpreservation
Vintage lavender TUPPERWARE Lettuce Corer Knife / Grapefruit Section Slicer next to a green hot pepper with stem removed and seed core exposed. Partially visible pile of hot peppers awaiting the same treatment. In no time flat! Colorful pile of cored and seeded hot peppers ready to be made into syrupy sweet-hot Cowboy Candy. The TUPPERWARE corer handled better than anything else I've tried. Flexible, comfortable and compact in my hand. Simple. No nonsense.
August 10, 2026 at 12:53 AM
rumblebee.bsky.social
It took a long time. I watched as options were tested and rejected. Multiple times. So excruciating for this nervous nellie so l went inside.

This morning, I see Mother Nature tucked her child in. #bugsky #monarchbutterfly #nativeplants #savethemonarchs #pollinators
Monarch larva hanging upside down in 'j' shape from a cross beam of a protected porch. Guessing it's been hanging here about 12 hrs.
July 25, 2026 at 11:42 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
My oh my! Blessed am I! #gardening #freezing #canning #thankyoupollinators #foodpreservation #frugal #healthy #organic
Many types of peppers from green to yellow to orange to red sit in a pile on a gray counter. Next to them are several purple/rose/cream colored Rosa Blanca eggplants and another pile of green Sumter, Homemade, Picklebush, and Spacemaster 80 pickles. Went wild on the peppers this year but cant find the tags on some of them in the beds. Banana pepper, Pepperoncini, Jalapeno, that I know. I think I need to let more reach their fully ripe color, hard to tell from shape alone 🤔
July 19, 2026 at 9:24 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
"Mother Nature is mad", DD, who lives/works within spitting distance of Lake Michigan, calmly states. Her workplace shook about 3:30pm, didn't know why, & a friend asked if she felt the 2.9 earthquake!

SE WI/NE IL weather 👉schizophrenic! #gardening #2hot4pollinators #nativeplants #missingmonarchs
July 9, 2026 at 2:01 AM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Firstborn of the season, all snuggled up. #nativeplants #savethemonarchs #gardening #bugsky
Protected from the elements in our covered porch, a soft green monarch chrysalis securely hangs from the textured wood ceiling.
June 17, 2026 at 1:56 AM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Well, something blew the hell through. #gardening #zone5 #ifatreefalls #summerstorms
About 3:15pm, our gorgeous, specimen linden tree gave up the ghost to strong winds accompanied by sheets of sideways falling rain. I wonder if the sandcranes will visit. Their favorite birdbath was always ready for a cool drink under the welcoming shade of this old girl.
June 10, 2026 at 10:01 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Guess where my 🧄 is waking up.
Three sage green metal beds with mesh cover system protecting sprouting garlic cloves. Five more beds of differing height and width are partially filled. Waiting for soil delivery to mix with amendments before topping off. Yellow bags of manure are leaning against the beds. A black, recycled composter is on its side between a couple beds before being placed upright in an accessible location. Green garlic chives are up in the herb bed and ready for use. Background is a hilly slope with fakakta non native grass. It will be removed and the space planted with part shade tolerant natives. Peeking into one of three raised beds shows promising garlic growth. Straw mulch lightly covers the soil. The mesh covering protects from pests and damaging weather including frost that may yet occur in this Zone 5b garden. Airflow is not blocked and more restrained rainfall can enter freely.
April 11, 2026 at 7:15 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Peek-a-boo 🫣 🌱 #pleasethebees #nativeplants #gardening #wintersowing
Eyeballing into the opening of a milk jug sown with Late Figwort. Lots of little, bright green sprouts popping through. None grew for me last year. I attribute this year's success to sifting the soil of the obnoxious chunks and lightly pressing the seeds down for better contact. Hurray for me, hurray for the 🐝🐝🐝!
March 20, 2026 at 5:15 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
No peeking. #gardening 🌱 #nativeplants #wintersowing
47 milk jugs percolating native seeds, snuggled under a.fresh white blanket of snow.
March 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Shoveled a path. 🌱 #nativeplants #gardening #birdsinwinter #wateringthebirds #waterislife
Dug a path through native planting covered in fresh snow and dug around a buried, heated birdbath. Birdbath contains a Water Wiggler which is creating tiny ripples to attract and entice thirsty birds. Stones and small rocks provide variable depth for drinking and bathing.
March 16, 2026 at 4:50 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Mama's got a brand new bag 🌱 #gardening #nativeplants #gardentools #forkinvasives #savethesoil #weedsbegone #aeration #savemyback
New broadfork leaning against interior garage door. Natural wood handles, 20" blue metal head with (4) 12" tines. Will be used to aerate soil and pull weeds in shady woodland to give plants best start. Will use in other areas to remove invasives, work in compost, and prepare for planted tiers using native shrubs, flowers and groundcovers. Retired the rototiller to protect the soil and the good stuff underneath.
March 1, 2026 at 11:12 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Desperately seeking something I can plant ... NOW! 🌱 #gardening #raisedbeds #seedsowing #impatientgardener #zone5b
Spread out vegetable, flower and herb seed packets displayed on tabletop. Post-It Notes torn and placed on packet piles indicating different seed starting timeframes before last winter frost. Some garden planning sketches and plastic plant markers are visible. Mostly out of frame are blue plastic buckets to hold soil and hunter green domed seedling cells on a tray. A wire basket holds misc. seed sowing items.
February 21, 2026 at 6:21 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
🤦‍♀️ And I wonder why my winter sown seed last year had less than great seed to soil contact = germination.

Sifting this year. 🌱 #nativeplants #gardening #wintersowing
Circular metal sieve, resting on a bucket, holding large chunks of wood, sticks and stems sifted from potting soil. Within the bucket is the sifted soil that will be used for more milk jug seed sowing. This will be added to my kitchen scraps bin and allowed to compost in my, currently unfilled, raised beds.
February 18, 2026 at 7:41 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Pulp Question 😉 - Made a beet, 🥕 🍏 🫚 drink. Tasty as heck that beets might go in the garden. Seems a waste to compost the pulp. What can I do with it? 👎 chewing my drinks but I know I'm missing health benefits. Forgot to 📷 that gorgeous juice before I drank it 😶‍🌫️. 🌱 #gardening #juicing #health
Omega masticating juicer set up on counter. Multi-colored vegetable pulp collected in plastic container after juice extraction.
January 22, 2026 at 11:25 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Still tool time here. Digging around cold 🍑 garage to find buried, lost and forgotten hand tools for overdue refresh. Can't remember what these are called and what they do. Some kind of sythe 🤔. Buehler ... ? 🌱 #gardening #nativeplants #rustbegone

I really need to organize.
Two unknown garden hand tools with wood handles and long curved metal blades sitting on kitchen counter. To the side is a wire fruit basket with green apples and yellow lemons.
January 21, 2026 at 6:45 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Winter Doldrums = Prepping for Spring 🌱 #gardening #nativeplants #toolcare #rustbegone
Several yardening hand tools laying on a red dish towel atop the gray kitchen countertop. Tools soaked 48 hrs in bucket of vinegar/water/salt mixture to remove rust. Brillo©️ pad cleaned the rest. WD-40©️ sprayed on to get old joints running smoothly again. Light filing to sharpen. Bit of linseed oil on wood handles.
January 19, 2026 at 7:41 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Baby, Mama #gardening 🌱 #herbalism #herbs
Large rosemary potted plant overwintering indoors in a sunny spot. Next to it, in small plant cells, are just potted rooted clippings of the large rosemary plant. Sun beaming through a window and also reflecting off a whitewashed decorative barn door effect with a mirror acting as a window. Large plant came from 3 clippings grown last winter from another rosemary plant (not shown). New green growth is stretching upward. Plant is regularly rotated.
January 19, 2026 at 6:16 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Bathtub reading. 🌱 #gardening #nativeplants #wintersowing
Many arranged colorful seed catalogs encompassing my interest in native plants, heirloom vegetables, herbalism, and everything else in between. So much knowlege within these pages. Peace and joy in print form.
January 17, 2026 at 7:34 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
27 and {cough} counting. #nativeplants #gardening 🌱 #wintersowing
27 winter sown milk jugs sitting on a flagstone walkway next to a corner of the house. On either side are dormant beds of native plants under wood chips and fallen leaves. Some dead stems remain standing. There is a heated, shallow planter tray filled with water and stones for any brave birds. A charcoal colored rock is partially visible near the water bath. There is a sprinkling of snow.
January 14, 2026 at 10:52 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Been milk juggin' it. Answered spring's siren call. Yet again. #nativeplants #bugsky 🌱 #gardening
17 packets of native plants from an online source and a few from my local library's seed catalog. These colorful seeds are predominantly for dry(er) areas and attractive to pollinators. Various Asclepias varieties to add to my current milkweed plant numbers. Mostly though to satisfy a strong desire to see and feed my winged friends, in all their forms, again.
January 9, 2026 at 11:03 PM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Treated myself. Got the upgrade w/4th disc, ultra fine. 🥳 that those "do I have anything stuck in my teeth" pesky berry seeds will be 🚫. The cheesecloth method, truthfully, {blows raspberry}. Chunky sauces, salsas, purees, fruit preserves. My canning just got more varied. 🌱 #gardening #canning
Stainless steel manual food grinder with turn handle and attached milling blade, side grips to stabilize over a pot, 4 discs > ultra fine, fine, medium, coarse. Sturdy with some heft behind it.
January 1, 2026 at 1:49 AM
rumblebee.bsky.social
Gettin' my 🦆🦆🦆 in a row. 🌱 #gardening #nativeplants #wintersowing
Bagged potting soil, collander to sift soil, large bucket to catch sifted soil, spray bottle, green trays to catch mess, scissors, tape, and large spoon on kitchen table ready for winter sowing. Seed packets for sowing. A few can be direct sown. Some are new to me for the dry, shady area we are establishing. Others will fill in sparse hillside areas. Pollinators will be happy. NOT aiming to please the deer. Countertop full of cleaned and sanitized milk jugs that were used last year.
December 24, 2025 at 1:08 AM