Bank Holiday Monday called for a spin out. Miss L came too....which was nice. Today's carefully selected Bank Holiday day out was Stoke on Trent. Stoke! Yup Stoke. The traffic was light. We found our way to the car park outside the Potteries Museum. Five quid to park for the day....gasp. However it was free to go into the museum. The reason for the visit was two fold:
A. To see some of the Staffordshire hoard
B. To see an exhibition of the work of Emma Bridgewater
There were fifty pieces of the hoard. Although they were not cleaned up they were quite amazing. Bridgewater is a ceramic designer that has worked in Stoke for the past 25 years. We had a look round the other exhibits as well. They just happened to have a restoration project of a MK16 Spitfire. Even in its incomplete state it looked fantastic. R J Mitchell, the designer of the Spitfire, was born and educated in and about Stoke. We even had some Staffordshire oatcakes for dinner. Oatcakes are a local delicacy. On the way back home and completely by accident was passed the Emma Bridgewater Pottery. I did a u-turn and went in for a look round. H and Miss L were in heaven. I just liked the building. Apparently Stoke still produces more pottery than any other city in the world. I wonder were they make it?
The day was fairly warm and quite muggy by the time we got home. I went up to the bees to check them over. All seems well so long as this week goes well. The big deal was that I managed to keep the smoker going all the time I was there.
Monday, May 31, 2010
The McDowell Manifesto
H did not get back until mid-morning Sunday. I was already at the lottie. The morning was cool but sunny. I had this idea that I was going to dig over the bottom end of Bed4. This area is to have the Sweet Corn and Pumpkins. I had a brought along a full tray of Cauliflower and one of Onion [Golden Bear] to plant out in Bed1. Bed 2 is this years cabbage patch. Six weeks or more I had planted out the top third of the bed with Spelt wheat. Not a single seed germinated. The bed is full of weeds. The middle third of the bed was covered with black plastic which has encouraged the renegade spuds left over from last years harvest. I could not plant the Cauli's without cleaning up the weeds. I set about it with a will. The rain that fell during the week has loosened the soil so the weeds came out fairly easily, three very full wheelbarrow loads of weeds. It is a pity the edible plants do not grow as easily and as verdant as the weeds.
Whilst weeding I came across something I have been dreading.......Mare's Tail. There is lots of it in the district but up to now we have been clear of it. The Mare's Tail seems to have come in with last year's landscaping of the NFL bagging plant adjacent to the lottie site. There is only one way to deal with it and that is accept that you cannot get rid of it only check it. I dug deeply and pulled out everything I could find. The roots I dug out were dropped in a bucket of water. A couple of weeks in there are and it will be very dead. Steve rocked up in his Landy sporting a monumental hangover. He was celebrating with his in-law's wedding anniversary the night before. Apparently the homemade Lemoncello was got out....very messy. We had a sit on the bench at the top of the plot. We chatted about allotment business, Mare's Tail and a bit bit about each other's work. Steve thought I should write a book about my point of view on business - The McDowell Manifesto. I might do it!
Steve decided to do some work. I went back to weeding. Having finished weeding I prepared the seed bed in the usual way, raking, treading, raking and treading some more. I aways thought the soil of a seed bed had to be light a fluffy. That is not the case for Brassicas. Cabbage family plants like a rock hard footing. I planted out my thirty Cauli's. Then thought about the Golden Bear. I had a place reserved in Bed1 for the onions. As you might imagine nothing could be done before a good dose of weeding had taken place. Weeding done and onions separated from the seed tray I dibbed a hole for each onion in turn.........fifty odd of them and planted them. Then it was just a case watering everything. I took the shears to the long grass and Thistles growing in the path next to Bed 2. Time was marching on: I did a bit weeding on the Asparagus bed. I harvested a couple of Asparagus spears whilst I was at it. I bagged a couple of stalks of Rhubarb. I tidied up the compost heap. Loaded up Degsy and went home.
Not much happened for the remainder of the afternoon. Just a bit of snoozing and watching the F1 which I missed because I was snoozing.
Whilst weeding I came across something I have been dreading.......Mare's Tail. There is lots of it in the district but up to now we have been clear of it. The Mare's Tail seems to have come in with last year's landscaping of the NFL bagging plant adjacent to the lottie site. There is only one way to deal with it and that is accept that you cannot get rid of it only check it. I dug deeply and pulled out everything I could find. The roots I dug out were dropped in a bucket of water. A couple of weeks in there are and it will be very dead. Steve rocked up in his Landy sporting a monumental hangover. He was celebrating with his in-law's wedding anniversary the night before. Apparently the homemade Lemoncello was got out....very messy. We had a sit on the bench at the top of the plot. We chatted about allotment business, Mare's Tail and a bit bit about each other's work. Steve thought I should write a book about my point of view on business - The McDowell Manifesto. I might do it!
Steve decided to do some work. I went back to weeding. Having finished weeding I prepared the seed bed in the usual way, raking, treading, raking and treading some more. I aways thought the soil of a seed bed had to be light a fluffy. That is not the case for Brassicas. Cabbage family plants like a rock hard footing. I planted out my thirty Cauli's. Then thought about the Golden Bear. I had a place reserved in Bed1 for the onions. As you might imagine nothing could be done before a good dose of weeding had taken place. Weeding done and onions separated from the seed tray I dibbed a hole for each onion in turn.........fifty odd of them and planted them. Then it was just a case watering everything. I took the shears to the long grass and Thistles growing in the path next to Bed 2. Time was marching on: I did a bit weeding on the Asparagus bed. I harvested a couple of Asparagus spears whilst I was at it. I bagged a couple of stalks of Rhubarb. I tidied up the compost heap. Loaded up Degsy and went home.
Not much happened for the remainder of the afternoon. Just a bit of snoozing and watching the F1 which I missed because I was snoozing.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Be careful what you ask for
It has been a very busy week. I have been out every evening for one reason or another as well having to work. I looked in on the greenhouse. I had given it a good soaking the previous weekend. With the weather being cooler than of late the plants were just damp and they had also come on a lot.
Friday's outing was a bit good. H got a couple of tickets for Derby Assembly rooms to see John Cooper Clark supported by Frank Sidebottom [put your speakers on]. Cooper Clark is also called "the Bard of Salford". He is a punk poet and has a particular style of delivery. There are video clips on his website. His language can be a bit.........fruity. No such worries with Frank. We even had a sing-a-long with Frank, yes we did...you know we did. Thank you.
It is a Bank Holiday this weekend which is just as well as Saturday turned out to be a wash out. I woke to the rain slashing down. I have been saying that the lottie needs some rain. I might be being fussy but why can't it rain during the week. I did the trailer run in spite of the rain. I had a look round the lottie whilst I was there. I cut some Asparagus and Rhubarb. Everything else is coming on including the weeds. I yanked out the ones that were in flower. When I took the trailer back to the stables I went up to see the bees. They were buzzing in the hives but few were flying. Not surprising really. It is cool and still raining. H and Miss L are away tonight so with luck I should be able to the lottie tomorrow until such time as they get back and maybe open the hives. The rain eased off about lunch so I did a long overdue job.
I set about re-hanging the gate to the side if the house. I had to fit some pads to space the gate off the wall. It all went very well. I gave the hinges a dollop of grease which they might not have seen for the first twenty years of their life. I even fitted the loop for the hook onto the wall so I can have the gate held open. It is still raining a bit so what else is there to do?
There is always something to do. H and Miss L bought me a trip computer for my push bike for my birthday. I spent an hour fitting it, calibrating it and setting the base data. Now only if it were dry enough to go for spin. And that was pretty much it. An early Tea and a sit back to watch the early evening sun.
Friday's outing was a bit good. H got a couple of tickets for Derby Assembly rooms to see John Cooper Clark supported by Frank Sidebottom [put your speakers on]. Cooper Clark is also called "the Bard of Salford". He is a punk poet and has a particular style of delivery. There are video clips on his website. His language can be a bit.........fruity. No such worries with Frank. We even had a sing-a-long with Frank, yes we did...you know we did. Thank you.
It is a Bank Holiday this weekend which is just as well as Saturday turned out to be a wash out. I woke to the rain slashing down. I have been saying that the lottie needs some rain. I might be being fussy but why can't it rain during the week. I did the trailer run in spite of the rain. I had a look round the lottie whilst I was there. I cut some Asparagus and Rhubarb. Everything else is coming on including the weeds. I yanked out the ones that were in flower. When I took the trailer back to the stables I went up to see the bees. They were buzzing in the hives but few were flying. Not surprising really. It is cool and still raining. H and Miss L are away tonight so with luck I should be able to the lottie tomorrow until such time as they get back and maybe open the hives. The rain eased off about lunch so I did a long overdue job.I set about re-hanging the gate to the side if the house. I had to fit some pads to space the gate off the wall. It all went very well. I gave the hinges a dollop of grease which they might not have seen for the first twenty years of their life. I even fitted the loop for the hook onto the wall so I can have the gate held open. It is still raining a bit so what else is there to do?
There is always something to do. H and Miss L bought me a trip computer for my push bike for my birthday. I spent an hour fitting it, calibrating it and setting the base data. Now only if it were dry enough to go for spin. And that was pretty much it. An early Tea and a sit back to watch the early evening sun.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Clubbing at midnight.
Saturday night was a blast. I am officially old. Ben whose 21st birthday it was; was being cool with his mates, all Afgan veterans as far as I know and not one of them more than 25 years old. Humbling really. The funny thing was they were scared to death of the cocktail fueled older ladies and Mancunian young ladies. They went clubbing at midnight. We went to bed. It was a really good night.
Sunday dawned really early with the sun blazing in the window. After a leisurely start I dropped H and cousin Colette together with Miss L and her "cool" [says Miss L] cuz Sarah Jane into town [Manchester]. I had to fettle Mums PC and had a chance to "chillaxe" as Miss L would have it. I picked the posse up a couple of hours later complete with their bargains. A spot of lunch and we were off. It was a hot and slow drive home. I contacted my bee supplier and we arranged to meet at 9pm. Today was collection date for the insurance bees. Insurance because I ordered them last year in case my hive did not survive the winter. The hive did survived the winter and had swarmed [a swarm in May is worth a ........] so I now have three hives, Growing bees is easy, capping them is hard. Ten PM Sunday night found me in the apiary transferring a very full nuc of bees to their new home, a national hive. It was too cold really [cold is a relative term] but needs must. I did not fancy leaving them in the travelling nuc box for a few days. I did the transfer by the light of the moon and got stung a dozen times for the trouble of giving them a new home.
It was all a bit special at the apiary on Sunday night. It was very warm in a Mediterranean way, a waxing half moon casting an eerie light from a clear and utterly still sky. The only noise being the gentle tinkle of the Mease. No wind ruffling the plastic of the Strawberry tunnels, no aeroplanes or any other sound of machinery; road, farm or airborne and since my blundering about made a terrific noise the local roosting Pigeons had long since flapped off into the night. Tired but inwardly content I made my way home. Ready for the week ahead? I doubt it but I am content with the bigger picture. Carpe Diem
Sunday dawned really early with the sun blazing in the window. After a leisurely start I dropped H and cousin Colette together with Miss L and her "cool" [says Miss L] cuz Sarah Jane into town [Manchester]. I had to fettle Mums PC and had a chance to "chillaxe" as Miss L would have it. I picked the posse up a couple of hours later complete with their bargains. A spot of lunch and we were off. It was a hot and slow drive home. I contacted my bee supplier and we arranged to meet at 9pm. Today was collection date for the insurance bees. Insurance because I ordered them last year in case my hive did not survive the winter. The hive did survived the winter and had swarmed [a swarm in May is worth a ........] so I now have three hives, Growing bees is easy, capping them is hard. Ten PM Sunday night found me in the apiary transferring a very full nuc of bees to their new home, a national hive. It was too cold really [cold is a relative term] but needs must. I did not fancy leaving them in the travelling nuc box for a few days. I did the transfer by the light of the moon and got stung a dozen times for the trouble of giving them a new home.
It was all a bit special at the apiary on Sunday night. It was very warm in a Mediterranean way, a waxing half moon casting an eerie light from a clear and utterly still sky. The only noise being the gentle tinkle of the Mease. No wind ruffling the plastic of the Strawberry tunnels, no aeroplanes or any other sound of machinery; road, farm or airborne and since my blundering about made a terrific noise the local roosting Pigeons had long since flapped off into the night. Tired but inwardly content I made my way home. Ready for the week ahead? I doubt it but I am content with the bigger picture. Carpe Diem
Early start
Saturday AM was a bit of a rush. I was up early, not quite with the sun but earlier than usual. After a quick breaky I pulled on spark plug out of Degsy. It is burning correctly so fuel consumption must be right. I checked the manual and found where the throttle stop screw was sited. I found a screw driver to fit to the throttle stop and put it in the "glove box". I removed the near side indicator lens to replace the bulb. On removing the bulb I found the earth was corroded. I used a file to clean up the electrode. As you might expect as soon as the bulb was refitted it work as it should. the blister pack of indicator bulbs will have to go into the "store". I dipped the oil and topped it up with something like the right amount.
With indicator fixed, mixture confirmed and oil topped I headed off for the trailer then the bees. Luckily the weather was hot, hot, hot. The trailer was straight forward. I had a quick look round the lottie. I short ...dry but seeds are sprouting. I can only hope that the slugs are kept at bay because of the dry weather. The dry weather and hoeing last week is working out. More hoeing needed though.
Having returned the trailer to the stables I went over to the bees and looked them over. They seem fine if subdued. It might because I was there early and the temperature was lowish or the heavy dose of smoking or both together. Whatever the case the honey is flowing in. Having pressed on I found I was finished by 10.30 and Miss L did not finish until noon. Degsy took me over to a different meadow. I took a few minutes to walk along the river Mease stalking the fish. I found a big ole Willow by the river bank. I had a sit down and wrote in my journal for half an hour. The river is shallow at this point. There was a small school of Chub feeding in the shallows. Toads and birds were singing all very idyllic really but the real world world beckoned. I took a couple of pictures of Degsy looking cool by the river in the sun.
Time was ticking on. I trundled home for some lunch and to get ready to go Madchaester to party.
With indicator fixed, mixture confirmed and oil topped I headed off for the trailer then the bees. Luckily the weather was hot, hot, hot. The trailer was straight forward. I had a quick look round the lottie. I short ...dry but seeds are sprouting. I can only hope that the slugs are kept at bay because of the dry weather. The dry weather and hoeing last week is working out. More hoeing needed though.
Having returned the trailer to the stables I went over to the bees and looked them over. They seem fine if subdued. It might because I was there early and the temperature was lowish or the heavy dose of smoking or both together. Whatever the case the honey is flowing in. Having pressed on I found I was finished by 10.30 and Miss L did not finish until noon. Degsy took me over to a different meadow. I took a few minutes to walk along the river Mease stalking the fish. I found a big ole Willow by the river bank. I had a sit down and wrote in my journal for half an hour. The river is shallow at this point. There was a small school of Chub feeding in the shallows. Toads and birds were singing all very idyllic really but the real world world beckoned. I took a couple of pictures of Degsy looking cool by the river in the sun.
Time was ticking on. I trundled home for some lunch and to get ready to go Madchaester to party.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Ickle jobs
The evenings are very long now and it has given me chance to do a number of little jobs. One evening I filtered the must of the Rhubarb wine into a couple of Demi-johns. The weather warming up was a happy coincidence. The DJs are bubbling away. Another evening I fixed the cross bars to the garden posts to complete the gateway. It was not much of a job but it was satisfying. I did other jobs such as fix the loo seat, water the greenhouse and the fruit trees and bushes. I did a bit of fettling on the spare hives to get them ready for Sunday.
H and Miss L were looking a bit furtive when I came home from work on Friday. I was led out to the top decking in the back garden to find a glass of wine waiting for me along with cards and presents. Its my birthday on Sunday but we are in Manchester for the weekend. We had a birthday tea and spent time together.....which was nice.
H and Miss L were looking a bit furtive when I came home from work on Friday. I was led out to the top decking in the back garden to find a glass of wine waiting for me along with cards and presents. Its my birthday on Sunday but we are in Manchester for the weekend. We had a birthday tea and spent time together.....which was nice.
Monday, May 17, 2010
A bit of "culcha"
Sunday was a nice slow start. H has a streaming cold so was not doing anything for the day. I went to the lottie; planted out some more plantlets, hoed of the potato bed, pulled the black plastic off the Bed2 and stowed it on the path adjacent in the hope of killing some of the weeds. Then the best job. I harvested a plateful of Asparagus and took them home in triumph. It cheered H up. She like a bit a Asparagus. So do I at £5 per bunch in the shops.
I went up to the apiary. The bees were flying as expected on the old hive and were not in the new hive. That is now it should be. I listened to the hive and could hear a contented buzz. I looked through the box and found all in order. There was a good number of bees and they were drawing wax. Always a good sign, on few different levels. I open the old box. I did not smoke them and the wind was from the north still chilly which the bees did not approve of. They piled out of the hive to see who pulling their house to pieces. They did not string just whirled around my head...lot of them. All was in order but I do not think the swarming instinct has been satisfied.
I went home via the petrol station and picked up an indicator bulb for Degsy. Whe I got there H was sat in the garden with a glass of wine. Feeling better then? Apparently it was medicinal. We had a chat about this that and came round to the Ivy. It wants to take over the house and next door but not content with covering the walls it wants to get inside next doors garage. I cleaned some of it off and before long had a big pile of cuttings on the floor however you could not really see where it had come from. A decision has to be made. Having tidied up I ran a bath. I had to make myself presentable. We were going out for a bit a "culcha".
H had got tickets to see the Halle Orchestra at Derby Assembly Rooms. H used to see the Halle a lot in Manchester. I have seen them a few times. A full orchestra in full flow is impressive. Their home used to be the Free Trade Hall. It was not known for its acoustics but it was a great venue. I did not look at the tickets until we gave them to the usher who sent us down to the front row just right of centre, seats A15 & 16. In any other case you would be happy with that but not us. We like to be higher up to, as H puts it, to keep a eye on the percussion section. As it was we got a very good view of the first cello, cello and bass section and the conductor himself. He was giving it some jip, waving his arms about, stamping and growling. I am not sure if he is really needed. The program was Spanish themed music from Charbrier, Rodrigo and Falla. There was a bird doing some singing in the mezzo soprano style. There was also a chap playing a couple pieces on a guitar. He was genuinely impressive although it was not my cup of tea. After the interval there was crowd pleasers, excerpts from Bizet's Carmen and all of Ravel's Bolero. They played Bolero to its with gusto to its climax and famous collapse. It had folks cheering, stamping feet, clapping and whistling. It was like The Quo at the Free Trade Hall Hall except it was all tweed and paste colours at the Assembly rooms. They soon ran out of steam the clapping stopped. We were allowed home. We had that thing where you don't want to look hasty but want to leave. We were just getting to our car when the First Cello came steaming past. He had no such qualms when you think he had to get changed and put away his instrument and lug it to the seventh floor of the car park. He was on his toes. H was very happy to have seen Halle, I was too, after my fashion. We are to see John Cooper Clark, the Bard of Salford supported by Frank Sidebottom, if his mum will let him out. That might be more my level.
I went up to the apiary. The bees were flying as expected on the old hive and were not in the new hive. That is now it should be. I listened to the hive and could hear a contented buzz. I looked through the box and found all in order. There was a good number of bees and they were drawing wax. Always a good sign, on few different levels. I open the old box. I did not smoke them and the wind was from the north still chilly which the bees did not approve of. They piled out of the hive to see who pulling their house to pieces. They did not string just whirled around my head...lot of them. All was in order but I do not think the swarming instinct has been satisfied.
I went home via the petrol station and picked up an indicator bulb for Degsy. Whe I got there H was sat in the garden with a glass of wine. Feeling better then? Apparently it was medicinal. We had a chat about this that and came round to the Ivy. It wants to take over the house and next door but not content with covering the walls it wants to get inside next doors garage. I cleaned some of it off and before long had a big pile of cuttings on the floor however you could not really see where it had come from. A decision has to be made. Having tidied up I ran a bath. I had to make myself presentable. We were going out for a bit a "culcha".
H had got tickets to see the Halle Orchestra at Derby Assembly Rooms. H used to see the Halle a lot in Manchester. I have seen them a few times. A full orchestra in full flow is impressive. Their home used to be the Free Trade Hall. It was not known for its acoustics but it was a great venue. I did not look at the tickets until we gave them to the usher who sent us down to the front row just right of centre, seats A15 & 16. In any other case you would be happy with that but not us. We like to be higher up to, as H puts it, to keep a eye on the percussion section. As it was we got a very good view of the first cello, cello and bass section and the conductor himself. He was giving it some jip, waving his arms about, stamping and growling. I am not sure if he is really needed. The program was Spanish themed music from Charbrier, Rodrigo and Falla. There was a bird doing some singing in the mezzo soprano style. There was also a chap playing a couple pieces on a guitar. He was genuinely impressive although it was not my cup of tea. After the interval there was crowd pleasers, excerpts from Bizet's Carmen and all of Ravel's Bolero. They played Bolero to its with gusto to its climax and famous collapse. It had folks cheering, stamping feet, clapping and whistling. It was like The Quo at the Free Trade Hall Hall except it was all tweed and paste colours at the Assembly rooms. They soon ran out of steam the clapping stopped. We were allowed home. We had that thing where you don't want to look hasty but want to leave. We were just getting to our car when the First Cello came steaming past. He had no such qualms when you think he had to get changed and put away his instrument and lug it to the seventh floor of the car park. He was on his toes. H was very happy to have seen Halle, I was too, after my fashion. We are to see John Cooper Clark, the Bard of Salford supported by Frank Sidebottom, if his mum will let him out. That might be more my level.
Just in time
I put a spare hive in the back of Degsy just in case it was needed at the apiary. Just as well! As I pulled up at the apiary I could here the bees buzzing. When I came to the gate the air space in front of hive was full of bees. I went back to Degsy and got the hive out. I set it up on the other stilage. Having smoked the bees I dismantled the hive. The bees had been busy. The feeder was empty. The two supers were a less than half full which is an improvement on two weeks ago. As I opened the brood box I was surprised at what the girls had done. The top brood chamber which I put on two weeks ago with eleven frames of foundation was being drawn out to comb. This all the more impressive since a frame of foundation takes a couple of pounds of honey to produce. Given the girls had drawn four frames, some brace comb and put away honey into the supers and the Queen had laid eggs in the newly drawn comb in the past few days. The bees must have been as busy as.........well................bees.
Checking the bottom brood box I found a sealed Queen cell. That was lucky timing. I am sure the bees were about to swarm. I found the Queen after several passes through the frames. Having isolated her I reserved a couple frames including the one with queen cell and put them into the new hive. I then did a shook swarm. All the flying bees went back to the original hive, all the non-flying bees are in the new hive. I put in a few extra frames of foundation into the old hive to make it more spacious. In the hope the queen thinks she was completed her swarming duties.
Follow this LINK to YouTube for a short movie of the last of the bees moving into their new residence. At the end of clip you will see the bees fanning and exposing their Nasonov glands to release an orienting pheromone to draw the bees "home".
It was a bit a strain but it pays to be calm and move smoothly and steadily, a bit like Tai Chi except with frames of bees. Keeping calm stops you heating up and sweating and blokes, of course give off blokey smells which bees pick up on. All in all rushing is not helpful. The bees where quite docile. Just as well really because my smoker went off and I am a bit out of practise at manipulating 30 odd frames and keeping a eye on where the queen is. When the hives were all put all back together the hive settled down quickly. By the time I finished packing Degsy and settling my mind that I had done the right things in the right order calm was restored to all of us in the meadow. The new flight board worked well. I am hoping that I now have two colonies and that both consider swarming is done for the year. There is the old rhyme:
A swarm in May — is worth a load of hay.
A swarm in June — is worth a silver spoon.
A swarm in July — isn't worth a fly.
I came away resolving to come back tomorrow to check on the hives.
Checking the bottom brood box I found a sealed Queen cell. That was lucky timing. I am sure the bees were about to swarm. I found the Queen after several passes through the frames. Having isolated her I reserved a couple frames including the one with queen cell and put them into the new hive. I then did a shook swarm. All the flying bees went back to the original hive, all the non-flying bees are in the new hive. I put in a few extra frames of foundation into the old hive to make it more spacious. In the hope the queen thinks she was completed her swarming duties.
Follow this LINK to YouTube for a short movie of the last of the bees moving into their new residence. At the end of clip you will see the bees fanning and exposing their Nasonov glands to release an orienting pheromone to draw the bees "home".
It was a bit a strain but it pays to be calm and move smoothly and steadily, a bit like Tai Chi except with frames of bees. Keeping calm stops you heating up and sweating and blokes, of course give off blokey smells which bees pick up on. All in all rushing is not helpful. The bees where quite docile. Just as well really because my smoker went off and I am a bit out of practise at manipulating 30 odd frames and keeping a eye on where the queen is. When the hives were all put all back together the hive settled down quickly. By the time I finished packing Degsy and settling my mind that I had done the right things in the right order calm was restored to all of us in the meadow. The new flight board worked well. I am hoping that I now have two colonies and that both consider swarming is done for the year. There is the old rhyme:
A swarm in May — is worth a load of hay.
A swarm in June — is worth a silver spoon.
A swarm in July — isn't worth a fly.
I came away resolving to come back tomorrow to check on the hives.
The Sage was right
Some time ago decided that the weeds on the ditch adjacent to my plot were compteing with my vines. I dug my petrol strimmer out of the garage and took ten minutes to make sure it was working. The engine yielded to my tender care and started up. After a few minutes it was running properly. I picked up the trailer then went to the lottie. First job was to strim the banks of the ditch. I set off with a will but it was hard going. When the strimmer nylon came in contact with the rabbit fencing it just destroyed itself. Then it took a couple of minutes to reset the nylon. Then, of course, it ran out of petrol. Next a few minutes refilling it and trying to restart it. The strimmer does not like starting when it is hot. It gave in and started so I could finish the job. The strimmer makes a very good job of chopping up the vegetation. I just have to keep on top of it now. Chopping back the weeds showed up the holes under netting where the furry varmints were getting in. I will have to do something about that but I am not sure what.
As Sagely Steve predicted we did have a frost in the week. It put paid to most of my Marigolds and some of the spuds a got a light singeing. I replaced the dead Marigolds with Dahlia's plantlets. The onion patch in Bed1 is being buried under Chickweed. Conscience got the better of me a decide it was time to weed the Onions. It is a painful job. I managed to rake off the worst of the over burden but no matter what I tried I could not get at the weeds growing near the Onions. There was nothing for it but to get down on my hands and knees with the Swan-necked onion hoe and carefully weed round each bulb. Some people like this kind of weeding but not me. 40 minutes of toil cleared the patch without too many losses to the keen edge of the hoe. The middle portion of Bed1 is waiting for plantlets or sowing however the Chickweed is no respecter of allotmenteers plans. The weeds was more robust than in amongst the Onions. An hour of hoeing and raking cleared the area. Between the two areas I weeded I got two very full wheelbarrows of weeds. They fed the compost bin. I was wrecked so took myself home for lunch.
I had a quick bite, a brew and sit down then took the trailer back to the stables. after that I went over the apiary.
As Sagely Steve predicted we did have a frost in the week. It put paid to most of my Marigolds and some of the spuds a got a light singeing. I replaced the dead Marigolds with Dahlia's plantlets. The onion patch in Bed1 is being buried under Chickweed. Conscience got the better of me a decide it was time to weed the Onions. It is a painful job. I managed to rake off the worst of the over burden but no matter what I tried I could not get at the weeds growing near the Onions. There was nothing for it but to get down on my hands and knees with the Swan-necked onion hoe and carefully weed round each bulb. Some people like this kind of weeding but not me. 40 minutes of toil cleared the patch without too many losses to the keen edge of the hoe. The middle portion of Bed1 is waiting for plantlets or sowing however the Chickweed is no respecter of allotmenteers plans. The weeds was more robust than in amongst the Onions. An hour of hoeing and raking cleared the area. Between the two areas I weeded I got two very full wheelbarrows of weeds. They fed the compost bin. I was wrecked so took myself home for lunch.
I had a quick bite, a brew and sit down then took the trailer back to the stables. after that I went over the apiary.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Sowing
This evening I took a few minutes to dig in the bucket of manure I bagged from the lottie at the weekend. Now I can or rather H can plant out the remaining Sweet Pea against the new fence. After that I spent an hour or so in the greenhouse filling up seed trays and sowing seeds. I sowed the last of the seeds of Marigolds. After that came Broad beans, French Climbing beans, Calebrase and Lettuce. The trouble is that there is no room in the Greenhouse to put the trays down anywhere.
As the sun went down the air was definately nippy. Will Sagely Steve's forecast of a frost tonight be right?
As the sun went down the air was definately nippy. Will Sagely Steve's forecast of a frost tonight be right?
Beds and Weeds
Sunday was a better day weather wise. I had a good breakfast and bidded farewell to she who must be obeyed and went to the lottie with a van full of seed and trays of plantlets. The first thing I spotted at the lottie was the Asparagus. It is poking through the soil about three inches. They will be ready for next week. I still have some Steve's Quial eggs so a posh plateful is in the offing. I might have a couple of shavings of air dried Ham too.
I had a to weed Bed1 and rake it back to a tilth. It is amazing how well weeds grow. Bed1 seems to be exclusively chick weed. It comes away quite easily and make good compost. That done I sowed several rows of Parsnips. In the same row I sparingly planted Beetroot. The Beet will be up quickly so marking the row for the slow germinating Parsnip. In the next row a dozen Marigolds that I had cultivated in the greenhouse. Then several rows of Chantenay Carrots. These carrot are quite short and conical. Another row of Marigolds. Several more rows of Globe Carrots. another row of Marigolds. Then a couple of rows of Beetroots. I like the Chioggia beetroot which when cut across is red an white striped and has a mild flavour. The a couple of rows of Detroit beetroot. Detroit are quite small but deep crimson but do not have a heavy beetroot punch. I watered everything and thought, what next?
Bed2 is what's next. The weeds in this bed are renegade spuds from last year which have started sprouting. It took half and hour to dig them all up. I then back filled the holes and raked it out flat. Then the gardeners shuffle. Heels together, toes apart then shuffled forward a couple of inches for each "step" keeping your heels on the soil and pressing down when the heel lands on the step forward. Up and down, up and down. This way and that way. The idea is to compact the soil because Brasiccas like a firm seed bed. I pulled up the straggly cabbages that had weathered the winter and ran the hoe round the remaining plants. Bed2 , besides renegade spuds, grows Thistle rather well. I had a trayfull of Greyhound cabbage and a tray of Cauli's to plant out. This I did with the plants in staggered rows so the plants can grow into the spaces. I plant quite close together so the weeds get crowded out. I hope to eat the plants so soon as they are ripe and with luck it might act as a thinning process to let those that remain have more space to grow on.
I had a look at Bed3, the spud bed for this year. The spuds are just poking through. There is a random set of weds in this bed. I could not bring myself to hoe this bed. I will probably do that next week.
The Peas and Broad Beans have been ready to plant out for the last fortnight so have quite outgrown the seed tray. You may remember that I had dug long trenches in Bed4 and filled them with manure. Weeding was the first order. This bed seem to like to grow a different weed again. I think it is Plantain. I have left a few to grow on so I can identify them properly. DaveP gave me some chicken wire with thin posts attached. I laid the wire out flat along one of the trenches, with Pete's help I got the posts and wire into the ground which gave me a long vertical fence to grow the Peas up. I transplanted the Peas from the trays into the trench, leaning the Peas against the wire. Then I back filled the trench from the ridges on either side. Where I ran out of seedling but not wire a planted a whole packet of Pea, Greenshaft in this case. I did the same job on the second trench. Pea seedling again but a different variety. When they ended I planted a whole packet of Petit Pois peas. They are gorgeous to eat. So I am looking forward too them. Not many are likely to get home because I usually eat them straight off the plant. The third row was planted up with Aquadulce BroadBeans. Again these were a little overdue planting out but the two trays gave 48 plants. Planted them in a double row in one trench. The ridges either side of the trench provided back fill for the trench. After a day of activity the lottie looks like it is getting underway. I have a whole spare trench in Bed4 and an area reserved for squashes and Sweet Corn.
Time was ticking on so I did not plant out all I had hoped to do. Weather sage Steve, henceforth referred to Sagely Steve, said that we would have frost this weeks so I decided to keep the Dahlia's in the trays in the greenhouse for another week. I pulled a few sticks of Rhubarb and was ready to trundled home but first had to take the trailer back to the stables.
H had made a lovely tea which, by the time I had emptied Degsy, was ready for me. I was exhausted. I ran a bath, got a glass of Mum's 20 odd year old Pear wine and flopped into the hot water for an hour. I did not even have book. I just lay their thinking about the lottie and what I would do next week.
I had a to weed Bed1 and rake it back to a tilth. It is amazing how well weeds grow. Bed1 seems to be exclusively chick weed. It comes away quite easily and make good compost. That done I sowed several rows of Parsnips. In the same row I sparingly planted Beetroot. The Beet will be up quickly so marking the row for the slow germinating Parsnip. In the next row a dozen Marigolds that I had cultivated in the greenhouse. Then several rows of Chantenay Carrots. These carrot are quite short and conical. Another row of Marigolds. Several more rows of Globe Carrots. another row of Marigolds. Then a couple of rows of Beetroots. I like the Chioggia beetroot which when cut across is red an white striped and has a mild flavour. The a couple of rows of Detroit beetroot. Detroit are quite small but deep crimson but do not have a heavy beetroot punch. I watered everything and thought, what next?
Bed2 is what's next. The weeds in this bed are renegade spuds from last year which have started sprouting. It took half and hour to dig them all up. I then back filled the holes and raked it out flat. Then the gardeners shuffle. Heels together, toes apart then shuffled forward a couple of inches for each "step" keeping your heels on the soil and pressing down when the heel lands on the step forward. Up and down, up and down. This way and that way. The idea is to compact the soil because Brasiccas like a firm seed bed. I pulled up the straggly cabbages that had weathered the winter and ran the hoe round the remaining plants. Bed2 , besides renegade spuds, grows Thistle rather well. I had a trayfull of Greyhound cabbage and a tray of Cauli's to plant out. This I did with the plants in staggered rows so the plants can grow into the spaces. I plant quite close together so the weeds get crowded out. I hope to eat the plants so soon as they are ripe and with luck it might act as a thinning process to let those that remain have more space to grow on.
I had a look at Bed3, the spud bed for this year. The spuds are just poking through. There is a random set of weds in this bed. I could not bring myself to hoe this bed. I will probably do that next week.
The Peas and Broad Beans have been ready to plant out for the last fortnight so have quite outgrown the seed tray. You may remember that I had dug long trenches in Bed4 and filled them with manure. Weeding was the first order. This bed seem to like to grow a different weed again. I think it is Plantain. I have left a few to grow on so I can identify them properly. DaveP gave me some chicken wire with thin posts attached. I laid the wire out flat along one of the trenches, with Pete's help I got the posts and wire into the ground which gave me a long vertical fence to grow the Peas up. I transplanted the Peas from the trays into the trench, leaning the Peas against the wire. Then I back filled the trench from the ridges on either side. Where I ran out of seedling but not wire a planted a whole packet of Pea, Greenshaft in this case. I did the same job on the second trench. Pea seedling again but a different variety. When they ended I planted a whole packet of Petit Pois peas. They are gorgeous to eat. So I am looking forward too them. Not many are likely to get home because I usually eat them straight off the plant. The third row was planted up with Aquadulce BroadBeans. Again these were a little overdue planting out but the two trays gave 48 plants. Planted them in a double row in one trench. The ridges either side of the trench provided back fill for the trench. After a day of activity the lottie looks like it is getting underway. I have a whole spare trench in Bed4 and an area reserved for squashes and Sweet Corn.
Time was ticking on so I did not plant out all I had hoped to do. Weather sage Steve, henceforth referred to Sagely Steve, said that we would have frost this weeks so I decided to keep the Dahlia's in the trays in the greenhouse for another week. I pulled a few sticks of Rhubarb and was ready to trundled home but first had to take the trailer back to the stables.
H had made a lovely tea which, by the time I had emptied Degsy, was ready for me. I was exhausted. I ran a bath, got a glass of Mum's 20 odd year old Pear wine and flopped into the hot water for an hour. I did not even have book. I just lay their thinking about the lottie and what I would do next week.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Flight Boarding
Saturday was supposed to be catch up at the lottie day and empty the Greenhouse. I woke up to a grey day and a strong chance of rain. The rain came on whilst I had breakfast. No lottie today. Again it was showers but prolonged ones. I decide that I should build the flight boards for the new hives. It 's a job that needs doing but to do it I had to clear the shed out then tidy it up. Whilst I was at it I did an inventory of the wine stock. A bit thin. I will have to do something about that. With the shed tidied up I had a bit of room to work. I got the necessary tools from the garage and set up the work bench outside.
The flight boards sit under the floor of the hive and protrudes in front of the entrance to the hive. They are called flight boards but they are more like crash landing boards. When the bees come back from foraging they can be heavy with nectar and pollen and/or be tired, they can also be a bit cold in both cases their flight control can be a bit off. The flight board gives them a place to alight or crash land, as the case maybe, and walk into the the hive entrance. Some beekeepers have large entrances to their hive so there is a bigger gap for the bees to go for. A small entrance is easier for the bees to defence against their arch enemy, Wasps. My hives were badly attacked by wasps until I closed the entrance down. I put down the loss of one hive to raiding by wasps. They robbed the honey stores and weakened the colony by killing many Bees outright but also [in my opinion] the by diversion of energy from being a hive and doing Bee like things to one of constant defence. The entrance is now one Bee high [10mm - 3/8"] and 50mm [2"] long instead of 15x450mm [1/2x18"].
Since I started keeping Bees again Vorroa has become an issue. My hives are free of the pest I am glad to say but a tactic to combat the mite is to have hive floors made out of mesh. The mites piggyback the bees but do get brushed off against other Bees in the colony as a natural occurrence. The mesh keeps the undesirables out but lets the mites fall thought onto the ground outside the hive. My hives are 18" off the ground so that is a long walk back when you are only 2mm long. Hives need ventilation which used to mean a big entrance because the floor were solid. I have decided that the mesh floor is adequate ventilation so a small entrance can be used. The hive with small entrance kept the wasps out, The mesh floor gave good ventilation throughout the summer. I even left the mesh floor open throughout the winter. The colony came through the winter unscathed. I have a theory that I might explain at another time. But back to the flight board.
When finished the flight board is about 4" deep and the width of the hive. I have mine sloping away from the entrance, partly to throw the rain away from the hive but also bees, like sheep, prefer to walk up hill to the entrance. For the flight board you need; two side pieces, a back piece to join the ends of the side pieces and a board to join the side pieces at the front. You cut the side pieces long enough to give you an over hang at the front then make a bird bill cut to give you a slope. I used 2x1" PAR for the side and back piece and a 18x4" piece of marine ply for the flight board. Glue and nail the the four pieces together and set a side for the glue to dry. I had three to make. I cut all the bit to size first then assemble them in one go. Whilst the glue dried I had a brew. Brew done, glue dry and it had stopped raining I got the waterproof paint out and slopped on a few coats to give the timber a bit a weather protection. My trousers are waterproof too. I was a bit liberal with the paint! I set the flight boards aside to dry in the shed.
One of the hive roofs I bought came without the rim that spaces the roof off the top of the crown board. I bought a piece of 3/4x 1/2" edging from Wickes, cut to size and fixed it in position with glue and nails. I was a bit more careful with the paint this time which gave it a nice-ish finish.
Now I am completely ready for the season. I have four complete hives each with three supers. One hive is occupied and my Nuc of bees arrives in two weeks time for which a hive will be required. That leaves me with two spare hives. I suspect they too will be occupied by the end of the season but that's another story.
The flight boards sit under the floor of the hive and protrudes in front of the entrance to the hive. They are called flight boards but they are more like crash landing boards. When the bees come back from foraging they can be heavy with nectar and pollen and/or be tired, they can also be a bit cold in both cases their flight control can be a bit off. The flight board gives them a place to alight or crash land, as the case maybe, and walk into the the hive entrance. Some beekeepers have large entrances to their hive so there is a bigger gap for the bees to go for. A small entrance is easier for the bees to defence against their arch enemy, Wasps. My hives were badly attacked by wasps until I closed the entrance down. I put down the loss of one hive to raiding by wasps. They robbed the honey stores and weakened the colony by killing many Bees outright but also [in my opinion] the by diversion of energy from being a hive and doing Bee like things to one of constant defence. The entrance is now one Bee high [10mm - 3/8"] and 50mm [2"] long instead of 15x450mm [1/2x18"].
Since I started keeping Bees again Vorroa has become an issue. My hives are free of the pest I am glad to say but a tactic to combat the mite is to have hive floors made out of mesh. The mites piggyback the bees but do get brushed off against other Bees in the colony as a natural occurrence. The mesh keeps the undesirables out but lets the mites fall thought onto the ground outside the hive. My hives are 18" off the ground so that is a long walk back when you are only 2mm long. Hives need ventilation which used to mean a big entrance because the floor were solid. I have decided that the mesh floor is adequate ventilation so a small entrance can be used. The hive with small entrance kept the wasps out, The mesh floor gave good ventilation throughout the summer. I even left the mesh floor open throughout the winter. The colony came through the winter unscathed. I have a theory that I might explain at another time. But back to the flight board.
When finished the flight board is about 4" deep and the width of the hive. I have mine sloping away from the entrance, partly to throw the rain away from the hive but also bees, like sheep, prefer to walk up hill to the entrance. For the flight board you need; two side pieces, a back piece to join the ends of the side pieces and a board to join the side pieces at the front. You cut the side pieces long enough to give you an over hang at the front then make a bird bill cut to give you a slope. I used 2x1" PAR for the side and back piece and a 18x4" piece of marine ply for the flight board. Glue and nail the the four pieces together and set a side for the glue to dry. I had three to make. I cut all the bit to size first then assemble them in one go. Whilst the glue dried I had a brew. Brew done, glue dry and it had stopped raining I got the waterproof paint out and slopped on a few coats to give the timber a bit a weather protection. My trousers are waterproof too. I was a bit liberal with the paint! I set the flight boards aside to dry in the shed.
One of the hive roofs I bought came without the rim that spaces the roof off the top of the crown board. I bought a piece of 3/4x 1/2" edging from Wickes, cut to size and fixed it in position with glue and nails. I was a bit more careful with the paint this time which gave it a nice-ish finish.
Now I am completely ready for the season. I have four complete hives each with three supers. One hive is occupied and my Nuc of bees arrives in two weeks time for which a hive will be required. That leaves me with two spare hives. I suspect they too will be occupied by the end of the season but that's another story.
Shell shocked
The other evening H and I were having a chat over a glass of a nice Argentinian Malbec we had a sudden and horrific realisation.
It was May Day Bank holiday, which fell on the 5th May that year, that we first met...............30 YEARS AGO.
That cannot be right can it?
It was May Day Bank holiday, which fell on the 5th May that year, that we first met...............30 YEARS AGO.
That cannot be right can it?
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Pottering
After Tea I went out into the garden. There is a big Sorrel that is in the wrong place. I set about it and managed to get it out in less than ten minutes. H now has another couple of feet of Sweet Peas to plant out against the new trellis. Since it took me less time than I had thought I decided to do some pottering in the greenhouse. I had picked up some potting compost on Monday. I used it to fill up the big blue crates then planted up the Tomato plantlets. Whilst I was about it and the light remained I sowed Cauli's, Sweet Corn, Gherkins and Courgettes. The light was starting to fade so I finished off by organising a hose to the greenhouse and watering everything. Since I had the hose in my hand I gave the trees in the garden a dousing. Jobs done I came in for a brew.
Good intentions
I had good intentions for the weekend it being a Bank Holiday. Saturday I went with H to Wales. We went to Conway and had a look round the castle. I have been to Conway dozens of times. When I used to sail the yacht we used was moored at Conway marina but I don't think I have every toured round one of Edward I's "Iron ring" of castles. Click HERE for a website. We also took a walk round the city walls and treated ourselves to an ice cream.
I had to do the trailer run on Sunday morning. I also said I would give Steve a hand wrangling some big paving stones from his trailer to his plot. Steve made a brew so we repaired to the bench on the plot and had a chat. We sat for ages just chewing the fat and watching the birds flitting about.
H has been going on about outdoor rooms. In a weak moment I agreed to build a "wall" for the room. H also has this thing about doors into gardens. I went off to B&Q and bought some posts, meta-posts and panels. I used four post to make a gateway of the decking into the garden. Between the pair of posts on either side of the "gate" I fixed a trellis. I dug in a scaffold board to form an edge to the lawn and the flower bed. I then planted four vertical posts along the scaffold boards and screwed them to it. To the posts I screwed more trellis. I made it all vertical, level and square. The edge of the trellis finishes a foot from the boundary fence. There is a really nice Rose that grows in the hedge. I wrestled the straggly Rose branches down to the trellis and tied it in. At the bottom the trellis I dug a trench, filled it with manure from the lottie and back filled it. I also added some mesh along the bottom of the trellis to help the Sweet Pea that H is to plant later in the week.
In the few minutes before Tea I knocked together a frame that was going to be part of the support for the new bee hives. I painted it with waterproofer and left it overnight. I loaded Degsy up with the tools for building the hive stand tomorrow. H made a smashing dinner of Steak accompanied by a nice bottle of wine from the shed.
Monday was a Bank Holiday. I had a lie in for a change. The first one for ages. I had to see the bees but the heavy showers made it hot and miss affair. In the end I just went even though it was raining. By the time I got to the apiary the shower had passed. It took a few minutes to decide where to put the new stand. Having made the decision I banged in four meta-post as legs. I was about to screw the deck to the legs when a shower blew. I sat in Degsy and read a few pages of my book. When the rain passed I screwed the deck to the legs, checked the level and tidied up. I judged that no showers would be on me anytime soon. I got dressed for bee fettling then set about opening hive. The ladies are taking in a good amount of honey. The brood chamber is getting full. That means the queen is working well. There is quite a bit of brace comb so the bees want to build wax comb. I took a spare brood chamber with me and decided to put it on the hive. I hope it might stop the hive swarming. As the bees are building comb and there will be lots of young bees soon and they to will want to build comb the brood box of foundation should give them something to do. I reassembled the hive and topped up the feeder. As I was leaving I bumped into the farmer in whose meadow the hives live. We had a chat for ten minutes or so until a shower had us running for cover. I trundled home and parked Degsy up for another week.
I did a few things this weekend but got nothing done at the lottie despite my good intentions.
I had to do the trailer run on Sunday morning. I also said I would give Steve a hand wrangling some big paving stones from his trailer to his plot. Steve made a brew so we repaired to the bench on the plot and had a chat. We sat for ages just chewing the fat and watching the birds flitting about.
H has been going on about outdoor rooms. In a weak moment I agreed to build a "wall" for the room. H also has this thing about doors into gardens. I went off to B&Q and bought some posts, meta-posts and panels. I used four post to make a gateway of the decking into the garden. Between the pair of posts on either side of the "gate" I fixed a trellis. I dug in a scaffold board to form an edge to the lawn and the flower bed. I then planted four vertical posts along the scaffold boards and screwed them to it. To the posts I screwed more trellis. I made it all vertical, level and square. The edge of the trellis finishes a foot from the boundary fence. There is a really nice Rose that grows in the hedge. I wrestled the straggly Rose branches down to the trellis and tied it in. At the bottom the trellis I dug a trench, filled it with manure from the lottie and back filled it. I also added some mesh along the bottom of the trellis to help the Sweet Pea that H is to plant later in the week.
In the few minutes before Tea I knocked together a frame that was going to be part of the support for the new bee hives. I painted it with waterproofer and left it overnight. I loaded Degsy up with the tools for building the hive stand tomorrow. H made a smashing dinner of Steak accompanied by a nice bottle of wine from the shed.
Monday was a Bank Holiday. I had a lie in for a change. The first one for ages. I had to see the bees but the heavy showers made it hot and miss affair. In the end I just went even though it was raining. By the time I got to the apiary the shower had passed. It took a few minutes to decide where to put the new stand. Having made the decision I banged in four meta-post as legs. I was about to screw the deck to the legs when a shower blew. I sat in Degsy and read a few pages of my book. When the rain passed I screwed the deck to the legs, checked the level and tidied up. I judged that no showers would be on me anytime soon. I got dressed for bee fettling then set about opening hive. The ladies are taking in a good amount of honey. The brood chamber is getting full. That means the queen is working well. There is quite a bit of brace comb so the bees want to build wax comb. I took a spare brood chamber with me and decided to put it on the hive. I hope it might stop the hive swarming. As the bees are building comb and there will be lots of young bees soon and they to will want to build comb the brood box of foundation should give them something to do. I reassembled the hive and topped up the feeder. As I was leaving I bumped into the farmer in whose meadow the hives live. We had a chat for ten minutes or so until a shower had us running for cover. I trundled home and parked Degsy up for another week.
I did a few things this weekend but got nothing done at the lottie despite my good intentions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)