Fishing or Weeding

I did not get everything done at the lottie that I wanted to at the weekend. I still had a 100+ Leeks in the back of the car. There was no Tour de France to distract so straight after tea I went up the lottie. I had the place to myself. The heat had gone out of the day and there was a gentle breeze wafting across the plots. I set about the Onion bed with fork digging out the weeds. The soil was dust dry so It took no time at all. Since I was on a roll I hand weeded the other onion rows. The lack of water has taken a toll on the onions. There is a crop but it is going to be poor. Half a plot yielded a full wheelbarrow of weeds. That is a measure of the lack of weeds. I am not complaining though. I dug up the three rows of Garlic. They were paper dry and as with all the other oniony type plants the bulbs were not that big. I got the hoe out and gave the area a good fettling. The weeds are trying for another flush. The light sprinkling of rain has woken them up. The dry soil and hoe has cleaned the area.

I got my long plank and dropped it where I was to plant the Leeks. With the plank as a guide I started dibbing the Leeks. The soil was so loose that the dibber went in right up to my knuckles on the tee bar dibber handle. That's about eight inches. However the fine soil fell back into the hole as soon as the dibber was removed. I ended up stuffing the Leeks into the dibbed holes in the a quick stab as the dibber came out. At least the Leeks will be in deep. I planted about a 100 Leeks. These are the ones that will stand for the winter.

I got the Secateurs from the car and set about pruning the Grape vines. I read that when the vines start to set the fruit that a portion of the top growth should be removed so that air and light can get at the grapes but also that the plant would put the effort into growing grapes and not leaves. It sounds right so I had a go. I tied in the best leaders to the guide wires and trimmed off about a quarter of the branches. I obviously left any branch that had a embryonic bunch of grapes. I filled the wheelbarrow with cutting. I was pleased to not that one of the Red grape vines had set fruit. Had I not been going on holiday soon I might had taken the leaves to make that Greek dish of stuffed vine leaves. I had it once and it was lovely.

I had the radio on listening to Huey Morgan from the Fun Loving Criminals. I like him. He is very L.A. and refreshing change to the usual rosta of radio herberts. It was a very still evening with just the Toads shuffling about. There was a very red sunset that lit up the clouds a bright pink. A that was my clue to start watering before the light went completely. A dozen or so trips to the trough was enough to soak the newly planted Leeks, re-soak the brasicass planted on Sunday and a good splash on the climbing French Beans. I had the offer to go fishing on the canal this evening but I was glad I got he Leeks in and trimmed the vines. The new brasicass needed a watering and the weeded onion patch looks good. It will be nearly three weeks before I see the lottie again. I am considering harvesting the Peas before my hols but quite when I am going to fit that in I do not know.

Beehaving

I did not get back to the bees yesterday evening. It was too cold and I did not fancy being stung again. It hot and muggy today so I nipped out for a long lunch and went up to the bees. I got ready and went through the hives again. I put the wet [as in covered in the remains of the extracted honey] framed brood box back on the middle hive. The queen is laying so I hope the bees will clean up the frames and the queen can make use of the extra space. I put an extra super to give the bees plenty to do whilst I on holidays.

The right hand side hive is chockablock with brood and honey. I had a super with drawn comb in stock. I have taken a chance and put that super on the hive under the excluder. I hope the bees will adopt the comb and Queen makes use of it. It is not usual to use supers for the brood chamber but needs must. I put a spare super in the middle of the super stack in the hope the bees will draw it. The hive is heavy with honey so more space can only mean more honey.

The left hand side hive has a new queen. There is a vacant Queen cell and lots of Drones but no sign of eggs so the Queen might still be in the virgin state. The bees seem to be clearing some cells of honey in the middle of the brood chamber and there are bees bring pollen in all of which are good signs. I put another super on this hive as I hope the bees will draw comb and it will give the bees somewhere to move the honey too from the brood chamber.

I have only one super spare and a brood box so I might have to extract a super or two when I get back from holidays, if the suppers are full. The two hives on right hand stillage are getting heavy. The stillage wobbles under their combined weight which must be more than eighty pounds. I figure the bees have settled down from the swarming season and have plenty of room if they wish to use it whilst I am away.

I was reflecting on the problem of swarming and have come to a conclusion. The strains of bees must have an Italian blood line. Italian bees are known for their vigorous habit. I think that a single brood chambered National hive is too small a frame area for the Queen. In the spring build up she quickly fills the available frames of the brood chamber and with no where else to lay it triggers the swarming mechanism. Since the queen reproduction cycle is shorter than the worker cycle by the time she is ready to lay the brood chamber is not sufficiently free of brood to let get on and that triggers the swarming mechanism again. I think if I put the queen on double brood box in the spring then the extra room will prevent the second cast. I have been reading up on swarm control so I have a plan for next year. Bees make honey so for lots of honey you need lots of bees and losing 50% of your bees to swarms is not helpful. The only good thing is that I am populating the countryside with strong clean bees.

Bees.........hum

I found out this week that work has been delayed on Degsy because they cannot get hold of a chassis. Saturday did not go according to plan. I did the trailer run as usual but whilst tripping out the muck I decided to go the Bees since it was so hot. At he bees I found that they pulling in loads of honey a stuffing the hive. For some reason they are not drawing wax so only have the brood chamber to fill. Other wise they are in good order. I resolved to go back on Sunday and take off the filled brood box and extract the honey.

When I got home after that vexing hour I had a spot of lunch. Double fried eggs and brown sauce butty. Greggs do round white buns that are very nearly barm cakes, a staple of any Manchester diet. They fit two eggs just nice and all goes down very nicely with a brew. H want to get some trousers for walking. We went to Measham but the shop their did not have what she wanted. I decided we would nip over to Tamworth to Black's. They had just what she wanted and it was in the sale, ker-ching! When we came back it was too late to got the lottie so I got the car ready for the next day. I had an hour or so to kill so I went out on the bike and ended up doing a ten mile circuit. When will I learn to cycle slowly?

Miss L was out to a party and was staying over so H and I had the place to ourselves. Something we are going to have to get used to from now on. H disappeared. I heard some crackling outside. I went for a nosey and found H had got the chiminea going and had made herself comfy with a glass of fizz and the Harris blanket. I managed to find a glass of something red, chucked a load of small logs on the fire and make myself comfy in the deck chair. We just sat and chatted, "being" as H would say.

Sunday was much more overcast and colder [relatively] so the bee visit of Saturday turned out to be the correct decision. Despite best intentions and the Collared Doves cooing from dawn I did not get to the lottie early. I had ten trays of brasicass and leeks to plant out. The top end of Bed2 was reserved for these plantlets. As usual the bed had to be weeded. I am please to say that some of the weeds had been struggling in the dry condition, other it made no difference to. A wheelbarrow and a half later the weeding was done. I got he plank and set about planting the Savoy Cabbage, Seven Hills Brussels Sprouts, Calbrese and Purple Sprouting Broccoli. It was tedious work. The plants need quite a bit of room but they look lost when planted out. I know I have planted them too close together but it is the best my conscience will allow.

Next I harvested some Caulis and some Greyhound spring cabbage. I dug up the remaining Caulis and cleared the area. I then planted twenty odd Greyhound cabbage. They are quick growers so I am hoping I can get another crop in before the solstice and we loose the light. The bit of rain we have had helped the plants but things are very dry. The onions have not done that well or the Garlic for that matter. Things might have been better if a had watered more. That said the Grapes are doing well as are the cabbage plants. So there is always something that suit the conditions. The gherkins and one of the courgette have got a foot hold so I will have to keep an eye on them. Before I left I gave all the new planting a good soaking and wished them well in their new homes.

I was at the lottie from about ten until three. I was wrecked. It was hot despite the lack of sun. The custard creams had run out as had my water. I wanted to knock off but I still had to retrieve the brood box. I trundled off to the apiary. It was quicker trundle than with Degsy. I got dressed for bee fettling and bagged the box off the hive. The previous day I taken the brood box out of its position in the stack of boxes and placed on top of the same stack but with a crown broad, fitted with Porter bee escape, between the top super and the brood box. I gave the brood box a good rattle and left the bees to it. As I expected when I came to the brood box, on the Sunday, it was empty of bees all but a couple that had not got the message to return to the hive proper. As I checked the frames I wafted the stray bees off the comb and they duly flew back to the hive. H made a nice tea of Irish soul food, Bacon, Cabbage and Spuds with Redcurrant jelly on the side. All but the Bacon was home grown and tasted just great.

After tea we watched of the Tour de France highlights I extracted the honey from the brood box. It is a messy business but I did quite well in getting only a few thing sticky. I extracted about 14 pounds from the one box. This years honey is light, fragrant and a mellow "honey" colour. As I cleaned up I had a brain wave. I tipped a couple of pounds of honey and all the capping, which are also soaked in honey, into a demi-john, filled the DJ with warm water and shook it up. Whilst it was cooling down I mixed up some yeast and let it stand. After a bit of telly and a brew the DJ was just warm and the yeast ready. I tipped in the yeast, gave it another good shake up and put in an air lock. By the time I was off to bed the airlock was bubbling. So that is mead made. I hope it will be ready for Christmas.

A splendid evening

Wednesday a few us from the lottie had a an outing the Barton Marina [Click HERE for the website] to take on some marine adversaries. The chosen weapons were fly rods, a selection flies and a unhealthy helping of optimism.

We got to the pond about 18.30 and set up our rigs. Each one of us sure that the coming minutes would yield a sporting fish. In a very short time we discovered that we had generally lost the knack of casting long and straight or even short and straight. It took a few of us quite some time and a few flies to regain our casting prowess. As the evening progress we disperse around the lake, each one of us sure of our decision making process.

As the night envelope us we met back at the car. Each one of had tales of near misses and leaping Trout. Two of us landed catches. Both were Perch, one tiddler and one of one pound. At another time a one pound Perch would be worth of talking about but it was dismissed as unworthy of the tackle and effort put in that evening to say nothing of the cost.

One of us had the foresight be bring a couple of beers along. We stood in the deep twilight, slurping and a coolish beer discussing what could have been, the tactics that should have been employed, the reason we did not catch and what we would do next time. Thanks to Dave P for driving us out there and back.

Will there be a next time. It is hard to know.

A good soaking

I was up early again because of the Collared Dove that likes to coo-coo from day break. I had a leisurely breakfast then loaded up the car for the lottie. I put some crates and a basket in the car as well. When I got to the lottie I had already decided to dig up the last of the early spuds. I had four row left. I set about them in the usual manner, working methodically from one end of the row to the other. I had thought that the soil would be fairly wet given the amount of rain we have had this week. What I found way that the soil was damp in the upper layers but deeper down, say three inches, the soil was bone dry. I found that a bit surprising. The four row yielded two full trays. In the last week the spuds have bulked up which must be down to the rain.

The cabbage patch is looking good. I had a look over the cauli's to find that two whole rows were ready. I harvested four but it did not make much difference. It is the same old problem, glut or famine. What do you do with thirty cauli's? The Spinach has gone over so I dug them all up. It has left a nice space between the cauli's and Marigolds.

I did a bit of hand weeding. The weeds have loved the rain. I picked some of the Peas. I tried to pick just the pods but kept pulling the vines out too. So I just cleaned the vines away and picked the pods. The compo bins is filled to the brim with potato haulms, pea vines and cauli leaves. I started on the broad beans are was ignoring the rain but it got heavier and heavier and then it belted down. I made a dash for the car but it was too late I was soaked. I went home for a dry out. I had spot of lunch but could not bring myself to go back to the lottie. My excuses was that I figured the surface of the soil would be sticky. Whilst having a brew it threw it down again as if to reinforce my decision.

I decide to have a look at the BMW. I tidied up the garage a bit and made a start. Have a look at the bike blog to find out what I spent the afternoon doing. The Sagely one and his good lady had invited me, H and Miss L to a BBQ. The rain stayed off, we had a nice time and just for once I came away from Steve's jolly instead of legless. I had to behave because I needed to go to the car boot on Sunday morning and collect some more goodies from the lottie.

Mad dogs and English men

It was the trailer run today. I hung onto the trailer so I could move some stone for my paths. I started with the long path near the ditch but after a very few minutes of wrestling with the weed suppressing membrane my patience was all used up. I turned my attention to the short paths that lead to the ditch side path instead. The membrane was easier to handle. Once the muck was in the poo bin I trundled up to the stone pile and filled the trailer. On my return I parked the trailer outside my plot an started to barrow the content of the trailer up to the middle path. It went easy enough. Luckily the trailer load completed the path. It had taken an hour to do this path. I thought I will have a go at the other short path, the one just inside the gate, on the left. I would need another trailer load.

Haz had been wandering about huffing and puffing bored with duties on his own plot. I suggested that he might like to fill the trailer with me. He was off like a shot to get a shovel. Once again at the stone pile withe trailer positioned just so, I watched him wrestle with his shovel. I had to stop him and give me a little lesson in the use of a shovel. Spades are for digging, shovels for.....shovelling, that why they have a cranked handle. Once I stopped him "digging" and he started using the shovel properly he was an instant help. The trailer was loaded and we drove back. Haz was summonsed to tidy up his plot before going home loaded down with spuds and Broad Beans. I emptied the trailer a barrow at a time. However this time a trailer load was not enough. I had to get another trailer load and that turned out to be a little too much. never mind, once the rain was been on it the path will compact and the surface level will drop.

By 12.30pm I had had enough. Only mad dogs and English men go out in the midday sun, as the song goes. I had left the strimmer in the car overnight so I decided, whilst it was to hand, I would run the strimmer round the plot until the strimmer wire wore out. Ten minutes later I was done. I cut a couple of head of cabbage, Greyhound. Sagely Steve arrived at this point in his Landy. I had a pang. I won't have Degsy back for a month or more. One of my neighbours stopped H in town the other day and asked what had happened to Degsy. She thought he had been sold. H allayed her fears. Even Degsy has his fans.

I took the trailer back to the stables and dropped off one of the head of cabbage. I then went on to the apiary. All is well there. One hive is struggling because it is chock full of honey and the bees won't draw new comb. The other hives have drawn comb but they too are filling up and it is not yet mid July. When I got home I had a bit of lunch.

I went to empty the car and give it a wash. The red dust was deep on the car from running across the farm. It was very dry up there. The car has not been cleaned for ages so it took a while to get the muck off. I took pity on H and did her car when mine was done. I got distracted when I was tidying up my push bike. I found the instructions for the handlebar computer so I went through the set up again. I keep pressing the wrong buttons when I am out and un-setting the damn thing. I tightened the cleats on my shoes and reset the releases on the pedals. H called me in, the Tour de France was on so we sat there with a nice cold beers and watched the riders toil up a mountain for our amusement. Then it was tea time, spuds and cabbage for the lottie, Bacon from the nice butcher followed by Strawbs and Rasps from the garden.

A bit later H was pottering in the garden and I got roped in. It was only light pottering with watering the greenhouse. As soon as big bro came on I retired to t'interweb for research on bees, cycling jerseys and carburetors leaving H and Miss L to shout at the TV. Next weekend is the tea party and Steve's summer bash so I don't think much is getting done next weekend.

Wasps

When the work party was over in decided that whilst I had the strimmer with me that I would strim the ditch. It took a fair bit of doing since the strimmer wire kept wearing out. Each time it needed resetting it took about two minutes of faffing about. Since I was already soaked with sweat, aching and itching from the previous striming session I was not a happy chap. I finished the ditch but I really had had enough. I thought that I would chop down the Comfrey since it had just gone over. I waded into the middle of the patch and started chopping away with the shears. I filled a wheelbarrow in no time but then I got a sharp pain in the back of my hands. Odd I thought, since I was wearing my work gloves. I looked down and saw a wasp drilling into my hand. He won't do that gain but the damage was done. I stepped back a saw a dozen or so wasps whizzing about obviously deeply unhappy about having their home disturbed. I that was the final straw. I dumped the harvested Comfrey in my compo bin and left the lottie.

Even now several hours later the sting area is swollen and itching like mad. When I got home I had a nice shower and a sandwich which went someway to restoring my humour. H and I went to Barrett's to see if I could get a pair of lightweight hiking boots/shoes for the walk I have to do in September. I tried to get some Hi-Tecs I had seen on the t'interweb. They had every size but mine. I tried on a few other pairs and found an alternative style. We paid for goodies and left before they called us back to say they had made a mistake with the price. Barrett's is have a "mega-sale" and many items are discounted 50% or more. When we got home my neighbour was clearing his garage out. It was a serious clear out. A skip was sitting on the drive. I went skip diving and came up with a few things for the lottie.

I, well H, found a website where you can can plan routes, walkjogrun.net, it is supposed to be for runners but it works just as well for cyclist. I decided to have a play. I set up an account and set up a couple of routes and investigated a couple more. I was getting bored, it was hot in the house and my hand was itching so I decided to go for a ride. I got sorted and took off on a new route. It was just ten miles but it hurt like hell. I think of this side of the country as flat. It is not flat when you get out of the car and get about under your own steam. Still, it was enjoyable in a peculiar kind of way. Another shower by which time tea was about ready. Just in time to watch the highlights of the Tour de France.

Work Party

Today was the lottie work party. When I turned, up just before 10am, there were already a number of folks busy with jobs. By the time a got my stuff out of the car all the folks that were going to turn up had turned up. Perfect and I went strimming. We went all the way up the long border and round and about the family beds. I was heartily glad to finish strimming. Swinging a heavy strimmer was hard on my back. It is a dirty job too since the strimmer kicks up dust and the bits of the plants that you have just chopped up and being sweaty it all sticks to you. That's not so bad except when the plants you are smashing up are Nettles and Thistles.

The rest of the folks were split up into two parties, One weeding the patio area and one in the big compost bin[s]. It was odd because the the two parties split along gender lines. No one said anything, it just happened. Ladies weeding, bloke sawing, hammering and shovelling.

The Patio area has a lot of grass growing through the flowers. The four ladies toiled in the sun to clear all the grass and other assorted weeds. It looks really good, sort of refreshed. The blokes tackled to big poo corral, that was. It is now the community compost heap. Sagely Steve and Dave P set about creating bins within the bigger corral using the ubiquitous pallet. They built three down the right hand side and tipped in the worst of the cuttings and leavings that were on the left of the big corral into the newly made smaller bins. The ladies provided another five barrow loads of weed for the new bins. As the compo bin was turned over we came down on the old cuttings etc which had rotted down. It had made a fair compost. Sagely decided that it should all be clear out and dumped on the long border. That we did, seeing as it was a good idea. Ash, me and Dave P, helped and hindered in equal measure by Haz [Harry - son of Dave P], shovelled and barrowed twenty odd loads of fresh compost onto the long border to clear the area.

Haz in the assisting mode. Not quite fair but a good picture.

Whist we toiled Perfect and Sagely tidied up and repaired the compo bins on the reverse side of the big corral. When we finished clearing the big bin Ash and Sagely set about the pallets with a blunt saw to prepare them from tying together to make another three smaller compo bins on the left of the corral. The community compo are now has nine compo bins. The area looks good because it is tidy but also because the new pallets are still bright pine. Sagely, despite himself, ended up with a fairly square and regular shaped job and that makes it look good too.


We got finished a little after noon. The sun had been beating down all morning but at least there was a gentle breeze to cool us down. We surveyed our own and the other teams work and pronounced ourselves happy with the jobs we had done. We took a team photo.



The team are stood on the patios and you can see soil around the plants in the foreground. If you look to the left of shot, on the far side of the roadway you can see the border all mown. Many hands do make light work but more to the point, they make a lot of work and that has a visual impact.