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Post by taihaku on Dec 18, 2016 14:37:24 GMT -5
We have one long border which we're filling with aussie plants (bottlebrushes, manukas, small eucalyptus and wattles) as a. they look awesome, b. my wife is aussie and c. I figure it'll be good for my bees early in the year - that is getting a lot of hoeing at the moment. The first Manuka flower just opened......when do I get to multiply the price of my honey by 10?  |
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Post by taihaku on Jan 1, 2017 17:12:35 GMT -5
finally moved the galangal into the finally finished but unheated greenhouse yesterday. Having undoubtedly been frosted at leasted twice in a fairly small pot it looked like this.  It's much happier looking than the "hardier" Zingiber mioja next to it was (albeit that is a smaller weaker plant at present) and I'm thinking it is definitely worth leaving outside next year in a bed as a tester. |
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Post by richardw on Jan 2, 2017 13:33:32 GMT -5
If you want the white flowered Manuka, which is native to here Leptospermum scoparium, ive got one flowering at the moment, should have seed soon.
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Post by taihaku on Jan 2, 2017 13:38:36 GMT -5
If you want the white flowered Manuka, which is native to here Leptospermum scoparium, ive got one flowering at the moment, should have seed soon. Thanks Richard - we've got a white flowered wild form planted next to that one; one of the other local beekeepers had a similar idea and got her sister to send seed; now we've all got them! |
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Post by taihaku on Jan 23, 2017 15:18:18 GMT -5
By way of update:
I have artichoke and cardoon seedlings in the propagator as well as some chinense peppers. Sadly not many chinense peppers; I don't think my pepper seed stash got the ideal storage these past few years in hindsight. Oh well.
things are starting to happen in the garden...slowly. Activity will really pick up soon.
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Post by taihaku on Apr 30, 2017 13:54:54 GMT -5
A much over due update:
The raised beds are all full and/or planted. I found a lady trying to get rid of horse manure - she offered me 9 1 ton builders bags delivered and I bit her hand off. It took quite a while to get delivery sorted but that just meant the two largest beds are now filled with rather lovely well aged horse manure and awaiting squash and courgettes. I've planted far too many of far too many different varieties but will just have to plop the spares here and there. Predictably Lofthouse moschata showed 100% germination before anything else came up.
There are three small beds - one is almost completely planted with herbs, the second is planted with perennial veggies (the alpine strawberries and globe artichokes are slowly taking over), the third is empty at the moment and will have squash this year before being filled and then planted with asparagus. I've filled these with about 1/3 mushroom compost 2/3 composted woodchip and seaweed.
That leaves two big raised beds. One is full of mushroom compost into which I've planted annual veggies (seem to be doing OK). The second got no compost but is planted with potatoes and will get some bush beans. I'm also planning a 2 sisters patch with corn underplanted with hooligan dwarf pumpkins (I like to hollow em out and fill em with cheese, ham and cream).
The berry bed has been expanded and the various rubus species are tangling together beautifully. I've edged it into the pollination garden with a mix of woody food species that are vaguely ornamental; lemon verbena, blueberries, gooseberries, allspice and ribes speciosus
We've got a clutch of wyandotte chickens in the house at the moment and the bees are doing ok. It feels like this new garden is starting to come together.
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Post by taihaku on May 7, 2017 13:40:22 GMT -5
this left my top bar hive this arvo. I made a right horlicks of hiving it. put the box at the base of the tree and figured I'd knock the side of the tree trunk (bent slightly by me and with the swarm favouring the box side) and it'd drop in. Instead it went everywhere and 5 of the girls stung my arm immediately. on top of that i broke a chunk of my golden gage plum tree off. On the upside the queen went in the box and the rest of them ran themselves in easily.   [/quote] |
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Post by walt on May 7, 2017 13:50:32 GMT -5
it is easy to herd bees. But not the first time you try it.
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Post by taihaku on May 7, 2017 13:56:07 GMT -5
it is easy to herd bees. But not the first time you try it. quite. past swarms i've collected have been conveniently sat on horizontal branches to drop straight in to a box. If its anything like last year i can expect 2 more swarms in the same exact spot too. |
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Post by walt on May 7, 2017 14:13:04 GMT -5
I learned bees from my father, who learned from his father. So I was suprised one day when my father said that once he'd gotten a swarm into a gunny sack and threw it behind him on his horse. The bees stung the horse through the cloth and the horse bolted.
I believe he told me that story after I got stepped on by a horse. (same horse?) The horse had been tied to a tree and a swarm had settled in that tree. So I untied the horse and the horse and I took off running, The horse, being faster ran over me. No damage to either of us, though I had a very sore and ugly foot for a while.
Someday I'll look back on that and laugh. But 50 years have passed, and that day isn't here yet.
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Post by taihaku on May 7, 2017 14:26:48 GMT -5
Someday I'll look back on that and laugh. But 50 years have passed, and that day isn't here yet. would it help if I told you I just laughed? |
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Post by philagardener on May 7, 2017 15:34:02 GMT -5
Looks like a good swarm - they will always follow the queen. Sorry the plum (and you) suffered.
Are there queen cells in the old top bar hive?
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Post by taihaku on May 8, 2017 4:08:58 GMT -5
Looks like a good swarm - they will always follow the queen. Sorry the plum (and you) suffered. Are there queen cells in the old top bar hive? there were quite a few playcups last time I looked. I was hoping to go in it and snag a queen cell yesterday to put in a queenless colony I have but they were understandably quite agitated so I left them alone. |
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Post by taihaku on May 18, 2017 14:51:51 GMT -5
I've got the bulk of the squash out now. This year's growlist:
Moschata
Lofthouse
Marina di chioggia
Futsu Black
Autumn Crown
Maxima
Winter Sweet
Blue Ballet
Pepo
Zeppelin delicata
Lofthouse krookneck
Defender zucchini
Piccolo zucchini
Jack-be-little
Hooligan
I planned space for 16 plants in the 2 raised beds and planted sufficient for throwaways in case of poor germination/poor growth. Naturally everything has done wonderfully and I'm now finding spaces to hide squash plants about the place as I feel guilty about the waste! The small square of sweetcorn I put in has become a "two-sisters" bed and I'm making noises about how ornamental some varieties are with an eye on the ornamental borders.
I'm planning to interplant the squash in the main beds with tomatillos and borage. Not sure how that will go but it feels like it'll look interesting and attract bees. We'll see.
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Post by taihaku on Jun 24, 2017 13:39:19 GMT -5
by way of update, we're tucking in....    one of the squash beds has gone nuts the other is full of slugs!  winter sweet is running rampant whilst hooligan has been surprisingly well behaved and the lofthouse moschatas are just now starting to really stretch their legs....  in the greenhouse curling through the peppers and toms watermelons are growing ridiculously early for the UK..... lofthouse landrace x charleston gray  lofthouse landrace  |
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