Author Archives: james

Box-making jig revisited

Posted on May 28, 2024 by james

I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before, but all I needed to get the frame rails at the correct height in the jig was to find two old top bars and cut off the section opposite the … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 18th July 2023: Frankenstein’s greenhouse in use!

Posted on May 28, 2024 by james

I had a few spare tomato and pepper plants in pots, so I thought I might as well put them in the greenhouse where they’d hopefully provide more fruit despite the lateness of the season. The greenhouse was otherwise empty, … Continue reading →

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A bee box-making jig

Posted on May 28, 2024 by james

As I had a number of brood boxes to make up, today I decided to make a jig that holds them square and aligns the frame rails at the correct height. Only when it came to making the parts for … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 23rd June 2023: Spare honey, spare apple juice; cyser!

Posted on May 28, 2024 by james

I saved the honey from the cappings when I extracted my supers last year and recently I found some forgotten bottles of apple juice in the cellar that were still perfectly drinkable having been pasteurised at the time, so making … Continue reading →

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Count the hornets: one, two, three

Posted on May 28, 2024 by james

I don’t know if it’s down to the mild winter or something else entirely, but we seem to have so many queen hornets around at the moment. Whilst I was spreading compost in Frankenstein’s greenhouse I was joined by one, … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 25th May 2024

Posted on May 28, 2024 by james

Having spent yesterday composting new beds, I decided today was the day that I should catch up with the greenhouses. There’s garlic in part of the bed in one and nothing in the other but potted strawberries, so neither was … Continue reading →

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Ok, so everything is starting to get a bit crowded now

Posted on May 28, 2024 by james

I desperately need to start planting more out, but the weather has just been so rubbish…

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Memory Lane, 20th June 2023: Extracting brood frames

Posted on May 28, 2024 by james

I’ve been wondering if I could extract honey from brood frames with my existing extractor and without buying any extra (and expensive) parts. I reckon it might be possible. Only three at a time, but then with screens I’d only … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 24th May 2024

Posted on May 28, 2024 by james

Since I now have the concrete pad removed from the veggie plot I can at last finish the new beds that I started back in February. I extended them to line up with the rest of the beds (although they … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 16th June 2023: It’s a red deer, dear!

Posted on May 23, 2024 by james

A few candid shots when this one turned up in the field behind our house today. I assume it must have come down off Exmoor looking for food. It’s quite rare to see them here.

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