Author Archives: james

No dig diary, 14th May 2024: Berries behind bars

Posted on May 14, 2024 by james

Last year our currants and gooseberries produced a reasonable amount of fruit, but we got to eat almost none of it: the deer and the birds ate almost everything as soon as it approached being ripe. So, this year we … Continue reading →

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Smell that taste

Posted on May 14, 2024 by james

Back when I planted up the new strawberry beds I transferred the plants in the old bed to pots of compost and put them in Frankenstein’s greenhouse. It was quite late to transplant them, but it was potentially a better … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 19th May 2023: Here comes another one!

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

Not my nineteenth nervous breakdown, though I feel I could be excused if it were. I was called out this evening to have a look at this swarm that a couple had discovered entering their chimney and smoked back out … Continue reading →

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A swarm is announced

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

Or perhaps not. Lots of activity around my home bait hive, though I didn’t see (nor hear) them arrive. But when I went to move them in the evening, there was no sign of them. I think I need to … Continue reading →

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Let’s have a little jig

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

One the rain started this morning, I retired to the workshop for the day. I was casting around for things to do when I realised that I had sufficient bits to make two more fat dummies, so I got those … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 13th May 2024

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

Rain, rain and more rain was the forecast for today, but I was able to get out early doors and finish spreading compost on the new flower bed and dump a couple of barrow loads on a veggie bed that … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 18th May 2023: Another one of those swarms

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

I was asked today if I could deal with a swarm that had turned up at a local church. Apparently it had been there a day or two and no-one had thought of me before. I got there and found … Continue reading →

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An empty apiary

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

With all the driving around I’ve done because of this bee swarm in the house, I thought I might as well drop off a bait hive at an apiary I had to empty a couple of weeks back. The water … Continue reading →

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Bee Invasion, part 2

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

I’m not sure how many parts there are going to bee (ho ho) to this. Hopefully not many. I went down to have a look at the swarm this morning and it’s not good. The hole the bees are using … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 17th May 2023: Frankenstein’s greenhouse

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

I have decided that the solar greenhouse shall henceforth be known as “Frankenstein’s greenhouse” because it has been stitched together from bits I’ve dug up from all over the place, many of which bear no relation to each other. I’ve … Continue reading →

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