Author Archives: james

Bee Invasion!

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

As I was about to sit down to dinner on Saturday evening, the owner of a farm where I have some hives turned up to tell me that a swarm (possibly or possibly not from one of my hives; I … Continue reading →

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Bee Inspections, 11th May 2024

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

Before heading off to the “Team Bees” apiary, I went through my hives at home. Nothing too exciting going on… One colony needed supers and another looks to be superseding. In another colony I found the queen, but most of … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 11th May 2024

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

Thanks to my wife weeding yesterday I ended up with one more bed to spread compost on, alongside Frankenstein’s greenhouse. That didn’t take a huge amount however, so first I cleared the weeds from half of another bed and covered … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 7th May 2023: “Team Bees”

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

On behalf of a local charity that has been set up to grow and cook food for people who are unable to provide themselves with hot meals, I have been setting up a new apiary. There’s very little money available, … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 10th May 2024

Posted on May 13, 2024 by james

I’m now completely out of space in the compost bins. Most of the grass was mowed yesterday and the “active” one ended up heaped as high as it would go. I need to use up some of the compost in … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 7th May 2023: Next stage of solar greenhouse

Posted on May 9, 2024 by james

To support the north-east wall of the solar greenhouse my plan was to build a wooden framed wall. The wall on this side isn’t going to have any glass, so that wasn’t a problem I had to deal with. In … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 9th May 2024

Posted on May 9, 2024 by james

I spent pretty much all day in the veg plot today. There’s so much to catch up on now the weather seems to be improving, at least until next week. I’ve had enough of weeding for the moment despite being … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 5th May 2023: Demaree boards

Posted on May 8, 2024 by james

I thought I’d try the Demaree method for swarm management this year, so I made up a couple of boards to help. They go above the supers, under the upper brood box, so the arrangement from bottom to top might … Continue reading →

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First hornet of the season

Posted on May 8, 2024 by james

I reckon they’ve been about for a few days now because I was “buzzed” by what sounded like one when I was painting bait hives on Monday, but today I actually saw a hornet flying in the garden. I think … Continue reading →

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A new beekeeping toy

Posted on May 8, 2024 by james

For me, this makes a lot of sense rather than having to rely on gas heating or lugging a battery to all of my hives. I’ve wanted one for a while, but asked for contributions to the cost for my … Continue reading →

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