Category Archives: Smallholding

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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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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What to do with the old strawberry bed soil?

Posted on May 23, 2024 by james

Having taken the sides off the old strawberry bed, the problem remained of what to do with the soil it contained — probably about half a tonne. The bed was next to a concrete pad with a dwarf wall of … Continue reading →

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Queen hornet update

Posted on May 23, 2024 by james

She’s still there 😀 Not looking like flying much today, possibly because it’s actually been quite chilly and breezy. She just seems to be curled up under the ridge waiting for a warm day. There’s an enormous spider eying her … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 22nd May 2024

Posted on May 23, 2024 by james

Yay! More weeding today! This time the polytunnel and Frankenstein’s greenhouse thanks to the day being distinctly cooler. Given that these are covered structures and that I’ve weeded them twice already this year I don’t entirely understand where the weeds … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 14th June 2023: A cheap second polytunnel

Posted on May 23, 2024 by james

I’ve been thinking ahead to a time when we might need to put the chickens into covered housing for the Winter because of bird ‘flu. It struck me that a polytunnel would probably do the job, but we’d need a … Continue reading →

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