Category Archives: Smallholding

No dig diary, 12th January 2026

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

“Peppers propagating!”, I whispered as I tapped the empty packets with my dibber, before using it to cast “Expecto Capsicum!” over the trays of newly-sown seeds… All my pepper varieties are now sown, though thanks to other things that needed … Continue reading →

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First seed-sowing of the year!

Posted on January 11, 2026 by james

I planned to get all my sweet and chile peppers down today in the hope of giving them a good start early in the year so I collected them all together: From the top left I have: Cayenne chiles, home-saved … Continue reading →

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More laser-cut honey boxes

Posted on January 11, 2026 by james

First, one for six standard 1lb round jars for Wivey Kitchen, from Wivey Grows. And then another box for my own honey, this time with my contact details on the back.

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We’ll call that full, then

Posted on January 11, 2026 by james

Don’t think I’m going to be getting much more in this compost heap.

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Miscellaneous bait hives

Posted on January 11, 2026 by james

All of these use quite old Abelo poly brood boxes that weren’t made to the correct dimensions — they have both a top and a bottom bee space. The stands have sacrificial/adjustable legs. adjustable because nowhere around where I live … Continue reading →

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More laser-cut beekeeping stuff

Posted on January 11, 2026 by james

Honestly, I probably made these because I could rather than because laser-cutting was the best way to do them. First, a very fat dummy — to take up several frames worth of space in a queen-rearing box. And the same … Continue reading →

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This is a swarm I’ll pass on…

Posted on January 11, 2026 by james

In a hole that had rotted out of a tree after a branch fell off/was removed. The landowner wanted them removed before the tree was cut down a few days later. I decided that I didn’t fancy trying to do … Continue reading →

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Off the scale!

Posted on January 10, 2026 by james

Ok, not quite. I wish I could think of a practical way to extract this heat though, say until the heap cooled to about 50°C.

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This little chile lived all Winter

Posted on January 10, 2026 by james

A Hungarian Black, which oddly is not a mind-altering leaf crop, in Frankenstein’s greenhouse. This survived the entire Winter last year and is still going strong even now. Produced a nice crop of chiles, too 😀 Others nearby didn’t make … Continue reading →

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Compost temperature

Posted on January 10, 2026 by james

It’s ok if it’s not in the red, right?

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