Category Archives: Smallholding

Bait hive floors

Posted on January 10, 2026 by james

I’ve never had purpose-made bait hives. I just use old brood boxes that aren’t really good enough for bees to over-winter in. I paint them a dark green/grey so I can tell them apart from all the others. Then I … Continue reading →

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This is not one of Trump’s hands

Posted on January 10, 2026 by james

It is a normal human adult male hand. So pretty much completely the opposite 😀

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My honey jar box is evolving…

Posted on January 10, 2026 by james

I don’t feel that I’ve reached the final iteration yet, but I wanted to do something that made the box rather more visually appealing. Here’s what I came up with.

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A new box for honey jars

Posted on January 9, 2026 by james

Now I have the laser cutter, I thought I could make a better box for displaying and transporting jars of honey. Then I found the “laser cut interlocking” plugin for FreeCAD and I was away! This is my first attempt.

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So what’s in Frankenstein’s greenhouse at the start of January?

Posted on January 9, 2026 by james

Well, Cayenne chiles to start with. Not ripe, but still looking fairly healthy. And, err, strawberries in flower? Really?

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My first home-made foundation

Posted on January 9, 2026 by james

I reckon it looks pretty good. A fair bit thicker than the stuff you buy, but perhaps I can improve on that over time. And in fact this will probably get cut into starter strips anyhow.

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For candles?

Posted on January 9, 2026 by james

My wife had a load of burnt-out candles in glass pots, but rather than throw them away it struck me that I might be able to use them to keep frost off the greenhouse on cold nights. All I needed … Continue reading →

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The peppers in the polytunnel have not enjoyed the cold

Posted on January 8, 2026 by james

Not sure these are going to make it to next season… On the other hand, these ones in Frankenstein’s greenhouse are still looking pretty good.

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Damn! That tree has snapped right off in the storm

Posted on January 8, 2026 by james

Or so I thought. Completely snapped. Must be at least 200mm diameter. But no, it just got snapped off here. Still, it’s all good firewood, eh? Wouldn’t be surprised if the rest came down in the next decent storm we … Continue reading →

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Meet my new DIY swarm collection box

Posted on January 8, 2026 by james

I’ve used cardboard boxes for years. They do the job, but they’re not exactly very tolerant of the occasional rain shower and if I’ve not used one for a while it seems to disappear to be used for other purposes. … Continue reading →

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