Had a visit from the local Seasonal Bee Inspector - he's happy with all four of our colonies although during the checks we noticed a solitary queen cell in Pink! It appears that those ladies are for some reason less than happy with their queen, we can't see why but they know best.
We're going to let them get on with it and then see whether Her Highness old or Her Highness new prevails...
Thursday, 21 August 2014
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Eggciting discovery
Eggs sometimes stop flowing. There are times when our chickens naturally slow down production perhaps during a moult or when the days get shorter. We expect it, we plan for it and we usually notice it.
We are in the heights of summer, the days are still long and the chickens have no need to shed feathers. The eggs are flowing freely, we get the same sort of number every day, we have lots of eggs each week - so many eggs that we struggle to store them.
Imagine our surprise therefore when Karen moved some bushes in the chicken coop the other day and saw this.
Apparently we haven't been getting all of our eggs at all and we may now need to move house in order to accommodate them.
We are in the heights of summer, the days are still long and the chickens have no need to shed feathers. The eggs are flowing freely, we get the same sort of number every day, we have lots of eggs each week - so many eggs that we struggle to store them.
Imagine our surprise therefore when Karen moved some bushes in the chicken coop the other day and saw this.
Apparently we haven't been getting all of our eggs at all and we may now need to move house in order to accommodate them.
The amber nectar
So after eighteen months of anticipation honey day finally arrived.
A fantastic year for bees and honey weather wise has led many of my fellow beekeepers to break out a smile or two in the last few weeks. Now we know why, Honey!!!
Considering that one of our two established hives had an unexpected queen drama this year (now happily resolved) our honey hopes were resting firmly on the other. It didn't let us down and then, in proof that it's been a good year, one of our late nucs managed to fill a super too!
So by beekeeping standards our yield is pretty small, but our expectations for our bees this year were exceeded.
Karen did excellent work in uncapping all the frames without spilling anything on our lounge floor (an unusual choice of manufacturing site but the warmest room we have to help the honey flow) then our homemade and borrowed extractors leapt into action.
A fantastic year for bees and honey weather wise has led many of my fellow beekeepers to break out a smile or two in the last few weeks. Now we know why, Honey!!!
Considering that one of our two established hives had an unexpected queen drama this year (now happily resolved) our honey hopes were resting firmly on the other. It didn't let us down and then, in proof that it's been a good year, one of our late nucs managed to fill a super too!
So by beekeeping standards our yield is pretty small, but our expectations for our bees this year were exceeded.
Karen did excellent work in uncapping all the frames without spilling anything on our lounge floor (an unusual choice of manufacturing site but the warmest room we have to help the honey flow) then our homemade and borrowed extractors leapt into action.
The effort was hardly back breaking but it still took a while - we eventually finished extracting and straining all the honey at about 1am fortunately licking it off of our hands and arms provided several energy kicks to help us through.
24 hours of settling and there we have it, our first batch of honey in jars and even labelled up - stand by for some big porridge orders to give us something to use it all in. We've been so excited about bees recently we're talking about plans for a few more hives next year - if this carries on we'll need a bigger pantry. Oh, and it tastes amazing.
Veg recap
Updates on the veg patch.
Carrots
Disappointing this year after last seasons' spectacular. Around thirty percent were removed by something (mice?) and the first that we've looked at recently have split despite not being in stony ground. Still taste good though.
Cabbage
Ravaged by slugs but still some great edible heads on them, using lots of these at the mo (the leaves not the slugs).
Onions
Massive, fat and tasty; currently plucked and drying in the greenhouse for storage.
Garlic
Picked a couple today, large, symmetrical and pungent. Looking good for harvesting and drying.
Spinach and Kale
Tons, too much, not sure why we felt we needed so much spinach, kale and cabbage - obviously we planted them during a wistful 'wanting to eat eight types of leaf' moment or after a drunken bet. Going well though and getting used.
Leeks
In a new location this year that isn't producing the enthusiasm we're used to but they are getting there. They'll be fine in the end but frankly they should be embarrassed for letting the side down, they have been planted in Wales after all.
Spring Onions
Couldn't get through them all so now have loads that are drainpipe sized. Strong taste too. They look impressive so might consider passing some of them off as leeks if any welsh neighbours call in just to save face.
Sprouts
Coming on nicely, they'll be big, flavoursome and ready to be left on the side of most peoples plate at Christmas.
Pots,
New potatoes were great. Just cut the tops of the main crop (about 24 plants) to leave them for a bit for hardening off before storage.
Beetroot
Big, tasty and plentiful, we'll run out of jars before these - fortunately it's nice un-pickled too.
Peas
Rubbish this year.
Beans
Tasty, coming in a bit later than usual but looking to crop really well.
Parsnips
Looking good
Rhubarb
A little bug eaten but big.
Asparagus
Some serious growth on this bad boy recently, can't harvest it for a year or two but looking good for the future.
Toms
Cropping a little later in the greenhouse this year but tasty and numerous.
Peppers
Our trial plants are in the process of making a few little beauties.
Squashes
Oh mother of God did we cock this up. We put in 24 plants without realising that some of the varieties can sprout up to 36 fruit EACH. This twelve metre bed is no longer one bed but a massive jungle that has spread so far that we're finding new squashes tangled in other veg two beds over. Our whole garden has been taken over by these crazy plants. They taste good though so if any two or three hundred of you would like to get hold of forty litres of squash soup let us know.
Fennel
Looking plump, can't wait for that aniseed taste to perk up some recipes.
 |
| The kids after a quick harvesting session. Our youngest is still in there somewhere trying to escape the squash patch |
Carrots
Disappointing this year after last seasons' spectacular. Around thirty percent were removed by something (mice?) and the first that we've looked at recently have split despite not being in stony ground. Still taste good though.
Cabbage
Ravaged by slugs but still some great edible heads on them, using lots of these at the mo (the leaves not the slugs).
Onions
Massive, fat and tasty; currently plucked and drying in the greenhouse for storage.
Garlic
Picked a couple today, large, symmetrical and pungent. Looking good for harvesting and drying.
Spinach and Kale
Tons, too much, not sure why we felt we needed so much spinach, kale and cabbage - obviously we planted them during a wistful 'wanting to eat eight types of leaf' moment or after a drunken bet. Going well though and getting used.
Leeks
In a new location this year that isn't producing the enthusiasm we're used to but they are getting there. They'll be fine in the end but frankly they should be embarrassed for letting the side down, they have been planted in Wales after all.
Spring Onions
Couldn't get through them all so now have loads that are drainpipe sized. Strong taste too. They look impressive so might consider passing some of them off as leeks if any welsh neighbours call in just to save face.
Sprouts
Coming on nicely, they'll be big, flavoursome and ready to be left on the side of most peoples plate at Christmas.
Pots,
New potatoes were great. Just cut the tops of the main crop (about 24 plants) to leave them for a bit for hardening off before storage.
Beetroot
Big, tasty and plentiful, we'll run out of jars before these - fortunately it's nice un-pickled too.
Peas
Rubbish this year.
Beans
Tasty, coming in a bit later than usual but looking to crop really well.
Parsnips
Looking good
Rhubarb
A little bug eaten but big.
Asparagus
Some serious growth on this bad boy recently, can't harvest it for a year or two but looking good for the future.
Toms
Cropping a little later in the greenhouse this year but tasty and numerous.
Peppers
Our trial plants are in the process of making a few little beauties.
Squashes
Oh mother of God did we cock this up. We put in 24 plants without realising that some of the varieties can sprout up to 36 fruit EACH. This twelve metre bed is no longer one bed but a massive jungle that has spread so far that we're finding new squashes tangled in other veg two beds over. Our whole garden has been taken over by these crazy plants. They taste good though so if any two or three hundred of you would like to get hold of forty litres of squash soup let us know.
Fennel
Looking plump, can't wait for that aniseed taste to perk up some recipes.
Bee build
I've been helping out with the local bee association during some of the local country shows, trying to recruit new members and increasing bee awareness etc...
One of the organisers had a bright idea, separate some drones (stingless boy bees) in a box and invite kids and adults to put their hand in and gently stroke some bees.
It was great interaction and generated lots of interest and smiles but unfortunately the drones only lasted a couple of hours before the cool temperature got to them.
So drone box mark II. I knocked together a better box that has an internal reptile tank style heat mat that keeps the box at around 33-35oc (close to a hives internal temperature). The bees love it (and last comfortably and long enough to be released back at the hive) and the kids and adults at these shows love it too.
So come and see us fondling bees at a country show near you!
One of the organisers had a bright idea, separate some drones (stingless boy bees) in a box and invite kids and adults to put their hand in and gently stroke some bees.
It was great interaction and generated lots of interest and smiles but unfortunately the drones only lasted a couple of hours before the cool temperature got to them.
So drone box mark II. I knocked together a better box that has an internal reptile tank style heat mat that keeps the box at around 33-35oc (close to a hives internal temperature). The bees love it (and last comfortably and long enough to be released back at the hive) and the kids and adults at these shows love it too.
So come and see us fondling bees at a country show near you!
Bubbles baby!!!
Last years elderflower champagne was a bit of a disaster, it just tasted all yeasty.
In true organisational style we then left it bottled in the cellar in case it improved with age .... and forgot about it.
This year I doubled our chances (of success AND failure) by making two different recipes. One, the more conventional route, went mouldy in the bucket. The other, basically mix it leave it 24 hours and bottle it, was stunning. So outrageously good that I'm gutted I only made ten litres as most of it has disappeared.
On the plus side when I finally remembered last years bottles I made to empty them for re-use I found that actually, one year on and they're actually quite drinkable. Bonus.
In true organisational style we then left it bottled in the cellar in case it improved with age .... and forgot about it.
This year I doubled our chances (of success AND failure) by making two different recipes. One, the more conventional route, went mouldy in the bucket. The other, basically mix it leave it 24 hours and bottle it, was stunning. So outrageously good that I'm gutted I only made ten litres as most of it has disappeared.
On the plus side when I finally remembered last years bottles I made to empty them for re-use I found that actually, one year on and they're actually quite drinkable. Bonus.
PIZZA !!!
For several months I have been contemplating pizza.
As we get pretty excited about outdoor life and food it seemed obvious to us that we needed a garden campfire, TICK. First thing we did.
I then started reading up about these outdoor pizza ovens and it led me into one of my biggest projects to date.
Having found a suitable space in the garden I started to research in earnest and here was the first big problem. There sees to be masses of info about these sort of cooking projects but they fall loosely into two categories; first, very quick (and efficient) clay cob ovens that are often thrown up in a weekend from nothing but clay, sawdust, sand and some community spirit or, second, a professionally styled bricks and mortar oven that are generally designed by practical people who know a lot about thermo regulation and proper construction.
Here was the issue, I am awful at brickwork. The very limited amount I have been involved with has demonstrated again and again that me, concrete and bricks are not a happy coupling, however, I also wanted to build something sturdier than a clay cob oven which generally are affected by the weather.
By chance I stumbled upon a man and a blog, he had pondered similar points and designed his own that used limited brick skill and made a permanent oven at little cost and hardship. BINGO.
I paid the two quid for his plans and got started, having mostly followed his original design I don't think it would be right to put a step by step guide up here, he's earned his two quid fairly.
So here's a summary,
I chose to build a concrete slab on which I placed railway sleepers as a platform and base for the oven just as he did, he correctly pointed out that the same platform could be built from blocks at far less cost but there was no way I was going to attempt it. The finished project probably weighs an easy ton and frankly I was stressed enough about getting the slab right.
Then, he used bottle and clay to fill a square 'doughnut' in the platform for insulation and upon which his floor bricks then oven would stand. I didn't fancy collecting bottles for weeks so I took an alternate suggestion from him and used Celotex (like Kingspan) that I had a supply of from other builds. This was a huge mistake, more about this later.
On went paver bricks which are cheap and have a nice flat side all packed in with sand.
The next big bit was the brick arch and dome (think igloo). I was unable to tell what kind of bricks he'd used - he did say they were normal house bricks, not expensive firebricks - but I couldn't see from his pictures whether he'd used solid ones or those that have a frog. I was concerned that a frog might enable an air pocket to build up in the structure so I decided to get solid bricks. Not a massive problem but the only ones I could find locally were engineering blocks, great little bricks but they cost about £60 as apposed to the planned £15!!!
Also the fire screed he recommended (which is great) cost about £50 in P&P because I couldn't get it locally and these issues really jumped my budget. Came out better than expected though.
Perhaps the biggest drama occurred with the insulation layer. Most people who are making a modern brick oven simply mix loads of vermiculite or perlite with a bit of cement and slap on a good thick layer. I'd decided however that as I was following an instructional I should really follow it properly. I therefore used clay slip (liquid clay mixed with sawdust). At first I got hold of lumps of clay (which actually cost more than I expected) and then mixed it by hand with water to make a yoghurt slush. This took about five soul-destroying hours and my fingernails are still split. Half way through I switched to powdered fire clay which was far cheaper and almost instant in its preparation.
This method of insulation did work very well and would be great if you could dig the clay out of your garden for free but it took about three weeks to get it on and properly dried out (vermiculite/cement mix would have taken a couple of days). Fortunately I was forced to do this part of the build at a time when I was away for days at a time with work and so would stick on some slip then have to leave it to dry while I was away - had I been sitting here waiting for it to cure before moving in I'd have gone crazy waiting and waiting.
The final cement/sand/lime layer was a doddle and makes it look pretty rustic and funky.
The first firing went really well, pictures of the pizza can be seen below but after the second go it became apparent that the floor was dropping. MASSIVE PANIC because the brickwork layer of the oven sits entirely on this. The reason was the Celotex insulation was getting so hot that it was giving way. I had visions of the whole oven collapsing and having to start from scratch.
I had taken a match to a scrap of Celotex before putting it into the build to make sure nothing sinister happened and it was fine but the awesome insulated oven heat simply melted it. Here I had some seriously good luck. I was able to take out the sand/paver brick floor and rip out what remained of the Celotex, I then hastily poured in a vermiculite/cement mix and repacked the bricks back on top. Scary work because had the oven collapsed while I was scraping it all out I'd have probably lost a hand!
All done now and it works fine (so far). This fortnight project ended up taking six stressful weeks and I probably spent close to £200 more than I budgeted thanks to unexpected P&P, more expensive bricks and dealing with the floor problem. Had I had the benefit of hindsight I'd have used vermiculite in the production of the base and insulation layer instead of clay and sawdust, it would have cost no more (probably a little less) and meant I could do it from start to finish in a weather dependant 8 or 9 days with the drying times.
Still, it all seemed worth it when I plonked in a pizza and 90 seconds later this came out...
Best pizza I've ever tasted!
As we get pretty excited about outdoor life and food it seemed obvious to us that we needed a garden campfire, TICK. First thing we did.
I then started reading up about these outdoor pizza ovens and it led me into one of my biggest projects to date.
Having found a suitable space in the garden I started to research in earnest and here was the first big problem. There sees to be masses of info about these sort of cooking projects but they fall loosely into two categories; first, very quick (and efficient) clay cob ovens that are often thrown up in a weekend from nothing but clay, sawdust, sand and some community spirit or, second, a professionally styled bricks and mortar oven that are generally designed by practical people who know a lot about thermo regulation and proper construction.
Here was the issue, I am awful at brickwork. The very limited amount I have been involved with has demonstrated again and again that me, concrete and bricks are not a happy coupling, however, I also wanted to build something sturdier than a clay cob oven which generally are affected by the weather.
By chance I stumbled upon a man and a blog, he had pondered similar points and designed his own that used limited brick skill and made a permanent oven at little cost and hardship. BINGO.
I paid the two quid for his plans and got started, having mostly followed his original design I don't think it would be right to put a step by step guide up here, he's earned his two quid fairly.
So here's a summary,
I chose to build a concrete slab on which I placed railway sleepers as a platform and base for the oven just as he did, he correctly pointed out that the same platform could be built from blocks at far less cost but there was no way I was going to attempt it. The finished project probably weighs an easy ton and frankly I was stressed enough about getting the slab right.
Then, he used bottle and clay to fill a square 'doughnut' in the platform for insulation and upon which his floor bricks then oven would stand. I didn't fancy collecting bottles for weeks so I took an alternate suggestion from him and used Celotex (like Kingspan) that I had a supply of from other builds. This was a huge mistake, more about this later.
On went paver bricks which are cheap and have a nice flat side all packed in with sand.
The next big bit was the brick arch and dome (think igloo). I was unable to tell what kind of bricks he'd used - he did say they were normal house bricks, not expensive firebricks - but I couldn't see from his pictures whether he'd used solid ones or those that have a frog. I was concerned that a frog might enable an air pocket to build up in the structure so I decided to get solid bricks. Not a massive problem but the only ones I could find locally were engineering blocks, great little bricks but they cost about £60 as apposed to the planned £15!!!
Also the fire screed he recommended (which is great) cost about £50 in P&P because I couldn't get it locally and these issues really jumped my budget. Came out better than expected though.
Perhaps the biggest drama occurred with the insulation layer. Most people who are making a modern brick oven simply mix loads of vermiculite or perlite with a bit of cement and slap on a good thick layer. I'd decided however that as I was following an instructional I should really follow it properly. I therefore used clay slip (liquid clay mixed with sawdust). At first I got hold of lumps of clay (which actually cost more than I expected) and then mixed it by hand with water to make a yoghurt slush. This took about five soul-destroying hours and my fingernails are still split. Half way through I switched to powdered fire clay which was far cheaper and almost instant in its preparation.
This method of insulation did work very well and would be great if you could dig the clay out of your garden for free but it took about three weeks to get it on and properly dried out (vermiculite/cement mix would have taken a couple of days). Fortunately I was forced to do this part of the build at a time when I was away for days at a time with work and so would stick on some slip then have to leave it to dry while I was away - had I been sitting here waiting for it to cure before moving in I'd have gone crazy waiting and waiting.
The final cement/sand/lime layer was a doddle and makes it look pretty rustic and funky.
The first firing went really well, pictures of the pizza can be seen below but after the second go it became apparent that the floor was dropping. MASSIVE PANIC because the brickwork layer of the oven sits entirely on this. The reason was the Celotex insulation was getting so hot that it was giving way. I had visions of the whole oven collapsing and having to start from scratch.
I had taken a match to a scrap of Celotex before putting it into the build to make sure nothing sinister happened and it was fine but the awesome insulated oven heat simply melted it. Here I had some seriously good luck. I was able to take out the sand/paver brick floor and rip out what remained of the Celotex, I then hastily poured in a vermiculite/cement mix and repacked the bricks back on top. Scary work because had the oven collapsed while I was scraping it all out I'd have probably lost a hand!
All done now and it works fine (so far). This fortnight project ended up taking six stressful weeks and I probably spent close to £200 more than I budgeted thanks to unexpected P&P, more expensive bricks and dealing with the floor problem. Had I had the benefit of hindsight I'd have used vermiculite in the production of the base and insulation layer instead of clay and sawdust, it would have cost no more (probably a little less) and meant I could do it from start to finish in a weather dependant 8 or 9 days with the drying times.
Still, it all seemed worth it when I plonked in a pizza and 90 seconds later this came out...
Best pizza I've ever tasted!
A pain free extraction
We're about ready to extract honey for the first time.
Extractors are not cheap and while I can (and will) hire one from the local beekeeping association for a cheap £5 I decided to have a go at building one myself. I've seen some YouTube vids from around the world (mostly the US) of many people who have successfully built their own centrifuge so why not!
I got these bits...
- Black plastic dustbin
- Long metal thread
- 12 washers
- 4 nuts
- Some scrap wood (beech I think)
- Honey gate (I stole one off a spare bucket)
Total cost, £14
Total time, 1.5 hours .......
Extractors are not cheap and while I can (and will) hire one from the local beekeeping association for a cheap £5 I decided to have a go at building one myself. I've seen some YouTube vids from around the world (mostly the US) of many people who have successfully built their own centrifuge so why not!
I got these bits...
- Black plastic dustbin
- Long metal thread
- 12 washers
- 4 nuts
- Some scrap wood (beech I think)
- Honey gate (I stole one off a spare bucket)
Total cost, £14
Total time, 1.5 hours .......
It works really well too! I intend to make two dowel lugs to hold the top horizontal bracket in place across the top of the bin rather than use clamps and for next year I might be tempted to upgrade to a metal dustbin as they are so much sturdier.
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