Any arbtalking veg growers in da house?

[VEG]

Some pics of a swarm I was called out to collect. I am not fond of ladders either lol.

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited February 6, 2013 by VEG

[breffni]

Ha ga that's mental. Did you keep the bees? Or did you find out who owned them?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Some pics of a swarm I was called out to collect

 

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ha ha get a call out fee and a free colony, liking your style!

[VEG]

I don't charge for call outs as long as they are honey bees. Most beekeepers do it.

 

 

Craig

 

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[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I don't charge for call outs as long as they are honey bees. Most beekeepers do it.

 

 

Craig

 

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decent,seems fair trade too:thumbup1:

[VEG]

Small video of my first bees

 

[breffni]

The walnut we were doing today had lots of honeycomb in it but no bees. There was still some honey in it, it tasted amazing

[growforest]

When I started with bees I was advised to orient the hives so they were all in a row, but slightly staggered and every one facing the same way, but for a few degrees difference here and there. Bees don't like regular lines; they want the entrances irregular, so they can distinguish one from another. Or so I was told. And I never did line them in a regular row to test the theory.

New Zealand strain bees are pretty good - nice and calm. Good bees are getting harder to find, as is a way of dealing successfully with varroa, spray drift etc.

[NFG]

Hello,

 

We have a fairly decent veg patch, we grow lettuce, leeks, parsnips, butternut squash, peas, broad beans, harricot vert & jaune, pomme de terre - potatoes & courgettes, tomatoes. We also have a lot of plum, some apple & pear trees. Our climate is well suited for growing it does get very hot and dry in summer but the soil seems to hold the water well.

 

We dont buy much seed & try to avoid F1 hybids unless there is no alternative, I think preserving seed stock is a really good idea, GM & F1 would eventually kill it off. We allow plants to seed & dry them out then store for next year, some seed such as lettuce we just throw it on the ground, as opposed to fiddling around with compost & pots, then we prick out the strongest & plant them in rows.

 

Its all a matter of experimenting to see what grows best, last year we tried peas for the first time which grew 2 metres high with thousands so were still on the pea soup (parp!) Tomatoes were better the previous year, but our neighbours let us help ourselves when they were away for a week because if you dont pick them they stop producing. So if you can swap your surplus with a friend or neighbour it helps when one crop fails.

 

We also try and plant by the moon, because this affects the water table & hence the success of the plants, yes, I don't mind if you laugh, but it really works. We don't use chemicals apart from Bordeaux mix which is organic on the trees.

 

So its a matter of experimenting, theres nothing like it for taste et bon chance et bon courage!

 

N

[Goaty]

Has anyone had success with watermelons. I have tried fresh fruit abroad and its so much better than the supermarket offerings. I did try blacktail mountain from real seeds a few years ago but the season didn't seem long enough?