Christmas shopping...

Instead of doing any Christmas shopping, we went to Belmont and bought a large amount of pure wool. Some Icelandic, the grey on the left, and some super untreated Herdwick. Projects in mind include a long cardigan for Agnieszka, a jacket for Kalina and several hard wearing, weather-resistant, ultra-warm hats.

Back yard in bloom

Not the most beautiful of yards, but at least it's better than either neighbours!

Summer shows: The good, the bad, the ugly...

We didn't manage to get to many shows last year, Kalina arriving in July put a block on that. But this year we have turned out to a few, although we missed our favourites at Great Eccleston and Todmorden.

Plum tweaking wearing a fascinator, how the Cheshire Set live.

Finally got to go to Cheshire Show and what a let down it was. From the 40 minute queue to get in, the clueless parking people who had no idea how to direct cars, the soggy fields (despite three days of dry weather), the masses of non-farming types, the horses... not impressed.

Emley was a first and a good one. We'd heard lots about this one and it didn't disappoint. Great views from the top, some good sheep and goats, cattle, jousting, stalls, produce... My only criticism is there were too many people for the space available and there wasn't really anywhere to sit. Still, probably try again next year.

The winning vegetable display or, as Agnieszka put it, a stew. 

Halifax was our last one for the summer. A good one, despite me forgetting to collect the two sourdough loaves I bought when we got there. A real mix of fun fair, stalls and livestock. Although why you weren't allowed to walk in the cattle tent I don't know.

Next year we're hoping to try and get to Leek, somewhere a bit different. Other suggestions welcome.

Doing the splits...

Over the winter I lost a colony of bees. Talking to other beekeepers, reading other blogs, browsing articles, has led me to the conclusion that the colony died of starvation, not helped by being affected by nosema last autumn and being a small cluster, probably unable to keep themselves warm enough to move to available stores during the last really cold snap. Since then I have been thinking about splitting the one remaining hive and how best to do it.


Yesterday seemed an ideal opportunity. A week previously I had knocked down a queen cell and knew something had to be done, so with a decent bit if weather (sunny, a bit cloudy, cool breeze) I decided to take the chance. Equipment was readied, every grain of sugar in the house was used to make syrup, hive parts were checked for cleanliness and spiders.

I did the normal inspection of the first hive. Removed the, now empty, feeder and checked stores. There still isn't a massive amount in there, but they have enough and this cool weather surely has to end soon. In the brood boxes, as the hive is on double brood, all was well except for a couple of queen cells. Two frames of brood were removed into the new box, along with a couple of extra frames of bees, then began the hunt for the queen. Three times through the bottom box and I gave up. Surely she can't be in the upper? But three frames in, there she was. Into the 'queen cage' (an old hair roller) and transferred to the new brood box. She scuttled off between the frames and I moved the hive onto its stand. Added some syrup to the feeder, put the crownboard and roof on, strapped it up.  

Now I have to be patient. Will the queen be happy in her new home? Will there be enough bees to cluster successfully? Will she swarm? Or go back to the original hive? Will the bees in the original hive rear a successful queen? Are there enough drones? It will be a long week I think, and I am already itching to go and have a look, but I know that disturbing them now will probably do more harm than good.

Simple steps in seed saving...

Although I know it makes sense, I am still slow off the mark when it comes to seed saving. Having to construct a fly-proof cage, isolate a plant and then try to pollinate it myself without any biddies getting in to fluff it up, makes the whole process seem quite arduous. But I keep reading about it, thinking about it.

Last year we had a good crop of very tasty broad beans on the plot. The first batch were put in in October, but a brief snow fall in December burnt all the tops off and they didn't survive. So in Srping I replanted, in the only part of the plot with more than four inches of topsoil, and they grew, flowered and fruited well. I left about a dozen or so pods on the plants at the end of the season and then removed them after a couple of weeks. I now know I should have taken up the plants and hung them to dry before removing the pods, but no matter.

In the early part of the year, around half of the seeds I saved were put into large yoghurt pots, two to a pot. They were left outside and given no real looking after. After a month or so they started to show and gradually two plants showed from each pot. I had 100% success with the first batch.

About two weeks ago they were planted out on the plot. Good roots, nice tips, they should do well and produce enough beans for us and for some more seed. The other half of the seeds are destined to go out on the Rainford plot in better soil. The variety is a dwarf one, and last year only grew eighteen inches high.

I'm really pleased with the success of the germination and progress so far. Plus I feel like seed saving could actually be easier than I thought. While I have saved about a fiver, it's the satisfaction of knowing I grew them, I harvested them, and I kept the seed in good condition until this year. I saved some seeds from the runner beans too. A baker's dozen, which have also gone in yoghurt pots, one to a pot this time. I can see the top of the soil thrusting upwards but so far it's impossible to tell how many will germinate and grow.

Losing the plot, in more ways than one...

On top of the churning of the site there came, last week, news of changes in management. The site is currently run by a foul-mouthed woman and a couple of gay absentees who take the money and promise the world but who actually never deliver. Previous ideas included buying everyone a spade and fork, installing water and providing a toilet on site. None of which has ever come to fruition. Now there's trouble at t'mill as a group of three or four have taken firm steps to take over the running of the site and find out where the rent money has gone.

I've pretty much had enough and, while I will play along for now, the long-term plan is to slowly extricate ourselves from the whole situation. The bees are moved and slowly we'll take off what we've planted and not replace it. So far there are spuds in, King Edward and Charlotte, but no sign of any growth yet. I did plant them deeply and it has been chilly so I'm not surprised.

The garlic has been in for a while and looks good, with the lovage making a comeback in the distance. Lovage is great chopped and added to soups and sandwiches and has a celery hint without being over-powering.

Onions are also in now, planted on a wet Wednesday morning. The sets were from Edwin Tucker and are, I have to say, not the best. Out of just over 100 that arrived, I planted about 80, the rest having gone mouldy or failed to sprit. Still, we have no room to store many, so I should stop wingeing!

Moving house, part two...

After a three week break due to crap weather, I finally got everything together to go and check the bees. A slight panic at first as there was nothing flying, but a quick look under the crown board told me all was well. They seem to have settled into their new home quite well and look like they are building up nicely.

I also got time to put up a second hive stand, which you can see in the background, covered in the wood I used to shore up and rebuild the killer steps. They're not brilliant, but they're a lot better now. The second stand will take a Commercial brood body, something I am trying out to see if it gives the bees a bit more room. Slightly against my better judgement, and partly to make some space in the yard / shed, I have added a second brood box to this hive and will try on double brood for this season. I don't have enough equipment to have more hives because, quite simply, I don't have enough space to store spare equipment for more hives. 

Once the weather properly warms up, hopefully in May, I will split this hive to go back to two colonies. The method I will use is a new one, but comes recommended from a bee farmer. Take the queen of the original colony on a frame of brood and move her to a new hive along with some bees. The flying bees go back to the original hive (and then raise a new queen) and the non-flying bees stay where they are. The queen thinks she's swarmed, and I double my colonies. Sounds simple, so we'll see.

Pamiętam...

Dla Ewka od Tatusia.

Ulubiony robote...

We've had a good long spell of dry weather, give or take the odd shower or two. So I took advantage of it to turn over the bit of the plot I am going to use and then plant the potatoes.

It really is my favourite job on the plot, a real reminder that spring is coming and that new potatoes won't be long (about 14 weeks usually, less if I can't wait). So it's out with the soil, down to a spit deep. This is possible on one part but not on the other so it just goes as deep as I can. Line the trench with good rotten cow shit and then gently place the chitted seed potatoes. Draw the soil back over the top, making a little bit of a hillock to show other people I've been busy, then stand back and admire my work.