Recent content by pargyle

It's surprising what you can get away with when you have year or fifty under your belt, nice bees, well thought out kit and well organised transport .. I thought I was being clever in year two, stumbled and dropped a poly brood box full of bees that I hadn't strapped up ... not an experience...

And perhaps taregetted at them ...But often (Possibly mainly) listened to by the Great Unwashed ... judging by who I hear talking about what's on his programme.

There are not a lot of bees on those frames ... and whilst the drone cell pattern is pretty scattered and would, usually, indicate laying workers, I would expect to see some workers eggs (multiple eggs near the top of the cells - worker abdomens are not long enough to get to the bottom of the...

She only has one colony - they have nowhere to go ... needs a Plan B. The colony is clearly doomed unless she can beg or buy a queen to try and get them back in check. A frame of eggs begged from somewhere would give them a chance to raise a queen although with laying worker already at it...

Mind you - even they don't want to put their customers off !

In an unheated greenhouse but in a mini greenhouse (clear polythene cover) inside the greenhouse. Other than that, cut the brown bits of the stems back and left the green bits. Occasional small amount of water occasionally but other than that left them to it. I started out with 10 that had...

Let's hope our new beekeeper, with two WBC hives, to move leaves it a few years before he does it your way Mike !! :)

Spent a couple of hours this evening dodging the showers in the veg area .. planted out the next batch of runners and cobra french beans. Potted on some chillie seedlings. Earthed up the potato bags (again - twice now in the last week !) - had to seive another three barrows of...

Never mind - you will be able to solve the world's food crisis if you end up with more than a couple of courgette plants. You won't have to worry about friends and family as they will all cross the street to avoid you in case you try to press more 'free' courgettes into their hands/bags. You...

When I moved a WBC I removed the lifts and roof and transported them separately. There was a glass quilt, two brood boxes but no supers - I replaced the quilt with a travel screen but the floor was a pain - it was an old WBC and there were gaps in the solid floor the bees could get out of ! I...

More likely Triggers broom ! 5 years I can believe... 9 years ? Fanciful ...

They are small and quite sweet - I must admit I like Sungold but I lost most of last years sungold to blight - I've been a bit selective this year - I'm growing the unknown ones that were blight resistant last year which I harvested the seeds from, Shirley and Cherry Falls (Which I grow in...

Yes .. something needs a look - sounds like an ill-fated escape bid ..

Why are there drones stuck in the queen excluder - were these trapped in the super ?

They are a very heavy cropper - you will never be able to eat all of them unless you are feeding the entire village. Just stop them off when they reach the height of the polytunnel (pinch out the growing tip) by four feet you will have a number of clutches - if you feel you won't have enough...