Queen cell production indicates either a queen is being superceded or, if there are lots of them, a potential swarm situation. It would be easy for me to say that if they had enough room to expand into or were not stressed by some factor that they're less likely to do it, but a lot also depends on w...

'Natural' beekeeping differs from the conventional style in that it is perceived to be less invasive, uses less chemical interventions and puts less emphasis on honey production at the expense of the colony. If you want to explore the ideas behind it you might find this link useful: m I have convent...

(Apologies for cross posting but I think this is well worth supporting & sharing as widely as possible.) Had this exciting info from Phil at Biobees this morning: First UK Natural Bee Keeping Conference 2011 Sunday February 13th at 10pm GMT/4pm EST - Part One of a world-wide, on-line, two-part I...

Sorry, I got rather over excited by my own luck. Let me explain.

St Georges mushrooms are an edible fungi that by tradition is supposed to appear on (or around) St. Georges Day. Usually it takes me ages to find any, but this year we struck it lucky.

These are the things in question: http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/ ... result.asp

On the most appropriate of days, no prizes for guessing what we found in the lee of our local woods this morning. A lovely long strand of them, young, fresh and tender & begging to be picked.
Yum!

Hello again! Well, over 25 of us sat down this morning to enjoy our introduction to beekeeping with tutor Terry Clare. So many had been interested in fact, that they're planning on splitting the group down and I found very heartening that there were so many of us who not only wanted to learn but als...

Oooh.... It starts tomorrow, so notebook at the ready! Thanks for the comments folks, I'll report back on how my first seesion goes.

He he.... Thanks for the link, in fact it was Citrine's amazing adventures in beekeeping which finally pushed me into taking the plunge (thanks for the inspiration Citrine!). I'll certainly keep you posted with progress reports and I'm now becoming ridiculously excited about the propect, it's gonna ...

I'll be starting a course in January with the aim of getting some hives set up in the future and I'm really looking forward to it. It strikes me that setting up can be pretty pricy though. While I wait to meet my tutors on the course to see what they advise, has anyone got any suggestions/recommenda...

I only like wine bottles if I get to empty them myself!

Someone's just old me that Kiwis get really huge - he he.... Just as well our garden's quite big! I am so hoping that we'll get some fruit once they settle in.

Sorry, I have to share this as I've been whoop whooping ever sine I got home with my bargain booty. We've got a local Garden Center (I won't name names but it's at Pepper Hill) who were giving away christmas scented candles as a promotion thing and as our daughter kept on nagging me to take her up t...

You can also hire a tool called a stump grinder from companies like HSS, this basically chews the stump right down to below ground level so that you can level and turf over immediately. It won't remove a root system or the entire root ball though and as has already been pointed out, might leave your...

I'll need to see a couple of good clear photographs if you can get some. Take one as close as you can of the fungi in situ, and then one of underneath the cap (so that I can have a squizz at the shape of the gills). A rough estimate of their size, colour and details like whether they are in a ring f...

Little rolly smelly foul things that get maggotts

No no no... and thrice more no! I beg to differ. I haven't had a single maggotty pea yet - or maybe I have and I just haven't noticed - anyway, what's a little added protein between friends?

Congratulations, it's so satisfying isn't it? Try peas the next time you have a chance. There is nothing (and I mean nothing !) quite as wonderful, sweet and tasty as a new young pea eaten straight from the pod. None of ours ever make it back to the house and our daughter who dislikes cooked frozen ...