How are your hives going Trev? We are just getting to the warmer weather now and so our little buzzy friends are getting more active. We need to get a hive inspection done in the next couple of weeks but just recently the weather has been appalling if its not raining it's been blowing a hooley neith...

Hi Joseyjo - sorry didn't see this...welcome :-D I have a metal run like this that I turned into a chicken tractor - it stands up to all sorts and gets moved every 2 weeks or so. I'm in NZ so we do have predators but not foxes but I'm from the UK originally so know the issues. Personally I would cov...

She is a softy now she has settled in and is filling out nicely, no longer just skin and bones as the saying goes. The only issue is that she is extremely greedy to the point of being possessive over food whether in the pen or outside when being walked. We are presuming this is because she was neve...

Good luck, we try the same every year (even putting up a whiteboard this year) and fail miserably. I often find the best result come from mistakes and the planned planting fails }hairout{ I thought I'd do a laminated chart of the raised beds and then when we've planted print what actually went in a...

Best of luck with that. i always come across the instruction "in land that was well dug the previous autumn" {rofwl} Those people don't live here...it's old river bed dig in that and all you get is rocks. I'm afraid for the moment all our growing will have to be in raised beds or pots. I've grown i...

We have finally managed to get our raised beds started and hoops over them as it's still a bit cold here in NZ and the microclima cloth will keep them away form the frost. I've planted some Courgettes - Yellow Beauty: a yellow one as my husband finds the darker green ones a bit bitter for his liking...

Saanen's are a big goat but very gentle ...I hope she's settled in nicely

Sad isn't Mo....all about aesthetics ...I wonder if the supermarkets didn't make it an issue if it would ever actually become one? I had this same discussion with the produce manager in our local supermarket when they wrapped lettuces. They had just got rid of single use plastic bags and I walked in...

Isn't It great to have Manda back! Aww thank you xx I have missed being here actually but life got in the way with the house build. Living in a caravan was "interesting" (I'd like to never do it again {rofwl} ). Our gardens currently are paddocks ...there is lots of Wooly Mullein which is a pain an...

Do you use wax foundation in your frames or just let them build their own? So far foundation I had planned in the future to let them build their own so we could do honeycomb but I'm not so bothered now I can't eat it LOL! The bonus is it means they don't have to work so hard so we'll keep with that...

yike* Sorry to read about your diagnosis, Manda. I have type two. Hope you manage your levels, but it is sickening when you crave something and shouldn't have it. I have been lucky that within a week I got my bloods pretty much down to normal and now they sit in the 5's mostly which was pretty good...

...As for the alternatives of getting some sheep or even a small cow, not sure but it is certainly an area for further discussion though.....we would like to get a pig after our dairy needs are met :-D In truth cows are also a pain unless you've got good fencing both wire and electric - they don't ...

We have 2 hives which we took 7.5 litres of honey off a few months ago but as the colder weather is heading here in NZ that was it ...and that was being practical as they were overflowing with honey and they needed room....ironically I've just been diagnosed with diabetes so won't be for me now {cry...

We kept Angora goats for a while but to be honest they are not the best for what you want. We had a few crosses that went to colder climates (aka the freezer). Down side of goats is they can be escapologists!! We had to despatch one because he repeatedly got out just by climbing the fence and at the...

Given my love of all things kitcheny