Week twentytwo - May 27th - June 3rd
2006
Week twenty two - May 27th - June 3rd
2005
Friday June 3rd 2005 I was concerned that the swarm dropped down by cutting branches off the apple tree last night was OK and intended to get up to the allotment early. After twenty minutes of looking for my car keys (in the fridge with the asparagus) I got up to the plot to find a lot of bees outside of the box on the potato plants nearby so these were carefully transferred to the super with the others. Hopefully they are all together now with a queen. When the swarm was discovered I was in the process of preparing a bed to plant out the sweet corn so I finished that job and planted thirty six sweet corn out in a block one foot apart six each way. Another swarm. Later in the day I thought I should check the WBC hive out, but on the way there, fortunately in a somewhat smaller apple tree, was another swarm, and yes the WBC had no queen, no eggs, and four queen cells in it. I reduced the four to one and took off what honey was there. By the evening the hot day was changing fast as the thunder rumbled in the distance. Time to plant out more brassicas.
Thursday June 2nd 2005 I was busy preparing a bed to plant out the sweet corn that are growing well in the greenhouse when John noticed the swarm of bees in my large apple tree -- I seem to have got it really wrong this year as the bees are continually swarming.
Tuesday May 31st 2005 I marked the first new laying queen today.
2004
May 29th 2004 The WBC (Cottager) hive had its queen removed a week ago - so it was time to check it and make sure there was only one queen cell in place. There were in fact three cells in the brood box so I only had two to remove. I will check this hive again in three weeks time to see if the queen has returned from her maiden flight and is a laying eggs. I used to wait four weeks but if the queen doesn't make it back (as happened to my allotment hive this year) that is a week wasted.
May 28th 2004 I had my first 'seed swap' parcel arrive today and as a result have sown parsnips, lettuce, cougettes and pot marrow. I don't usually sow parsnips as they self sow all over my plot now. So I have sown the new seed in the far corner of Geoff's Apiary Allotment. I have been digging over another corner for the courgetts and as this is the site used for dumping muck over the years and hasn't been planted on for the last four that Geoff has had the plot - so it should be in good heart, although of course it is full of bind weed.
2003
31st May A lucky swarm - 5 hives now! The hive in the in apiary when checked last week had a developing queen cell in it that I removed. They had made enough honey to start running out of space and I put another box on. The last week has been hot with several really hot days so I was concerned about that hive and could imagine that it may be wanting to swarm. I got to it at lunch time on Saturday (still a hot ) and yes they had swarmed - but fortunately into the spare hive. I will have to check it in a few days time to be sure that the queen is there and laying.
I checked the hive that they had swarmed from and there sure enough was a well developing queen cell. So I will have to leave that hive be for the next three to four weeks before checking to see if the queen has hatched and mated. I took off a fair amount of honey.
Picked broad beans and dug new potatoes - still cropping asparagus.
Bought a collection of Dahlia tubers.
2002
June 1st 2002 Dug first early potatoes
2000
Weekend 27/28/29th May. It's been raining on and off all week. I've planted out caulis, cabbages, sprouts and a second row of Coz lettuce. Weeded carrots in the wind and rain continued to dig, plant beans and weed. I should sow more seed now.
The whole three-day weekend was dominated with sudden thunderstorms and showers, many heavy. In between the worst of the rain it was possible to do some gardening and by the end of the Monday night I had managed to finish sowing the runner beans and more French beans, radish and courgettes. Decided to add to the row of poorly germinated green shaft peas as it was so wet. I also planted out some more cabbages, although all of weeks previous planting has been devastated by wood pigeons and may well need doing again. The rain didn't put them off.
Checked the bees in the apiary. Green queen seen and new eggs in the other hive. The queen must have been there all along.
The back garden is now in between spring and summer planting and looks a bit of a mess. We have replenished two areas in the south-facing border with horse muck and bone meal. Both have been thin and hungry for several years now and plants have been disappearing under the most thuggish members. Started pruning plum trees.
Tuesday 30th May The small flower bed under the apple tree by the back door has been improved recently and it was only a small job to remove the wallflowers planted last Autumn and the self sown forget-me-knots then dig in modest bag of muck and a little bone meal. There was some debate about the bluebells in this bed that don't seem to like the soil improvements or being disturbed at this time of the year when they are still green. I was in favor of finding a new home for them where they could be left alone. They got replanted, albeit further back. The bed is now planted with Begonia Semperflorens that hopefully won't find it too shady.
1999
May 29th 1999
The remaining Wallflowers have now been pulled up and the Primula dug up ready for their temporary summer quarters. The beds they occupied has been improved with the addition of well rotted horse manure and the Impatiens and summer bedding plants planted in their place.
May 30th
The lawn got some rare treatment from me today. I raked, strimmed and trimmed it's now ready for some much needed rain. The spring flowing shrubs were attacked again, trimmed and tied up against the boundary fence. The compost bin is full for the first time this year with prunings, old spring bedding plants and weeds.
May 31st
The Primula are now settled in their summer quarters. And I'm waiting for rain to plant out the remaining sprouts and more cabbages. The aim is to get this task completed before the end of May
June 3rd
The rain has arrived and the final planting out of sprouts accomplished - in the rain - as were more Cos lettuce. Now I must dig some of the remaining un dug allotment - fast!
