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Today, My inspector came over to do my legally required AFB inspections. Both passed. I did think they would, but there is always that little niggle in the back of the mind that says you might just have missed something. He has done my inspections for the last 3 years and was obviously pleased...

lol, that was my first ever Fenugreek seedling. I'm very proud of that seeing as it now the only one to have survived.....so far. I love using this in my cooking which is why I decided to try to grow my own. I havent heard of bad reactions to it before, so I am now doubly glad that I do not have...

Here is an example of a plant Not eaten by slugs or snails, even though they have obviously been all over the pot. My best Fenugreek seedling, that got left behind when I went off to look after my grandson....not one nibble.

I put it down to living near farm land, near a stream, having railway across the road, a defunct timber mill a bit further across the road And a council dump 100m down the road.....where they did nothing in the way of pest control. One old timer I spoke with said they had gone to dump stuff...

I have only ever used two pesticides-snail bait which was always lightly sprinkled in a small glass jar that had something over the top to stop the rain from washing it into the soil, because the label mentioned that it may cause genetic deformities- that was a number of years ago and it doesnt...

The gap- Beespace. They have a specific amount of space they like between the frames that allows them to do their thing. If its too big, most often, they will fatten one or both combs so that its back to how they like it. What I am finding at the moment, is that the gap between the top of the...

Today, I finally had some decent weather so I could inspect both hives. Before I inspect, I like to think about what it is that I want to achieve and/or expect to have to deal with. With Tahi, it was that I could see through the window that some frames were spaced too far apart and needed to be...

Weeding, sowed some beetroot, celeriac, onions, spring onions, lettuce, Globe Artichoke and some old bean seeds of Cannellini....not too sure if they will grow, but I do have newer seed if they dont. I cleared underneath the Golden Queen peach tree and Italian Alder that is down by the roadside...

I finally got around to researching Chickpeas and learnt that they do Not like wet soil, nor do they like to be transplanted...so I quickly transplanted all 3 dozen seedlings that had got waterlogged a few days ago, as well as sowing more in a couple of other spots, just to see how they do in...

What type do you grow for canning?

OMG! my knees just buckled! I am in total awe of you guys.

With Violets, which I just love, I usually take root 'cuttings' and move them on to the next spot. you are probably right about the onions. I do have seed for the ones that need to be sown in early Spring- Pukekohe long keepers, so thank you, i'll dig those out and get going with them in seed...

Not exactly in the garden, but i dug out some of my seeds that I have been meaning to sow, but never did. i wanted to see if they were still viable so I popped them in seed sprouter trays, normally used to grow sprouts. So far the Fenugreek, Chickpeas and Lentils have come up, so they have...

Well you definitely have at least one hive out there somewhere. If this is something different, it may be that a swarm has just moved in. Thats when a hive splits- the Queen along with some or most of the bees leave the original hive and seek out a new home leaving the new queen to continue at...

I did and then I just did again today. I'm starting to wonder if I hadnt clean the jug out properly. Its one of my mom's Kombucha jugs...but it is still winter and still quite cold. Its a learning curve at this point and while it would be awesome to get some home 'grown' booze, I'm not going to...

I still remember the very first time I got stung by a bumble bee....I was little!! and sat on one.

Nope, Bumbles. like honey bees can only sting once, its the wasps and hornets that can sting multiple times.

lol!! I think Bumble bee stings are Much worse than bee stings. last year when my dog yawned, I could see this hole in the middle of his tongue. That is most definitely not caused by a honey bee sting. Thankfully, he has learnt to leave all flying insects alone and even does a double take at...

I started my Oxalic acid vapour treatments again yesterday. Today, I checked the sticky boards and found Tahi had dropped 14 mites and Rua only 7. Quite pleased with that, but will be treating every 4 days for the next month just to make sure everything is all good. My report form for this...

This morning was such a beautiful sunny, warm still day- no nasty cold wind for a change so i decided to inspect the hives. It is a bit early but its been such a warm winter and they are both so busy, I just had to find out what is going on in there. I was just going to inspect Rua cos I cant...