Honey Bees very active until daytemps get down to 7 or 8 c, big push for them at the mo as the 'Hedera' Ivy is in flower and the last major nectar source before Nov/December arrives. One can smell ivy as it has a very distinct aroma and taste like no other honey, two of my hives on wednesday ponged of it.

The bee you found was likely a humble bee ?

If you offer your finger it will accept the warmth and will willingly climb on and will not sting you as you pose no threat and yes a sip of nectar from a flower and they soon convert the energy source.

I really should have taken a photo, my phone has a 2X optical zoom with a very short focusing distance and it was a warm day, I could have snapped a good bee portrait. Looked like a bumble bee to me, but I know nowt about bee types. I read somewhere that the oldest bees are mercilessly sent out to collect pollen, to death, by the hive or queen. We'd have scant elderly folk if human society did that.

Edited September 18, 20223 yr by guerney

Don't belive the rubbish you read.

In honey bees there are varying stages of life and a heirachy, a young new emerged bee becomes at first a nurse bee feeding it's siblings and then general house duties for approx. three weeks (cleaning, undertaking, honey production guard duty etc etc) after this it's life changes and it is it's turn to become a forager and communicator until it's life expires. A life from spring to autumn is short approx. 6 weeks, the queen in full swing (April - August) can lay and producing 1000+ plus bees a day.

A hive depending on the queens productuivity can see some 200K odd bees pass through t per annum.

 

The humbebee is very different and a longer life cycle but a short nest existance as semi social insect with only the new mated virgin queens hibernating for the following year, as an example out of 100 virgin queens produced only 20% may servive to produce a nest the following year.

A typical nest only being of 100 - 250 bees per annum dependant on sub specie.

I frequently think that I should carry adround a small dropper bottle of sugar syrup or honey for such emergencies, but it hasn't happened often enough - I already keep a small bag of pumpkins seeds handy (they're too hard to extract kernels from) for birds. At this rate I'd need Batman's utility belt to feed various encountered creature types...

 

I would have liked to have seen analysis of pollen extracted from around this 100 million year old bee preserved in tree resin:

 

https://earthsky.org/earth/fossil-bee-trapped-amber-parasites-pollen/

Honey Bees very active until daytemps get down to 7 or 8 c, big push for them at the mo as the 'Hedera' Ivy is in flower and the last major nectar source before Nov/December arrives. One can smell ivy as it has a very distinct aroma and taste like no other honey, two of my hives on wednesday ponged of it.

 

Does the honey pong of it too? And is that a problem when selling the honey? Honey seems to keep for ages - herbalists in hot countries use it to preserve herbs for long periods of time, therefore do you mix all of this year's honey in a gigantic vat to even out the flavour?

do you mix all of this year's honey in a gigantic vat to even out the flavour?

 

Definately not, honey;s have a different taste, aroma and colour. Different natural sugars in it's make up. Each hive is extracted seperatly and stored.

Spring , summer and autumn collected honey will come from varying nectar sources during the year.

They're living things and are capable of slumbering if kept cool and dark. No refrigeration required

 

On that note - I see that you snipped the squash off fairly close to the main body.

Was this because the vines were still growing with younger squash still ripening further along the vine? Or is that how you generally do it?

 

 

 

- I ate the second to final one a month ago, from last year's crop. Hardly had to buy many vegetables for almost a year. And that's the only upside to growing one's own vegetables, the largely unacceptable downside being the obscene expenditure of time and effort, which is very annoying.

 

I used to think like this.

 

Now, I look upon the financial savings of veg growing as one of the LEAST important aspects. For me, far more important now are (in no particular order of importance):

1. You can get a very positive, natural exercise regimen by doing regular gardening activity. Its kind of like the benefit you get by cycling to work instead of taking the car/bus/train. Its worth it even if it DOESN'T save you any money!

 

2. There is something very healthy about 'grounding' yourself when working with the soil (and I mean that in both a spiritual and electrical sense!)

 

3. Its the only way you can 100% guarantee you are eating something that you have control over what's been sprayed on it!! and I think that's a LOT more important that the vast majority of the population are aware of or are willing to admit to.

On that note - I see that you snipped the squash off fairly close to the main body.

Was this because the vines were still growing with younger squash still ripening further along the vine? Or is that how you generally do it?

 

They might keep better with a bit of vine attached? I may experiment with some of the others. I appear to have two waves - the first crop matured early because of the intense heat, like strawberries, hazelnuts (but like our government: ill formed empty nut cases), damsons, blackberries. The second wave will be maturing in a few weeks.

 

Now, I look upon the financial savings of veg growing as one of the LEAST important aspects. For me, far more important now are (in no particular order of importance):

 

It makes no financial sense, much easier and cheaper overall to buy from supermarkets. Opportune during the pandemic, reduced the need to go out shopping. Quite honestly it's a pain - this year's weather made it an utter nightmare. I do eventually periodically cease engaging in this madness for a few years, to restart some years later.

 

 

2. There is something very healthy about 'grounding' yourself when working with the soil (and I mean that in both a spiritual and electrical sense!)

 

It is very settling, if it isn't too stressful. And this year has been ver ver stressful. Damn you climate change!

 

3. Its the only way you can 100% guarantee you are eating something that you have control over what's been sprayed on it!! and I think that's a LOT more important that the vast majority of the population are aware of or are willing to admit to.

 

By necessity my crops are high mineral content spring water fed, they do seem to be growing much larger than when using tap water. Organic slug pellets do work (ferric-phosphate, approved by the RSPB), provided they're applied liberally and often.

Edited September 19, 20223 yr by guerney

On that note - I see that you snipped the squash off fairly close to the main body.

Was this because the vines were still growing with younger squash still ripening further along the vine? Or is that how you generally do it?

 

I snipped a few last night - I only ever crop them when the vines have almost completely died off, or when the stem is cracked a bit and when you tap the pumpkins, they sound a little hollow. In warmer climates, they cover Crown Princes with completely dead vine foliage to protect against frosts, and leave them standing to ripen fully - I can't do that in case they get nicked. The vines were too dead looking to bother with keeping attached... probably very little sustenance being delivered from the mothership I expect. They ripen at home, when they haven't ripened already. Seeds are more viable when the pumpkins sound hollow when tapped.

 

I'm wondering if I've bent the wheel axles by carrying almost twice the Homcom's rated weight limit, will have a look at them later. Sounded a bit choppy, but it could have been the sound of the plastic platform oscillating with the weight.

[mention=9614]Nealh[/mention] - these look like mean hombres

 

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2022-09-28/warning-after-asian-hornet-spotted-in-uk

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/asian-hornets-identified-in-essex

Yep they sure are.

They aggressively protect their nest within 10 - 30m and dessimate all insect life, esp honeybees.

 

I have heard naby a case where fit people with no past history have reacted badly and die from one sting. Generally away from the nest they pose normally little danger.

So far over the last six years all inccursions have been dealt with, if they do manage to get established they will cause not only big problems for the honeybees and other insects but will likely be an issue for humans over hear due to the housing density.

 

A nest of these buggers in full swing can be some 1m in diameter and they build the nests near to their main prey so within 0.5 km. Honeybees are their main prey.

 

They have had a time of it in jersey where they have become established and in france and portugal. The limiting factor over here may be our autumn weather being to cold and wet for them to get going properly.

It hasn't been a wet year so far. It may even be a mild winter. With climate change warming at present, I expect we'll have to get used to scorpions, black widows, tarantulas - all manner of creepy crawlies and hostile flying insects... unless the jetstream moves sharpish permanently south, in which case it'll be just be polar bears. You need a beebee gun...

The weird noise I mentioned, turned out to have been caused by an unnoticed flat tyre, not bent axles - I had noticed a slow leak when it first arrived, and made a mental note to check and inflate it reguarly... but forgot. This cheapo £90 Homcom bike trailer is doing very well indeed, coping with almost twice it's rated 50kg weight limit.

Edited October 6, 20223 yr by guerney

I got fed up with the puntures on my CF, nearly every run I picked up a thorn.

I ditched the fitted scwalbes and bought some new cheap tyres Tiger brand , some smaller tubes and tanus inserts. Tyres since have hardly moved psi wise.

I got fed up with the puntures on my CF, nearly every run I picked up a thorn.

I ditched the fitted scwalbes and bought some new cheap tyres Tiger brand , some smaller tubes and tanus inserts. Tyres since have hardly moved psi wise.

 

Sounds like nothing short of hostile bladed Ben Hur chariots will puncture your tyres now. Which Schwalbes were you using? My experience of Marathon Plus is they resist punctures - I haven't had any on the bike iself. l'll investigate this slow leak, which may turn out to be a puncture. Just a few hauls left till the end of this pumpkin season - I'll leave a few out till just before the frost, to mature seeds for next year. Once the frost hits, it's game over.

I located the puncture point on the inner tube and tried to repair it, but the ultra el cheapo noname inner tube has a seam and that's where the hole is - irrepairable, and I was about to replace it with a new Impac when I noticed that the el cheapo noname tyre supplied with the Homcom was falling apart - can't risk a new inner tube inside this carp!

 

[ATTACH type=full" alt="49115]49115[/ATTACH]

 

 

I was going to try [mention=20993]Andy-Mat[/mention] 's trick of cutting the tyres to line new tyres with, adding a puncture proofing layer, but I don't think any inner tube will last very long rubbing against those nylon strands, even if I cut and sandpaper them down a bit.

 

Because there is still hauling to do, for which the Homcom's form factor is more suitable than the Carry Freedom.... I've ordered a couple of Schwalbe Black Jack's, which have a modicum of kevlar puncture proofing. Choices in 16" are rather limited.

 

BTW Aldi are selling what look like large and quite decent dry bags for about £10, which is a steal if they are any good - I'm thinking of getting one the CF, to keep camping electronics dry.

Edited October 10, 20223 yr by guerney

[mention=9614]Nealh[/mention] - amazing bee pic wins competition:

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63209350

The Black Jacks are fitted - they're 1.9" instead of the original 1.75" wide originals, which should add a little more useful air suspension for pumpkin carriage. When another Impac inner tube arrives next week, I'll try [mention=20993]Andy-Mat[/mention] 's solution: lining the inside of the new tyres with the old. I like cheap - cheap keeps me cheerful, and I'm really really cheap.

We have a small allotment, took a while, a few days work, to clear the brambles, but then we went No dig, covered the ground with cardboard and 100mm compost, planted potatos, kale, sweetcorn, beans, broccoli etc direct in that top layer. Nothing else to be done but occasional light weeding, water and harvest. Next year we won't have to buy in lidls cheap compost but have had time to save compost and get a trailer of well rotted muck from a stables (approx 1 cu m car trailer). I like no dig gardening!

 

As for trailer tyres, I've just tried Slime in mine, will see how we get on.

We have a small allotment, took a while, a few days work, to clear the brambles, but then we went No dig, covered the ground with cardboard and 100mm compost, planted potatos, kale, sweetcorn, beans, broccoli etc direct in that top layer. Nothing else to be done but occasional light weeding, water and harvest. Next year we won't have to buy in lidls cheap compost but have had time to save compost and get a trailer of well rotted muck from a stables (approx 1 cu m car trailer). I like no dig gardening!

 

As for trailer tyres, I've just tried Slime in mine, will see how we get on.

 

My garden was so overgrown this year I almost gave up... but then I got this - you've got to try it, makes it all so damned easy. Powered by Jaffa Cakes and chocolate bars, I turned over 40ftX20ft (half of my area) within a day.

 

It looked flimsy in photos and I had my doubts until it arrived, but it's more robust than it initially looked. I reckon it'll last years - an alternative was the Autospade... but they have problems with the spring, which is hard to source these days, as are Autospades.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kikka-Digga-Garden-Digging-Attachment/dp/B01HU4E95U/ref=

 

Edited October 17, 20223 yr by guerney

My garden was so overgrown this year I almost gave up... but then I got this - you've got to try it, makes it all so damned easy. Powered by Jaffa Cakes and chocolate bars, I turned over 40ftX20ft (half of my area) within a day.

 

It looked flimsy in photos and I had my doubts until it arrived, but it's more robust than it initially looked. I reckon it'll last years - an alternative was the Autospade... but they have problems with the spring, which is hard to source these days, as are Autospades.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kikka-Digga-Garden-Digging-Attachment/dp/B01HU4E95U/ref=

 

Easier to put down cardboard and compost/mulch. Better for the soil structure, water retention etc.

Charles Dowding has a few videos on YouTube.

 

watched some of that and was amused to see him sitting indoors at his computer with the same boots he was wearing outside.

I don't have a lot of time... I like minimal weeding, which is why I only grow pumpkins - they outgrow and grow over it all. I leave weeds to grow wild over the winter, then turn the ground over, let weed roots to die over few days then remove weeds to compost. I've got a few composting containers, including a couple of "Daleks" and one constructed from pallets, the latter I've stopped using because of the toxic anti-rot chemicals they contain, which will end up in my food.

 

We have a small allotment, took a while, a few days work, to clear the brambles, but then we went No dig, covered the ground with cardboard and 100mm compost, planted potatos, kale, sweetcorn, beans, broccoli etc direct in that top layer. Nothing else to be done but occasional light weeding, water and harvest.

 

Isn't soil healthier when worms can eat their way through it? Cardboard isn't just wood pulp, so I worry about the chemicals and plastic... also doesn't it disintegrate, and need to be replaced? I was half-thinking about covering it all with tarps this winter, would be an easier spring... but that isn't good for the soil. The wood wide web needs plants:

 

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-secrets-of-the-wood-wide-web

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhizal_network

 

...which is why I leave it alone for part of the year. I'd be interested in Forest Gardening, but I really don't have the time for that, and doubt that many others would either - a friend did her entire PhD on this subject, and her forest garden is still feeding people 35 years on

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_gardening

Edited October 19, 20223 yr by guerney

watched some of that and was amused to see him sitting indoors at his computer with the same boots he was wearing outside.

My ears hurt if I do that!

As for trailer tyres, I've just tried Slime in mine, will see how we get on.

 

Was your slime tube really soft? (sorry - sounds a bit rude)

 

I tried to try slime tubes and tried to support my local LBS by buying from him, despite the fact that he's a total crook. While trying to fit them, I ruptured both within minutes - a very rapid waste of money. It could have been my being hamfisted, but I don't think so... my theory is, that they had been on the shelf so long the slime had softened the rubber. Well, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. And the ruptures didn't seal themselves either. Maybe I would have had better luck with fresher slime tubes bought online?

Edited October 19, 20223 yr by guerney