Road Trip!

This past week, we went to visit a friend and former co-worker of Adrian's, who moved 'up North' to Pemberton. She and her boyfriend are carving a small, organic farm out of a large acreage of former dairy cow pasture and potato fields.  We hope to be able to visit again through the growing season.

 

Driving out into the farmland of the valley, this red barn screamed photo op.

 

We arrived on site at the new farmstead.

 

And met some new residents enjoying a bite of lunch.

    The view over towards the neighbouring farm, where they produce seed potatoes.

 

Frank the farm dog.

 

 

Part of the fence line.

 

Three of a much larger duck population.

 

Lilly and Larry.

 

A misty ride home to the city.

Hive And Garden Update

We went into the hive for a quick inspection on Saturday, to find out what was going on after the swarms had flown off, and a new queen was in residence.  We disturbed the colony as little as possible, but got a look at several frames in the brood nest. I was unable to locate the queen or visually verify the presence of any eggs (they're very small). Many cells contained 'liquid,' but is was impossible to tell if that was nectar being stored for making honey, or jelly and/or nectar being fed to new offspring.  We'll have to wait a few more days (and for a break in the rain), to see if there is evidence of developing larvae.  The colony seems to be working away, and they are flying - more so in the sunny breaks - so that leads me to believe that there is a queen in the hive and they sense that all is as it should be.

The rain has been making everything in the garden seem that much greener, and the perennial beds are starting to sport the flowers of our orange Asiatic lilies.

 

View from near the back fence, top bar hive and rabbitry. Those are 'potato buckets' on the right, with a blue water bucket for the bees tucked in front, and our bed of heritage wheat on the left..

 

 

The main perennial bed. The honeysuckle is still smelling lovely.

 

The newly-filled out perennial bed along the side of our property. This fence is also shared with a gardening neighbour, who doesn't mind the somewhat chaotic 'mix.' Foxglove, lupin, roses, climbing hydrangea, clematis, purple coneflower, hostas, herbs, and Black-Eyed Susans are there,  among other plants - netted off, of course, to discourage digging by the chickens! They get the spot under our big rhododendron bush, and along the other side of the property.

Another view from the back of the property towards the house. The close bed is Jerusalem Artichoke, which I am nipping back every few days to feed to the rabbits. In front of that, two beds of garlic are almost ready for harvest. Flats of greens were started weeks ago to quickly  replace the harvested crop. I need to plant Cranberry Pole Beans on the trellises as the peas are finishing up their period of productivity.  This small hoop house was made from material salvaged from the larger hoop house project last year, and contains more tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos and some very happy greens.

As for edibles, herbs, garlic scapes, peas, oriental greens, turnips, chard and strawberries are still the main offerings at this time of the year.  I'm reluctant to disturb the potato plants in the hope of new potatoes, since I'd rather have full-size tubers at harvest time for the same amount of effort.

 

 

Scapes and peas for lunch!



The grapevines planted by the previous owner, which produce poor grapes but plenty of leaves and vines, are taking over an ever-larger portion of the fence.  Last year we made a nice Greek dolmades-inspired casserole with fresh grape leaves and fresh mint from the garden, and this year I have been dehydrating some of the leaves to have available for later use.  The vines also make wonderful wreaths.

Rain Rain Go Away

We have gone from selective hand-watering and doubling-up on the drip irrigation two weeks ago, to days of overcast sky, and a real deluge over the past two days here.

There are times when I am very happy that we don't *have* to depend on our garden to keep us fed.  Many people who see our yard for the first time whistle in astonishment, and follow up with a comment that we must be self-sufficient in food.  Sadly, that is far from the case.  Even if everything that we planted was actually productive, escaped pests, and was harvested in a timely manner for the table (and not forgotten to languish in the fridge), we would only be producing a large portion of our vegetable and fruit consumption for June through September.  We dehydrate, freeze and can  a portion for the rest of the year, but we also spend a good portion of our budget at the Farmers Market a short distance away, or looking for deals at the grocery store.  The introduction of rabbits has affected how much meat we buy (though the cost is still hidden in the bags of feed we need to bring in - even supplemented with garden greens and forage crops), and we could produce more if we had a bit more room to rotate moms and put kits in grow-out cages or pens to reduce the stress on the mothers before breeding again.  We have purchased cages, but don't have room to set things up exactly as we might like.  The egg supply is almost in full swing, with the 2 new young girls arriving too close to winter last year, and then needing their energy for molting in Spring.  As before, we generally work our system around what is available and avoid buying eggs if at all possible.  More chickens for a potential surplus of eggs is a dream for the future, with more space and fewer neighbours to bother.

The cool weather of the past month has resulted in slow growth in the garden.  The tomato plants, which were up to my shoulders at this time in years past, are only about knee high right now.  The sawfly infestation in my ribes plants (currants and gooseberries), has hit an all-time high, and the gooseberry crop is ruined. (I will be digging out the bushes, pruning back hard, removing all possibly contaminated soil and replanting away from the other bushes in the next few weeks - after removing and destroying the remaining fruit).  We managed to harvest a large portion of the black currant crop for our tradition of jam making prior to the heavy rain, and what is left is largely cracked or in danger of rotting.  The cherry 'harvest,' which was looking like a possibility this year, has also been lost to the rain and is hanging over our heads split and ruined.

At times like these, and reflecting on how much people think we're doing here, I'm worried that people don't really have a concept of how much space and time and work are required to produce the food that they eat.  Sure, I can go to the grocery store to supplement my hobby or if something goes wrong - but what about the local farmers who are dealing with the same vagaries of the weather and the same insect infestations as me? We are lucky to live in North America and benefit from all of the food that is available to us here, but I'm very glad that I understand what goes in to that production, and that I have a backup for my own failures.

Hug a farmer. 

Hive Inspection

Yesterday's swarm flew off before someone could come and capture it, apparently taking a swing about the neighbour's yard and 'heading East.'

Today we went into the hive to do a full inspection, and get an idea of how the colony was responding to losing part of its population.  We went through all of the bars in a thorough examination, and found five empty queen cells in total, meaning (we hope) that the battle is over, things should be settling down, and the new queen will take control of the colony. After having her mating flight, she should get down to the work of re-populating the hive.  The girls (and boys) were calm and busy in all parts of the hive, and laying in some nectar in the brood nest.

There is capped honey and pollen present, though not in large amounts.  We'll do an inspection in a week and, with good luck, we should start to see eggs being laid. It could take two weeks before we see much happening to indicate the presence of a laying queen, so we may need to be patient.

Our Estimates Were A Bit Off

I went out to the garden at lunch, to grab some lettuce and peas for a quick salad, and my neighbour called to me over the back fence.  He wanted to point out a swarm of bees that had settled in the grapevines that climb the chain-link border between our two gardens.

 

I sheepishly admitted that they were most likely from our hive, but that we hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Apparently there was another, small swarm that took up temporary residence for half an hour a few feet away from this swarm, but they had found somewhere to go.  Since we found three queen cells in the hive, I assume the victor remained behind to take over.

 

When we found the queen cells, I started doing some last-minute research. I've been waiting for a response from a local ad for top bar hives built from the same specifications as our current hive, but no luck. Early season chores and time away from home meant that we didn't 'get around' to building ourselves a secondary hive in case it was needed.  From much of what I have read, colonies newly hived in a top bar hive often don't swarm in their first year, and we've possibly had three already, just two months after dropping these bees in an empty box.

 

So... we're learning some important lessons in beekeeping; be prepared!  I don't want to disturb the existing hive, but I am a bit curious as to how many bees remained behind.  The foragers who went out before the swarm will return, and there is activity at the entrances, so I suppose we will need to do an inspection fairly soon, and see where we are. They might be a bit touchy about being bothered right now.  Fingers crossed that we have a strong new queen in residence.

I've called an eager beekeeper I found online to come and collect the swarm asap - it's heartbreaking to see just how easy this new colony would have been to collect, hanging as they are on one branch of grapevine just two feet off the ground.  Luckily, my neighbour is unconcerned about his temporary guests, and alerted me to the situation.

Ten Days Later

There's little sign of new brood in the hive, but we have three capped queen cells to hopefully provide a new, strong queen for the colony in the next week.  A friend observes that we may have had a quick swarm when we weren't looking, which would explain the lower-than-expected numbers of bees present in the hive, and the lack of new brood.  The queen may very well have left the building, and the strongest of the new queens will hopefully have a successful mating flight and lead our colony into a season of honey production and preparation for the fall and winter.  The rainy weather won't be ideal for a good flight, but it looks like next weekend might bring sunnier days.

The honeysuckle is blooming, and I love wandering in the garden right now, and smelling the scent in the breeze. Kale, chard, turnips and spinach are ready for harvest, and there are a few peas making an appearance after an early April planting. I've switched over to pole beans for now, and may seed more peas this fall in the few empty feet of trellis space once the weather cools down again.

Speaking of cool weather, as my father-in-law said the other day, it's been great for people who don't like extreme heat,  but not great for the vegetables that need it.  The tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and zucchini are growing ever so slowly in our hoop houses, though my neighbour does have some blossoms and small fruits on some of her squash and tomato plants.

Berry picking is starting up, with black currents and strawberries starting off the season - gooseberries, raspberries and blueberries are showing promise of good crops as well. Freezing of daily picking has begun, in preparation for jam making later in the year.

The bunnies are happy and healthy, though decidedly smaller than some of our previous animals. Feeding them a variety of greens makes us feel like they have more enjoyment of their day, but it does affect the amount of weight gain we see on butchering day. Some of the kits are quite plump, while a few are very light -  and they only have two weeks left to grow.  We're looking at possibly crossbreeding our Florida Whites with a friendly Champagne D'Argent buck in an effort to produce a calmer, slightly larger animal. Time will tell.

2 Weeks In The Garden

I was away on a family matter, and upon returning to see what 2 weeks of rain and sun (and tending by my helpful husband) had done for the garden plantings, was welcomed by blooming flowers and lush vegetation in the perennial beds. 

One of our many clematis plants, which will bloom a second time in the fall if the weather is right.

An established clump of delphinium, going on four summers now - the tallest reaches over 8 feet.

The main perennial flower and herb bed, backed with honeysuckle (middle), an early clematis on one end, and an evergreen clematis at the far end, which smells heavenly in the spring covered in small white flowers. Hollyhock, Columbine, Lily, Calendula, and several other flowers will soon add bursts of colour. Purple Coneflower and Black-Eyed Susans will come out for a bright show in the fall. Everything is popping up through a living mulch of alpine strawberry and very prolific oregano. Please ignore the chicken wire - it's there for a very good reason!

In the vegetable garden, not much had changed, though a few seeds had sprouted, the kidney and soy beans were up, and the only casualties of pests were some of my optimistically planted winter squash.  Vine borers are less interested in my summer squash plants, but seem to find my winter squash transplants no matter how I try to hide them among herbs and flowers.

There are still some promising squash candidates in the tomato hoop house, but I won't get too excited until they size up a bit and are looking more vigorous.

The garlic is starting to produce scapes, and the shallots were sending up flower stalks, which were cut down at the base per my internet information search. The very tips of the leaves are drying up, so they may be ready for harvesting ahead of the garlic.

The next order of business was to open up the hive and do a full inspection, having seen odd comb building and drone brood before I left, I was curious what we would find.....

There was some minor attachment to the sides of the hive, and some continued irregular building, but with much less crossover than before, meaning less damage upon prying the bars apart.

Then Adrian noticed what I had been assuming we might find...

These large, irregular, downward-facing cells appear to be queen cells. There are some drone cells present on the periphery of the brood chamber (and visible in the bottom picture, with the slightly rounded covers- not flush with the comb as in a worker cell), as well as a notable number of drones wandering about in the hive.  We still have not been able to visually identify our queen, but it does look like there has been a reduction in egg laying, and a portion of the brood chamber is vacant, though well-maintained.  I'm not sure if the queen that came with our package is being replaced due to some change in behavior that the colony has been alerted to, or if this is simply a seasonal swarm preparation.  We may simply have opened the hive right after a large number of bees emerged. We made sure there were several new bars added to expand space, so we don't believe that they are feeling crowded.

This is a all a new experience for us, and my research tells me that the colony knows what it needs - we'll have to wait and see what the next few weeks brings, and perhaps try to build or purchase a second hive to home the swarm (which should include the original queen).  Our current top bar hive can be temporarily used to house a swarm with a board dividing the two colonies and an extra exit hole, so that may be an option if the swarm decides to stay close enough for us to capture it.

We'll go back in this week, to see if the cells are being tended. It takes about 16 days to 'make' a queen from point-of-lay, so we may be seeing some interesting behaviour soon. The colony continues to be very docile and largely unconcerned by our interruptions in their work.