When I’m not making tui feeders or pottering in the veggie garden I really enjoy spending any spare time, not that I have much working with the bees. Upon acquiring our first bee hive two years ago I knew that it would become an addiction and now I can’t imagine not having them around.

Keeping bees is more complicated nowadays since the discovery of the varroa mite in New Zealand in April 2000. Bee keepers need to be on the look out for diseases such as American foulbrood as it can also decimate bee colonies. These pests and diseases just add to my motivation to look after the bees because without human intervention they will not survive.

When I see the bees going about their business as I mow the lawn or weed the garden I experience a pleasant sensation that all is well with the world. About 10 days ago whilst gazing in the direction of our hives from my work shop this same sensation eluded me as the sky was black and amass with bees …

Yes they were our bees!

I rushed through the house towards Fraser’s room shouting “Fraser the bees are swarming … the bees are swarming” He was in a deep sleep due to a long night at AUT finalising his end of year assignments.

“Quick Fraser get up the bees are swarming and I need you to hold the ladder”. All I heard was a disgruntled moan as I turned to leave.

A few minutes later I’m checking out the size of the swarm.

It was rather precarious up the ladder so I decided the safest and easiest option was to cut the branches and then shake the bees into a box once back on the ground. Not sure how ACC would view this sort of activity, they’d probably suggest I check with OSH before doing anything further … yeah right.

It proved to be a large swarm and after holding the ladder Fraser was “sufficiently relaxed” to take these shots from what he felt was a safe distance. This despite my reassurances that the bees wouldn’t sting him.

Two days after these photos were taken we were back on the job collecting another swarm. This one was smaller and more difficult to collect as it was higher up than the first and almost beyond reach.

To put it mildly, standing and balancing on the third rung down from the top of the ladder was hair raising.

These bees shown above had settled on the tree trunk so shaking them off was not an option therefore I was restricted to using a bee brush. A good number of them fell directly onto me and there were bees that found their way inside my veil and down my shirt. I was far more concerned about falling from the ladder than by being stung. You’ve gotta like bees to be engaging in these dare devil type antics.

The photo below shows bees that re swarmed earlier that same day. Recapturing these was easy as it was just a matter of shaking them into a box.

Eventually most of the wayward bees ended up where I wanted them.

Settled into their new home the bees were happy and so were we. Another successful round up.

It was a simple plan, dig the ground, plant some seeds and publish anything of merit on the web. Anyone who has visited my blog over the last couple of years will know that its become a little more than a garden blog. I’ve dug over a lot of dirt and squashed squillions of bugs since that morning however Ive enjoyed every moment.

Well almost every moment ….

Like any gardener I’m certainly not immune from the occasional trials and tribulations that nature dishes out.

Firstly there was the case of the mauled and missing potatoes.

It was a lovely sunny October afternoon and surprisingly I had persuaded Fraser to help me plant the potatoes. We had enough seed to plant about seven rows so whilst I dug the holes and applied the blood and bone he placed the potatoes.

After raking the soil back over the spuds and commenting to Fraser that we made a great team I was content with a job well done. Sadly that contentment was to be short lived.

Sunday morning was tranquil and still as I took my ritual wander around the back yard but that quickly changed when I spotted  potatoes scattered to the four corners of the garden. What made matters worse was that many had huge chunks taken out of them. I replanted them the best I could however the resulting rows had a few gaps in them. You can view the complete post by clicking here.

Another amusing incident was when we received an unexpected visit by a runaway weaner pig.

Can laugh about it now but at the time I was more than a “little stressed”. When I was much younger one of my tasks was to feed the pigs and I can vividly remember the resulting chaos when one of us boys forgot to shut the garden gate. Fortunately this little guy didn’t discover my garden but he did cause me a few sleepless nights.

Click here to view “Vegetables under threat from runaway weaner”.

This blog has become much more than a record of my garden as many of my “one of projects” have become a part of the Just Add Worms business.

Firstly there was that tui feeder that every one admired and which has subsequently become one of our most popular products.

The first prototype still attracts tui to our back yard (bottom centre of photo) although it has been refined and improved over the years.

Our latest deluxe version which is already proving to be popular was launched just a few months back (right of photo)

We then got worms (doctor said not to worry) and lots of wonderful juice for the garden.

Next came the bees which have been challenging and fun. Everyone loves our honey and it sold out within a matter of a few weeks. Hopefully we will have more next summer assuming our bees make it through the winter.

Lastly 8 chickens, now hens and they’re all called Jessie. Its so nice being able to collect the eggs every morning plus it reminds me of my boy hood days on the farm.

By the time I’ve written the 200th post if that comes to pass who knows what new ventures I will have taken on. My philosophy is that as long as I’m enjoying it I’ll keep trying or dreaming up new ideas.

If you feel inclined to comment please do so as we love to get feedback.

Rather than writing screeds about all that’s been happening I feel the images below will better illustrate whats been going down of late in my veggie patch.

The seed propagator shown below is made from an old shower tray I purchased on Trade Me and makes the task of germinating seeds so much easier, no more crouching or sore backs. The adjustable stays on the side means I can control the temperature and air flow stay during the day and then close at night to protect the seedlings from the cold. As the season progresses and the weather warms up. I will remove the plastic from the top as it generates too much heat however the netting remains to keep the birds and neighbourhood cats out.

Every keen vegetable gardener should have one of these but that’s a story for another day.

Several weeks back the tomato stakes went in …

Yesterday was Labour day and time to deal to all that horse manure … this will give the toms a good head start.

My seedlings go into the ground mean and lean … no unnecessary foliage and in up to their arm pits to encourage plenty of root growth.

By days end I had planted 28 seedlings … that number will increase “slightly” I suspect.

Tomato tags lest I forget … stapled and glued on.

Its not all about tomatoes … have molded the first rows of potatoes we planted and they are growing really well.

Our bees also need ongoing attention so I have plenty to keep me occupied … and of course there’s always that occasional blog post.

Great that’s another job out of the way now where did I put that string line?

Since purchasing my first bee hive in January, my fascination for bees continues to grow so to learn more about these amazing creatures, I’ve made this observation hive. Now I will be able to watch my Italian friends up close as they go about their many and varied tasks.

After undertaking considerable research on the web and consulting with fellow members of the Auckland Bee Keepers Club and others, I’ve come up with my first trial hive. I would also like to thank Trevor and Peter at Ceracell for all their help and advice.

When the club has its next fortnightly meeting, I will take the hive along so those members more experienced than I can pass judgment. At this stage the only aspect that I’m unsure about is how well the feeder that’s positioned to the right will function. Some bee keepers are saying that I may need to feed the bees through the top of the hive rather than the side, time and trial will tell.

This observation hive has been designed to be used by schools, technology institutes, universities, agricultural shows, rural field days or by down to earth folk like myself who enjoy promoting bees and bee keeping.

For those selling honey or bee products at country markets and the like I’m sure it will work “just like bees to honey”.

Recently we used an observation hive at the Auckland Bee Keepers Club stand at the Royal Easter Show and it certainly attracted those curious about bees and helped us with our honey sales.

Features of the observation hive include:

• Lower compartment to house brood frame.
• Upper compartment to house frame from honey box/super.
• Queen bee excluder separates the two frames and prevents the queen from moving to the top.
• Hinged front door allows for easy installation and removal of frames and bees.
• 4mm glass panels front and rear for easy viewing.
• Remove 4 screws and glass can be removed for cleaning.
• Sliding covers on both sides keeps the bees in the dark when not being observed. These also provide protection during transportation.
• Ventilation ports at each end help to provide adequate aeration and moisture levels.
• Easy access built in feeder.
• Top cover with easy to use reach over catches.
• Wide base ensures maximum stability.

Like all new products I intend to trial the observation bee hive to ensure that it works correctly. When I’m satisfied with the results they will be for sale via JustAddWorms “Garden Shop” as well as Trade Me and Sella.

Hopefully that won’t be too far off. In the meantime, expressions of interest are most welcome.

It was just 365 days ago that I wrote the first post for Just Add Worms, how time flies when you’re doing something that you enjoy. One year and 63 posts later, the blog and garden are both flourishing. The photo below shows the garden as it was back then.

This photo shows the garden as it is now.

Over the last year, a lot has happened to my garden; least of all its gotten bigger, much bigger. Back in November 2008,  it was 50 square metres but now its almost twice that. Looking back over the summer that is coming to an end, I’m more than satisfied with how the garden has performed.

The many hours spent shoveling horse manure and compost has paid big dividends as the soil is now nutrient rich and easy to work. It won’t be long before I’m able to boast about growing prize carrots as we all know that good soil is needed for this. I recently planted a couple of rows so watch this space.

Here in Auckland the season was slow to get going but the weather has been great over the last couple of months resulting in bumper crops of most vegetables. The most notable of these have been tomatoes, best I’ve grown in 30 years, beetroot, lettuces, potatoes and lastly pumpkins. They are still about six weeks from harvest.

The corn hasn’t been as good as last year and the onions didn’t stand a chance as they were jammed in what little space was left over and I’ve been tramping them underfoot ever since. My gardens are never big enough!

Unlike the previous year, I was better organised this year and had the majority of my seedlings underway by September. This meant that the growing season was three months longer and it certainly showed when it was time to harvest. This year I also grew a number of vegetables and herbs that were completely new to me and that has been interesting and lots of fun.

With the addition of the bath tub worm farms seven months ago and more recently a new beehive, its been a busy but enjoyable year in the veggie garden.

My plans for next year are to increase the garden by about 25 square metres and to grow more of those unusual untried varieties. After just a few months I’m addicted and fascinated by the bees, so more hives are on the cards.

“Gosh I’m gonna bee busy” ….  sorry I’m doing it again.

Also, a special thanks to my family for their ongoing help and support during the first year of Just Add Worms.

]]> http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/02/27/happy-anniversary-just-add-worms/feed/ 0 http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/02/02/pumpkins-and-the-powers-that-bee/ http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/02/02/pumpkins-and-the-powers-that-bee/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:09:56 +0000 Rodney http://www.justaddworms.com/?p=6784 On my list of favourite things to grow pumpkins come in at number 2. If you hadn’t already guessed tomatoes take out the top spot.

My philosophy for growing pumpkins is a very simple one. Find a good sunny site, dig in a generous quantity of compost and “watch em grow”. A regular watering regime is also necessary to ensure that the soil remains moist but not wet. Like most vegetables, pumpkins don’t like wet feet. Watering only the main roots as with tomatoes lessens the incidence of fungal growth and diseases such as powdery mildew.

Pumpkins are classified as a fruit and are part of the cucurbitaceae family.

If you’re new to growing pumpkins my advice is not to plant them in your main garden  as they have a tendency to take over to the detriment of everything else. An ideal growing location could be an over grown part of your garden or perhaps an area that is difficult or unsuitable for growing other vegetables. Unless you have a good amount of space forget about growing pumpkins.

I’m fortunate as we have a large section which means a separate area just for growing pumpkins. Assuming this year’s pumpkins do as well as last years they will cover most of this area and to boot will ultimately end up growing in and over the nearby cabbage trees.

Hopefully I will be able to post some more photos at harvest time around late March early April.

Growing pumpkins last year required very little effort and we ended up with a reasonable harvest but this season it’s could be a very different.

To begin with 2010 has brought with it more bird problems than usual and my pumpkins seedlings didn’t escape unscathed. The blackbirds and thrushes seemed to delight in scratching them out however some pieces of strategically placed netting solved this problem.

Now a couple of months later the pumpkins are growing well however many of the young pumpkins are changing from green to an ugly yellow and rotting off the vine. My first thought was that perhaps they were getting too much water but I now think its more likely due to not being pollinated.

There are plenty of bumble bees about and they’re busy amongst the pumpkins but there doesn’t seem to be many female flowers for them to pollinate.

Male flowers like the one below abound but as we all know “it takes two to tango”.

When I can find one the female flower looks like this.

Those female flowers that have been successfully pollinated are developing as usual, see the photos below.

This Marina di Chioggia has two pumpkins on it when in reality there should be at least four times that number. Sadly most of the female flowers have not been pollinated. When and if they reach this stage I feel comfortable that they will continue through to maturity.

This is about 10-15 days after pollination. Queensland Blue

That’s better, looking like a real pumpkin should. I’ve never grown this variety before but they came highly recommended. Purchased seed by mail order from Kings Seeds.

During this coming week I’m going to give my pumpkins a little help with some hand pollination. Don’t know how well this will work as it’s all new territory for me however it should prove to be interesting.

Watch this space for future updates.

Interesting pumpkin facts

]]> http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/02/02/pumpkins-and-the-powers-that-bee/feed/ 2 http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/01/13/return-of-the-bees/ http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/01/13/return-of-the-bees/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:11:58 +0000 Rodney http://www.justaddworms.com/?p=6464

Do you ever wonder where all the bees have gone? It’ s no easy task to find bees whereas not many years back they were everywhere plying their all important trade.

I can remember many an occasion when one of our children would come storming into the house hollering that they had trodden on a bee on the lawn. Sadly it seems those times are gone as nowadays I often wander around our lifestyle block bare footed never fearing that I may get stung.

Like all avid gardeners I notice when the bees are about but this year more than ever they seem almost non existent. Occasionally a diligent bumble bee can be seen going about it’s business but the same can’t be said for the common “garden variety” honey bee. Spotted the bumble bee below just today whilst checking the pumpkins.

Much to my delight several months ago whilst working in the vegetable garden I found myself in the midst of a massive swarm of bees, however my joy was short lived as it was only a fleeting visit. From the time it took me to sprint from the back garden to the kitchen and back again yelling to my wife as I went, “quick come look at the bees, look at the bees” they were gone.

When Rose finally made it to the laundry door she casually commented “where are they” to which I simply replied, “you were too slow, they’re gone”.

The sky was black with this massive wave of bees and they cast a eerie shadow over a large part of the back lawn, it was an incredible sight. This was the second time I have seen this phenomenon in the 11 or so years they we have lived here.

As I sat on the back deck feeling empty and rather melancholy I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be to have them stay.

How does one catch a swarm of bees as large as that, don’t know that “yet”.

I’ve been thinking about getting some hives for some time now and seeing all those magical bees certainly set me a yearning. After many weeks of repeatedly telling my family “I’m getting bees” I finally decided to take action.

Two weeks before Christmas I called the president of the Auckland Beekeeper’s Club and was advised to attend their next meeting which was set for the 9th of January.

The outing proved to be very worthwhile and enjoyable and now I’m a paid up member of the Auckland Beekeeper’s Club.

Below are some of the photos I took and no I didn’t get stung, more good luck than good management.

Inspecting the hives.

Harvesting honey.

Cup of tea and a sandwich plus opinions from the experts.

Components of Langstroth beehive … as a “beeginner” let’s see if I can get this right.

From the top:

• Metal hive cover … protects the hive.
• Inner cover … creates airspace for insulation from heat or cold.
• Honey box/super… comb building and honey production.
• Bee escape boards.
• Queen bee excluder …keeps the queen bee in the brood chambers.
  
• Brood box … queens lays eggs here and honey stored for brood food.
• Botton/ landing board … forms the floor of the hive.
• Hive stand … for stability.
  

I think that’s correct but if not please let me know. I’m sure it will all “beecome” second nature “beefore” too long.

I’ve always “beelieved” that the best way to learn is to get doing so the next step is to purchase an active bee hive. Really looking forward to doing that, should “bee” a real “buzz” sorry, I’m all excited about getting my own bees.

Hopefully by doing this the presence of the friendly honey bee will again become the norm and I will no longer be able to wander down to the garden in my bare feet. A small price to pay if it means “the return of the bees”.

Some interesting bee facts

]]> http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/01/13/return-of-the-bees/feed/ 0