First post in 12 months. How time flies.

This is the allotment as of yesterday

beetroot in the foreground going to seed, parsnip at the back, going to seed, an apple tree just to the left

the allotment

at the back of the parsnips are some golden gourmet shallots (down the left of the shot), garlic and some leeks left over from last winter. In the background is a gooseberry bush, well two actually.

This is bottom of the allotment (where the shot was taken of the flowering parsnips, two chairs weighted down and ground that needs clearing. At the back are hawthorn trees, I layered the ones directly behind the chairs in winter as that was just bare soil.

This is common mullen (I am told) Verbascum thapsus. It started growing and I thought it looked nice, so I left it. It apparently can make flower spits 6ft tall in its second year, bring it on.

Verbascum Thapsis

After a very cold and wet April start of May, this was the grape vine in the greenhouse, wilting with the heat!!!

the vine

This is the Victoria plum tree. Last year it was in a pot and produced about 20plus great tasting plums. This winter  it went in the ground and I am hoping for lots more plums

At the base of the plum tree from left to right is strawberries (yellow flower in the middle if a poppy), poached eggs plants and then chives

This is a colony at the bottom of my garden. A rather strange tale in that I picked up the swarm a few weeks ago, I then thought they all died but later were resurrected and now a thriving small colony. I might post a full account later on.

This was yesterday morning, me and Duncan were moving some bees (well this is one of four colonies we moved)

the bees in a box

Weather yesterday in Wakefield, England was very hot and sunny (20 degrees C plus)

The vine is showing some shoots

The grape vine that was in a bucket last year and gave me 3 (I think) bunches of grapes has been sunk in the ground at last. I dug it in during the Winter time whilst it was dormant and very cold. I also split it in two as there were two main stalks coming out of the bucket. Both plants are doing fine now and growing.

This is main vine, shaped in to a V shape so I can have a stem down either side of the greenhouse attached to a wire. During Winter before being split I removed 90% of last years growth back to the main stems.

When I planted it in the ground it got lots of bone, blood and fish meal thrown in and mixed up. The only down side to my greenhouse is that it is in to much shade. no choice about that sadly.

This is a shot of the second vine in a tub. I will find a home for this plant. The variety has no name as the original plant was grown from a seed by my Uncle Peter in the early 1970's. It does produce nice grapes though

Check out my full endeavours with this vine on my wiki

This is my second vine. The variety is "Boskoop Glory" and was developed in the Dutch town of  Boskoop in the early 1900's. This variety is black and recommended for growing outside in the UK. It stands at about may be 4ft tall at the moment as the other 4 ft got removed due to mould growing on it. Seems to have done the trick as it is showing strong shoots.

Check out my wiki entry here on my endeavours so far at growing Boskoop Glory

The long term plan is to grow it along a strong wire towards the house and have it growing along the front of the house on more support wires. Well that's the plan.

the weather is Wakefield today has been warm and sunny

Check out my website here with this blog on there, growing guides and a gardening forum

Flowers in the garden

The chives are always very reliable on producing flowers this time of year. I have 2 clumps at the moment, one in the garden in open soil and these in a pot. Flowers and edible. you cant beat it.

This is my blue berry bush and boy is it small sat in a 5inch red plastic pot but with this amount of flowers I might eventually get some blueberries. I have layered a stem in to another pot just to the left on the picture, I layered it back end of last year and intend to leave it this year in the hope it will root. This variety is called goldtraube and is self fertile. It is planted in ericaceous compost (acidic compost) which blueberries love. I have a second blueberry plant variety bluecrop which is also self fertile. Although they are both self fertile blueberries fruit better when 2 varieties are present.

The last flower today is a blue iris, well not quite in flower but nearly there. I have just potted this in to a larger planter and it is situated next to the half barrel pond. It looks natural in my opinion.

the weather is Wakefield today is warm and sunny

Check out my website here with this blog on there, growing guides and a gardening forum

Red Haven Peach produces in third year!!!

The title is a little bit over the top. I have two small peaches appearing so far. (I counted 5 flowers a month or so back). this is the first time any fruit has appeared on the tree since purchase (acquired from either aldi or lidl)

The peach is a red haven and is still in a 15litre ex paint bucket. It is kept very well watered and this is a picture of a baby red haven peach

This next shot is of the family frog. Last year we had two in the half barrel pond in the back garden, so far this year we only have one (and no frog spawn seen earlier in the year either) but there is always next year.

The strawberry plants are all in flower. In the rear garden I have some June bearers and a perpetual (or ever bearer) called Albion. This is a shot of Albion. In the front garden there is also the June bearers growing, the ones at the front only get sun till 11am in the morning but these are also in flower and produce nice strawberries. My short guide here on staking strawberry runners

the weather in Wakefield in the words of Bernard Matthews... "beautiful" or is it "booooootyful"

 Click here to view my gardening forum

My Kiwi is blooming, blooming marvelous

Well I have waited 3 years from buying my kiwi  plant "actinidia arguta issai" from Aldi I think and I think it is starting to bloom. it is still in an old Morrisons type flower bucket and I still dont know where I am going to put it this year but I must find some where.

I dont know how many buds there are but I reckon may be 40 plus and the plant is about 8ft tall and growing rapidly.

I have started to feed the plant with a hydroponics solution feed that I had left over from about 3years ago. At the time I tried growing tomatoes in a hydroponics set up with plant feed from the hydroponicum (this is there website) I had mixed results, generally positive but at the time I thought I could have been better. I was inspired at the time because I had been there and it was great fun.


My next plant in flower is the wisteria "prolific" again it is still in a very small plant pot (may be a 2litre pot), Again this need finding a permenent home but I think it has started flowering. Awesome. I love wisteria flowers so they will be good to see.

Both plants are about 3years old, I cannot remember exactly and both are looking healthy.  I need to find them a permanent home the trouble is though that down the side of my garage I currently have a rose, another kiwi, a passion flower, a grape vine and 2 clematis, non very big but all taking up room.

This is the rose. I have been trying to kill it off for the last 4 years with no success. I think it is a wild rose. As I seem to be a total failure on the rose murder front I accepted defeat and put a trellis up, the bird feeder has always been there and I will say the birds seem to appreciate the rose being there for extra cover.

Wakefield today has been cool compared with the last couple of weeks, a short rain shower tonight dampened the ground and over all very pleasant

 Click here to view my gardening forum

My first Swarm of the season... Awesome doesn't even come close!!!

Got a call yesterday afternoon (22nd April 2011) from Duncan at my association asking me to pick up a swarm near where I live, I was advised it was in a tree but the house occupier had a ladder. So having prepared the car and required kit a few days previously off I went.

This is what I found. It looks high up, because it was. Well 20ft maybe 25ft.

The plan was to put the ladder to the left of the swarm, climb up and lop the branch the were on and holding the branch with swarm attached bring those girls down to earth. That was the plan. 

Due to excitement, I did not take many pictures. but below is a close up

 

Well what actually happened was this.... the ladder went up. so far so good. I went up with branch loppers. this plan is coming together. I cleared the branches that were in the way to make room for me and lopped the branch off the bees were on. this is the point where the plan failed and if I might say so, with style and finesse. That branch with those bees on is how can I put this, bloody heavy. I stayed on the ladders, that's good. the branch when I could not hold it due to the weight, hit the floor. Bees how ever have wings and flew. They were every where. They did look great but that was not the plan.

I came down and watched with the house holder who commented they looked like that when the flew in before. Did they now.

Now is the part for patience. I waited may be half an house and they settled on an old picket fence underneath the tree. Some good luck. At this point I brushed them in to a national brood box and strapped it up. The opening was left open and I came away (leaving the box)

I went back at dusk that evening knowing that all stray bees would have gone in the box with the queen, I stuffed the hole with some sponge and took the bees to my apiary, once the hive was sited, the sponge was removed and I now need to go and check on them.

With this swarm, the cut out and the two colonies from over Winter I am now at 4 colonies and it is only 24th April (mindst you one colony has a failing/failed queen so really I have 3 healthy colonies I hope)

bees on the hive entrance 22nd April 2011

A shot of Apis Melifera "Yorkshire" IE Mongrel going in to my hive at my apiary. This is the strongest of the two that went in to Winter. the other one I believe the queen has failed due to a distinct lack of brood. A shame but that is the natural circle of life and what I am now left with is survivors or the best of the rest.