Honey Time

Well, the bees have been working hard and we decided to steal some of their lovely honey.  Extracting for the first time was a lot of fun...

Frames of honey removed from the hive.

A borrowed basket-style extractor.

I am admiring the bees' handiwork.  Smells good!

Uncapping the comb with an uncapping fork. Next comes loading the extractor, spinning out the honey, letting it settle in the tank below for a day or more, then finally, bottling.

Some jars 'o honey... From 11 frames we harvested almost 40 lbs of honey!  Thank you, bees.

Dogwoods and dandelion are blooming and asparagus spears are poking up. Its that special time of spring. In the garden, we are mowing and turning under the cover crops that have grown since the fall (hairy vetch and winter rye). Then we will cover with newspaper and compost until planting time, giving the organic matter time to break down and feed the soil. I planted an apple tree (Pink Lady) last weekend. Will give her a photo shoot soon. Happy spring everyone!

Pollen Party

Some bees with dandelion pollen, some with maple...it doesn't matter what kind of pollen you are into, the party is ON!

Well....hellloooo pretty lady!

Water? The Ladies turn their noses up at the water I provide for them near the hive. They prefer to alight on potted seedlings and suck water from the soil mix. Good thing we use organic methods!

Its 70 degrees!

Garlic is up in full force as the picture shows and lettuce, spinach, cilantro, and more that overwintered at Garden Dreams is full grown and hiding under row cover to beat the heat!

This weekend it was in the 70s and I was able to look in on our two beehives. Spotted the queen in Hive A as we call it, waddling around doing her thing and lots of healthy brood and young bees to prove she has been hard at work. I didn't see the queen in Hive B, but saw plenty of proof that she was hard at work as well. Both hives are bringing in orange, yellow, and green pollen from maple, weeds, and whatever else they can find that is blooming. And boy are they finding it...as I watched them this morning they were bringing in huge loads. Very cool.

Powdery Mildew Comes to Visit

Powdery mildew is a fungus that loves warmth, moisture, and lower light. It appears as a greyish dusting on leaves and saps nutrients from its plant host. Whenever I overwinter my rosemary plants inside, they get powdery mildew. Last season at Garden Dreams, we tried out several home remedies and preventions for powdery mildew, and they worked quite well. There are many versions out there, but below are the formulas that worked well for us. Mix in a spray bottle and shake well before each use.

I used a cycle of baking soda spray one week, neem oil spray the next week, and milk spray the next week to control the mildew. Baking soda spray did seem to be a good preventative on suceptable plants such as the cucumber family, rosemary, and tarragon.

1. Baking Soda Preventative Spray: 1 heaping T baking soda, 1 T veg oil, 1 T unscented dishwashing soap (optional), 1 gallon warm water. Shake well and spray. Leaves a white residue.

2. Neem Oil Spray (not a home remedy but it works well)

3. Vinegar Fungicide: 3 T apple cider vinegar, 1 T molasses, 1 gallon water. Shake well and spray when temperatures are cool.

4. Milk Spray: 1 part milk to 9 parts water - works best when plants are in sun - spray when sun is shining.

Celery & Horseradish!

Horseradish! Armoracia rusticana So cute - like a creature.

Some celery, variety Utah 52 - 70. Despite blanching it with plastic collars, it's still a tad more bitter than grocery store celery but still good. Very strong celeryey flavor. Next year I'm going to try growing in tight rows and blanching it with boards leaned against the rows as I read in an old gardening book.

From left to right: dried cayenne, hot pepper mix, tomatoes, sweet peppers, garlic, and tomatoes. I highly recommend the Excalibur 5 tray dehydrator. A gift from my folks last year...it is just awesome!

Dug the horseradish...but its more pungent when its dormant, so going to try throwing it in the fridge for 2 weeks like Bert suggests here . He has all kinds of good horseradish tips. One root is still in the ground though so we will try digging it later. Maybe not growing much but holding well under hoops and row cover at the garden: leeks, scallions, chard, arugula, lettuce, kales, collards, mizuna, mustard, and parsley.

It was in the mid 50s today so I checked on the beehives for what might be the last time in awhile. I made them some bee fondant - sugar and water, heated, whipped, and poured into molds, that I placed on the top bars in the hives. Even though we didn't harvest honey, one hive got robbed in October of 8 frames of their honey. When nectar is not flowing and winter is nearing, honeybees are on the prowl to extra extra stock up for winter. Just as I had read, I came to look at their honey stores and where there used to be honey, there was chewed away wax cappings and empty honeycomb. My ladies must have been so pissed! I had the top of the hive vented to let out moisture but apparently also let in robbers. To remedy this, we notched the inner cover for a vent and placed screen over it. Hard to picture if one isn't familiar with hives - I will post some beehive drawings soon. The fondant is a poor substitute, but hopefully it will get them through.