Search results

I like using pine needles as the main fuel. I clean the smoker once a year, to clean off the tar, but it's never really a problem as far as I'm concerned. Paper animal feed and potato sacks make a good starter fuel.

I just use double-sided tape. As Curly says, if you have a slab in one piece that fits well it doesn't need much. If you get your Kinspan from local skips you may have to piece together a few bits, in which case I still stick it with double-sided tape but I put a bit of aluminium tape over...

I just use a wooden roof, albeit a deep one, but I have a sheet of 50mm Kingspan permanently stuck inside the roof all year round, and I add another layer of 50mm Kingspan in an eke on top of the crown board over winter too. So of course, you can use Abelo poly roofs if you've got them, but...

I had the same problem of powder jumping out of the pan as it heated, and like you tried new OA that definitely wasn't damp - it made no difference. I also modified the pan with an extended metal lip around it to stop so much powder from escaping, but I still wasn't satisfied that a full dose...

I'd love to deceive you all with a photo like this: but in reality it would be much closer to this: Ho hum, nevermind ;)

MATCHSTICKS...

I used to use a pan, and didn't need anything like 4 minutes to vaporise all of the OA, 2 minutes was sufficient. I actually tested it out in the open to see how long it took to vaporise a full dose. I could also do a full course of 5 vape treatments on all my hives (albeit only 2 hives at...

If a wooden frame comes apart you can nail it back together and if a part of the frame breaks you can either make a repair or replace the part. So ultimately I think wood will always be longer lasting than plastic which once bent or broken is less easily repaired. Plus wood is cheaper!

Pretty windy today, but a very warm 20C so the bees are out en masse!

Plus, since you've been feeding syrup and fondant whilst the half-filled - now full - super was on, even without the Apivar, you probably wouldn't have wanted to consume it since it won't be real honey.

Lots of places do them, just search for 'double-walled mug boxes', but there are several sellers on Ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353414999766?hash=item52492ceed6:g:B1EAAOSwAcdgSIHk

It doesn't sound like it's the beekeeping that has beaten you, just the location you're beekeeping in. Can you move your hives elsewhere? I can't imagine trying to keep bees on an allotment - surrounded by keen gardeners regularly spending hours so close to my hives - it's less than ideal...

I noticed Show Me The Honey on iPlayer over the weekend, so thought I'd watch an episode or two. So typical of beekeeping that two of the nucs the children were given to build up during the season swarmed in the first week or two and that another looks like it's got a drone laying queen...

I've actually just bought some double-walled packaging boxes designed for sending mugs. They're a good size for a jar of honey, with a bit of shredded card/paper around it, and I can fit in a honey dipper and a pack of wildflower seeds too. I'm trying to avoid using any bubble wrap, so the...

The whole thread is here just as it's always been. Nothing has disappeared. Patrick just put the code in the title thread and a thumbs up as the content of his post.

Thank you! :)

Leaving the poly option aside, when it comes to wooden hives it's worth investing in cedar in my opinion. Your hive boxes should go on for years and years and years, and there's a big difference between pine and cedar when it comes to longevity, even if you do treat. Have you looked at seconds...

They are quite prolific, but as far as I'm concerned a big strong colony is always a good thing. I keep my bees on double brood, simply because they need the extra space, a single standard national brood box is not quite enough for them. So from that point of view, as a beginner you'll need to...

You'll find every beekeeper has their preferred strains of bees, and they're usually pretty vocal about their reasons. I started with Buckfasts, and they've been great. Good honey producers, big colonies, and friendly too. Of course no two queens are the same, so it will depend where you get...

We use copper rings around the base of the climbing french beans, courgettes etc. every year. Definitely works to stop the slugs eating them in our garden, but how much of this is down to the properties of the copper metal and how much is just the physical barrier which they prefer to avoid I...