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Well he is giving the swarm away at the moment so why not still give it away and as now he ends up with the new queen. He is happy with the honey he is getting so no change really.

I think that you have overlooked one thing. You use a queen excluder which is fine but what that does is restrict the queen's laying space and that can be a real driver of swarming not necessarily the availability of the space to the entire colony although super space is a help. Rather than...

Wax moth is a real pain if you get an attack. I store my frames wet in an old freez) er (one freezer works the other doesn't so the super frames get wrapped in a sheet of newspaper two per sheet, and when filled froen for 48 hours plus. Move them to the non working freezer and put the rest in...

The blackberries in Somerset seem reluctant to open their flower buds but there are loads of them and with some good weather forecast we may rescue the honey harvest up to a point depending on how well the colonies built up during the cool wet weather.

Lift it p and have a look - simples!

My rhubarb had its early spurt then slowed but has decided to crack on in the past two weeks. My wife cooks it with honey - I am not keen as I prefer it with a little sugar when stewing. The biggest advantage is that I am medically varroa-free. Now I wonder about the leaves on the top of the...

If you feed starving colonies in an apiary how much danger is there of robbing as they will all be on the look out for easy pickings? In which case can feeding do more harm than good?

Don't underestimate the strength of the vacuum. It is amazing how little vacuum you need to suck up a bee. I made a vac with 4M of tubing using two 12Vcar vacuums into the lid of a bucket and varroa mesh as the barrier to prevent them getting sucked into the hoover. Even with all that the...

Lettuce doing fin, cabbages good, cauliflowers getting along, runners and french beans improving, sweet peas making a move, rhubarb OK, broad beans in flower but slow to fill, beetroot disappointing - just the slow result of the weather we have had. I think it will all catch up. Hope the bees...

For my loganberries, in the spring before any new growth gets started I paint a splodge of white emulsion paint at the base of the previous years growth. It makes it really easy to identify what needs to be pruned in the autumn and what to leave.

Yes - but that's old age too!!

If you die of copper sulphate poisoning do the flames turn blue in the crematorium?

I can't imagine Trump ever reforming. His agenda is drill, frack and pollute all he can. What a world we have created. And look at the people we have chosen to run it. I do feel (sadly) that in five years nothing will have changed - don't fear for myself but concern for the future generations.

Thanks for the endorsement Drex - much appreciiated.

June gap and poor weather perfect storm! May be picking up here now.

I guess that 3% is 30ml water to 1kg sugar?

Loganberries are starting to ripen but a good 2 weeks later than normal. The birds are having tp be patient. I generally keep them off with a fleece cover and it also helps the ripening with the extra bit of warmth - especially needed this year. Broad beans look good but flowers not being...

Busy few days (including an electricity ring main problem) but have now made a few more of the uncappers so back in stock if anyone wants one. Lets hope the weather picks up to get it used!

There is a great deal of comment from around the country about what is and isn't flowering ,in particular the state of brambles . However I have been surprised about the lack of discussion about one of our main potential crops - clover. Where I have my apiary in Somerset there is generally a...

Mmmm - come to Somerset and it's famine and famine weather so far and no sign of feast, Sitting here tonight with the wood burner on!!!