Apple trees galore!

[Tremyfro]

It's a lovely day here...so the morning was spent clearing horse droppings from one of the paddocks. Whilst we were busy one of our neighbours came into his field on his grizzly...we see him daily tending his stock but are usually too far away to wave...and he wears ear defenders too.
Anyway...he stopped to say hello.....we have only been here two years...acceptance at last I thought!
During our chat it transpired his wife keeps bees too...yay a local beekeeper. More exciting though we discovered he planted 250 apple trees a few years ago for his cider business. Just over the bank in one of his fields. Which is why we hadn't spotted them.
How about that....how lucky are we? My spring honey last year has willow, OSR and top fruit...guess where the top fruit came from?
Has anyone else discovered secret forage?

 

[hedgehog66]

I have just descoved 50 qcres of OSR less than 1 mile from where i regularly catch swarms.
Girls are busy packing their bikinis andvgoing on their hols mid week
Flowers are just starting to open
Very lucky find

 

[Tremyfro]

That is wonderful. There doesn't seem to be much OSR around here this year. I did see a few fields but I think they are too far for my girls.

 

[Robbo8916]

I have just descoved 50 qcres of OSR less than 1 mile from where i regularly catch swarms.
Girls are busy packing their bikinis andvgoing on their hols mid week
Flowers are just starting to open
Very lucky find

Anglesey again? Lol

A farner just behind our house has given over a few acres to wildflower.

My girls won't know where to go first! Getting exciting now Kath!

 

[linoleum bonypart]

My Victoria plum is at that critical stage where frost is a dsnger

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My Victoria plum is at that critical stage where frost is a dsnger

I find my plums very susceptible to frost.

 

[Millet]

I find my plums very susceptible to frost.

My plums are insulated so cold is not a problem,

 

[Poly Hive]

2014 I discovered I had 28 Lime trees with in 500 yds of the apiary.

One colony brought in 220 lbs of comb honey alone. I sold the CC in bulk and made a honey warmer and spun the rest out in a spin drier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XehRwof480


Happy days.

PH

 

[Tremyfro]

So much of what the bees find is unknown to us...unless you walk over everyone's land!

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

I find my plums very susceptible to frost.

Try kingspan in the kecks.

Dusty

 

[BeeJuice]

I've got plumb blossom galore but the bees fly right past it - to God knows where. Makes me wonder whether I'm wasting my time with the wildflower beds I'm planting for them.

 

[Tremyfro]

My daughter planted loads of bee friendly plants in her garden....this year they are more interested...but then there is no OSR within easy reach.

 

[pargyle]

I've got plumb blossom galore but the bees fly right past it - to God knows where. Makes me wonder whether I'm wasting my time with the wildflower beds I'm planting for them.

Keep the faith ... bees are opportunist - if there is a good source of nectar or pollen and it's more than about 25 feet away from them they will find it - if there's something better a bit further away then they will go there instead.

I have a pond with lots of loostrife around it .. when it's in full bloom my bees are all over it. I have Ivy in the garden and when that's in bloom they are all over that .. I have a patch of wildflowers (Pollinator mix) ... but only ever see a handful of bees on it ... I think their time and motion experts check the flying time against the forage load and they get a rollicking if they are not maximising efficiency !

Either way you are doing your bit for pollinators and other insects in general - that's enough on its own.

What you could do is seed some Phacellia and some Borage in clumps amongst the meadow as they are absolute Bee magnets.

 

[Obee1]

So much of what the bees find is unknown to us...unless you walk over everyone's land!

Went to visit my farm hives yesterday. Arrived to find 20 people with enormous rucksacks on their backs traipsing right past my hives (yes even the meanies - I was worried the bees would attack them just like they got me and nantmoel recently) and then take a short cut through the middle of the crop! Seems walking over people's land is quite common.
My farmer grows apples but no idea how far away from the field i'm using.

 

[BeeJuice]

Keep the faith ... bees are opportunist - if there is a good source of nectar or pollen and it's more than about 25 feet away from them they will find it - if there's something better a bit further away then they will go there instead.

The bumble bees seem to have a much better appreciation for my hard work - however, since yesterday, for whatever reason, the bees are now interested in my plumb tree..

 

[Tremyfro]

Went to visit my farm hives yesterday. Arrived to find 20 people with enormous rucksacks on their backs traipsing right past my hives (yes even the meanies - I was worried the bees would attack them just like they got me and nantmoel recently) and then take a short cut through the middle of the crop! Seems walking over people's land is quite common.
My farmer grows apples but no idea how far away from the field i'm using.

Lots of rucksackers along our right of way path too.....it's that time of year when the DofE groups do their orienteering before being left up on the mountains. Ours were lost just walking down the drive!
You should take a look at the paths shown on the OS map for where you have your hives. Then if they were straying you can redirect them.

 

[Millet]

Lots of rucksackers along our right of way path too.....it's that time of year when the DofE groups do their orienteering before being left up on the mountains. Ours were lost just walking down the drive!
You should take a look at the paths shown on the OS map for where you have your hives. Then if they were straying you can redirect them.

My hive is at the end of a dead end half mile track with no through fare at all for other than the few who live there, we used to get ramblers and mountain bike folk arriving as there was a public footpath sign at the beginning of the track leading to a bridle way what everyone kept walking past, for some strange reason that foot path sign disappeared and know one comes snooping about now.

 

[Tremyfro]

Our ramblers have to walk past the muck heap now...until we can get it moved...still it is the countryside after all.

 

[Millet]

Our ramblers have to walk past the muck heap now...until we can get it moved...still it is the countryside after all.

Drive through the edge muck heap in a tractor a few times when its raining to make a quagmire that usually helps

 

[Erichalfbee]

D of E is good for the kids and it's good that town folk get out into the countryside; fill their lungs with all that fresh air.
It's when they move there that the trouble starts