Plans for planting

[Happygran]

It was everywhere in betws, could smell it before seeing it!!!! How many hives do you have happygran?

Technically none although I joined to get information on the nest in the wall under my bedroom window. This is still thriving and plans are to beekeep more formally when we have time. 2 years ago my son, his family and I bought 15 acres in Devon with a semi derelict house that had been empty for 10 years. Priority has been to make the house habitable - little things like electricity and water and some form of heat. Hope you don't mind me listening in under false pretences as I find the forum really interesting and informative in so many ways.

 

[The Poot]

Never, ours the same, although it does provide a good screen, as the neighbours at the bottom of the garden would have a birds eye view into our garden without them. But they are horrible, flipping roots throughout my borders,when they cut the tops, the branches fall onto my garden and kills everything underneath

Excellent screen considering the bees

 

[Nannysbees]

Technically none although I joined to get information on the nest in the wall under my bedroom window. This is still thriving and plans are to beekeep more formally when we have time. 2 years ago my son, his family and I bought 15 acres in Devon with a semi derelict house that had been empty for 10 years. Priority has been to make the house habitable - little things like electricity and water and some form of heat. Hope you don't mind me listening in under false pretences as I find the forum really interesting and informative in so many ways.

Not false pretences at all this forum is a wealth of information from experienced beekeepers, many have very interesting life stories and that property sounds like a dream

 

[JamezF]

Out of idle interest I just measured the temperature of our current "active" compost heap as I've not done so yet this year.

Temperatures today have been around 11°C most of the day, with a fairly stiff and cold easterly breeze. Not even the bumble bees have been flying. The compost heap however is rather toasty inside, at a smidge over 52°C. That's mainly garden and veggie plot waste, non-meat waste from the kitchen, some paper and cardboard, and grass clippings with some fallen leaves from last Autumn mixed in. I've also been putting in the occasional thin layer of scrapings from the area where we used to have our compost heaps about ten years ago that I'm clearing to make space for another greenhouse. It's fairly rich organic material with quite a few weeds (and almost certainly ungerminated seeds), so I'm putting it all through the compost to kill them all off.

James

 

[JamezF]

Oh! I forgot! Asparagus!

Of the thirty plants I planted a few weeks back, eighteen have so far made an appearance, the earliest few up reaching about 8" tall already. Very pleased with that.

James

 

[Nannysbees]

Out of idle interest I just measured the temperature of our current "active" compost heap as I've not done so yet this year.

Temperatures today have been around 11°C most of the day, with a fairly stiff and cold easterly breeze. Not even the bumble bees have been flying. The compost heap however is rather toasty inside, at a smidge over 52°C. That's mainly garden and veggie plot waste, non-meat waste from the kitchen, some paper and cardboard, and grass clippings with some fallen leaves from last Autumn mixed in. I've also been putting in the occasional thin layer of scrapings from the area where we used to have our compost heaps about ten years ago that I'm clearing to make space for another greenhouse. It's fairly rich organic material with quite a few weeds (and almost certainly ungerminated seeds), so I'm putting it all through the compost to kill them all off.

James

Do you have bins or an open area for your compost?

 

[Nannysbees]

Oh! I forgot! Asparagus!

Of the thirty plants I planted a few weeks back, eighteen have so far made an appearance, the earliest few up reaching about 8" tall already. Very pleased with that.

James

That's exciting, what's the process after they have made an appearance?

 

[JamezF]

Do you have bins or an open area for your compost?

They're three square bays about 5' to 6' on a side and 4' high. The back and sides are solid with the corners supported by wooden posts, but I use a pallet for the front with a sheet of cardboard behind it to cover the gaps. Otherwise they're open to the weather.

If I have time this year I might actually make the dividers between the bays removable, so I can turn the compost from one bay into the next more easily. Turning isn't absolutely necessary, but with a domestic heap I think it may possibly help composting progress more quickly by mixing the material up a bit better as it often tends to go into the bin in "layers" of similar stuff. I might also add another bay so there should always be one spare for turning into, although if we fill the current bay soon I might need two more bays! (Already have one that we stopped filling early in the winter.)

James

 

[JamezF]

That's exciting, what's the process after they have made an appearance?

This year sadly we just have to watch them grow whilst they establish. They get quite tall (maybe as much as six feet?) and ferny. Then in the winter once the stems have dried out I'll cut them down and probably leave them as a mulch on the bed, though I could shred them and add them to the compost.

Next year we might be able to harvest a small number of shoots and then the following year they should be ready to harvest properly. It's a bit of a drawn-out process, but I think the plants are supposed to last as much as twenty years which doesn't make it look quite so bad.

James

 

[Nannysbees]

They're three square bays about 5' to 6' on a side and 4' high. The back and sides are solid with the corners supported by wooden posts, but I use a pallet for the front with a sheet of cardboard behind it to cover the gaps. Otherwise they're open to the weather.

If I have time this year I might actually make the dividers between the bays removable, so I can turn the compost from one bay into the next more easily. Turning isn't absolutely necessary, but with a domestic heap I think it may possibly help composting progress more quickly by mixing the material up a bit better as it often tends to go into the bin in "layers" of similar stuff. I might also add another bay so there should always be one spare for turning into, although if we fill the current bay soon I might need two more bays! (Already have one that we stopped filling early in the winter.)

James

We have two compost bins but id much prefer is I had the room to do the same as you

 

[JamezF]

We have two compost bins but id much prefer is I had the room to do the same as you

The "dalek" type plastic ones?

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

They get quite tall (maybe as much as six feet?) and ferny.

Bees love the flowers

 

[Nannysbees]

The "dalek" type plastic ones?

James

Yes, bit my neighbour has the bays which I much prefer, he doesn't utilise then properly now for to ill health

 

[Erichalfbee]

Does anyone have a wormery?

 

[Hairy]

I am planning to unplant some kale, broccoli and cabbage I left from last year just to see what it did. One beetroot I left has self seeded to some extent so I'm hoping these plants will do the same. I also have a cabbage in it's third year which is one weird plant!
But anyhow, currently there a lot of flowers on them of interest to the bumbles

 

[Nannysbees]

Does anyone have a wormery?

No but I would love one

 

[JamezF]

No but I would love one

I've thought about making a wormery because it sounds like fun, but I'm not really sure how it would otherwise benefit me.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

Fertiliser for your plants. @pargyle has one

 

[JamezF]

Fertiliser for your plants.

For pot plants (that's plants in pots, not, ahem...) perhaps? Pretty much everything else gets a couple of inches of compost every year.

James

 

[Nannysbees]

How does it work?????