I could do that. I've shipped honey before, but it's actually fairly expensive since it's so heavy, so you may be better off finding someone local. We've already sold 2 gallons of this batch and it's been less than a day.
I've had nets on my blueberries since early June and on the tomatoes ever since the deer showed up. All I do is just drape the bird netting over making sure it totally encompasses the bush and that its touching the ground, preferably a little longer so they don't crawl under. My problem is birds doing flybies and taking bites out of berries that are sticking through the netting.
I picked another 5 lbs of beans and then canned 14 quarts last night. I have another 7-10 days of beans left on the plants right now and then I'll plant my 2nd round. If I get them in by the end of July, they'll be ready to pick in mid September.
I've been having some trouble with a couple of my hives losing queens, so I ordered some new ones. When I went into one of the hives there were eggs all over the place, so I guess they finally grew a queen. Then another hive still had some queen cells, so I decided to do a wait and see on that hive. So I ended up splitting one of the other hives and putting one of the new queens in each split.
I know honey bees are pretty docile but have always wondered is it true that you get used to the stings? I imagine that working with them constantly you have to get popped every now and again? Honey bees, mason bees and bumblebees don't bother me at all but fuck wasps and hornets.
I wouldn't say you get used to their stings. I've only been stung once this year, but I go in suited up. I know one guy that goes with nothing, in shorts, no gloves, no veil. He hardly ever gets stung. He's been keeping bees for 60 years though.
After the past few days of just getting a couple blueberries here and there, it appears that my bushes are about done. Fortunately my cherry tomato seems about as happy as can be and I am getting a couple a day from it now and it keeps growing new blooms. Another one of the tomato plants, I don't know what kind it is, is doing well and getting rather tall and today I noticed buds on it for the first time after the deer feast a month ago.
Picked the last of my first round of cantaloupe today. My watermelon's just about ready to pick. The next round of cantaloupe/watermelon are starting to grow now. Still getting a handful of blueberries each day and the cherry/grape tomatoes are coming in heavy now.
I picked 6 lbs of beets and 2 more lbs of beans yesterday. Total on beans so far this year is 17 lbs and change. I've got one more picking, which will yield at least another 5-6 lbs and then I'll be replanting them for the late harvest. I was disappointed in the beets, though. I decided to try Early Wonder because they have a quicker time to maturity than the Detroits. They were racquet ball sized when I picked them, but they were already woody and the flavor wasn't nearly as vibrant as the Detroits. Next year, I'll be going back to the Detroit Deep Reds again.
It's so damn hot no tomatoes are setting. Considering cutting old growth back and hitting with fert after June's tomatoes ripen and praying for an August miracle.
They sit about 1/2 way above the ground. You'll see when they're ready. Make sure you pick them before they get too big. If they get too big, they will have a woody stem in the middle. Each seed will produce up to 5 seedlings, so make sure to space them at least 1-2" apart.
Anything I can do to get my tomatoes to ripen up. I have got to have 100 green tomatoes on the vines right now with not one sign of any of them ripening
A couple of things: 1. Stop watering them. If the plants keep getting water, they'll keep telling the fruits to grow, rather than ripen. 2. Cut the suckers off. Pruning will let the plant devote more energy and emphasis to the fruits rather than to new leaves. I've heard that some people stress the plant by cutting the roots, forcing it to realize the end is near and speeding up the ripening process. I'm still skeptical of that, though. Also, most tomatoes won't produce the pigment that makes them turn red if the temps are consistently over 85 degrees. If your temps are still higher than that, just give it some time.
I melted down the wax cappings from extracting honey this weekend and strained it to get clean bees wax. Plan on using it for candles, woodworking, back in the beehives, and possibly lip balm.
So are the beans. You need to pick them before they get too seedy and stringy. Nice looking garden, though.
A. That's why I shot him in the back of his head B. Gonna need the opossum kick story please and thank you
One was on my porch one day. Tried to karate kick it. He mean mugged me. Tried to hit it with a stick. He mean mugged me and hissed. I pee'd myself.
I checked on my bees that I added the queens to. Two of the new queens were doing great, one just so so, probably because of the situation I put her in. New eggs And one of the queens
I felt like this post should be separate. A guy called me about a hive under a single wide. I've never done a cut out, but figured since it's exposed it would be easy. I was wrong. This was a really big hive and stretched even farther than the pictures show. I also had to bend over or kneel down and reach up above me. It was a lot harder than I thought and I was dead tired in the end after being in the 94 degree weather suited up. I feel bad because I kind of feel like I butchered the hive getting them out, but it's better than them getting killed. I ended up filling two boxes worth of frames full of brood and a 5 gallon bucket full of honey. There was honey everywhere on the ground after, I just left the new hive there and hopefully all the bees will collect it and go the hive. I think I got the queen in there but I'm not sure. In this picture, you can see newer comb on the right. That's how bees build their comb in the wild. That's all honey. The picture doesn't show it well but the top of the picture is a 2x8 and I had to reach up and try and cut the comb off with thousands of pissed off bees. The big blob in the center is the main comb that is stacked up like the ones on the right. There were probably 10-12 layers of it, again up a 2x8 out of the picture. You can see the steel I-beam in the back of the picture. I thought the hive ended there, but they ended up having 8-10 combs of (thankfully) honey. I didn’t bother trying to get it into frames but I kind of made pulp out of a lot of it trying to get it out, while laying down in the middle of all the pissed off bees. Also forgot this picture. You can see some more of the big comb in this one.
And FYI, if you have zucchini, get a spiral slicer and make some zucchini pasta. Pretty good, filling, and light compared to normal pasta.
agreed. I own a .22 caliber pellet gun that busts at 1400 FPS. It has slayed many a opossum and raccoon in the yard.
Gf bought one of these weeks ago. Haven't used it but will try it out soon Ive become a big fan of zucchini recently
A lot of the bees from that hive I cut out didn't go to the hive, so I obviously didn't get the queen. The guy called me today and said he found the bees that disappeared nearby in some brush. I went over and they were hanging on to a bunch of blackberry vines and just on the ground below that. I knocked several bunches of bees into the new hive box and the rest just started to march in. I managed to get some pretty cool video of it.
Late update. 19 dead squirrels later and the maters are finally ripening. This guy is a Boar tomato from Baker Creek.
Got another couple bush celebrity tomatoes. These are the first in a while since the deer ravaged my tomato plants. All four of my plants seem to be very happy now that it's hot out.
I checked on the bees I caught Sunday. There were too many for the box I had them in and they were bearding out the front, so I moved them to a bigger box. Found the queen and she's laying well so far.
We have enough zucchini for 3 lifetimes. The plants started as seeds, and now cover 40% of our garden. Going to pick some of the flowers this weekend, stuff them, then fry them. Found out about zucchini noodles, which are my current go-to. Thinking of making a few loaves of zucchini bread and freezing them for longer-term access. Tomatoes are coming in, but wife picked some too early. Fried green tomatoes it is. The rest are going to be late summer and require making a shitload of sauce and/or canned salsa for this winter. Peppers? Got a few, same with carrots. Time for some stir fry. Squash? Enough for months. Going to store this in the basement for winter eating. Going to freeze dry some of the dill we have, as there's enough to choke a horse. A few more green beans were picked, too. The cabbage are coming in, but need some time. Didn't look at some other items (onions, cucumbers, peppers, pumpkins) - it was overwhelming as it was.