Saturday, January 30, 2010
Hello!
I've been thinking for a while that I would like to separate out my blog into a personal one, and a (mostly) gardening one. I originally started my blog as a way of semi keeping in touch with family and friends, as I am very bad at using phone. But I do like also to blog about garden etc and would like to do that more regularly without boring those who really only come to look at cute pics of the kids. So being in a quandry about what to write it would all become too difficult and I'd do nothing at all. And then I started to become more conscious of my children's privacy, especially as they grow older. So anyway, the plan is to make this blog 'private' so I will need to give you access to read it. I think you will need a google/gmail account to log in to it. I'm hoping that's not too much of a pain. And then I'm going to start another blog 'Island Gardening' which will be open to all.
So! If you are still following, if you would like to continue to have access to this blog leave me a comment or email me islandgardening@gmail.com I won't close this one until I have set up the public one.
xChristy
I've been thinking for a while that I would like to separate out my blog into a personal one, and a (mostly) gardening one. I originally started my blog as a way of semi keeping in touch with family and friends, as I am very bad at using phone. But I do like also to blog about garden etc and would like to do that more regularly without boring those who really only come to look at cute pics of the kids. So being in a quandry about what to write it would all become too difficult and I'd do nothing at all. And then I started to become more conscious of my children's privacy, especially as they grow older. So anyway, the plan is to make this blog 'private' so I will need to give you access to read it. I think you will need a google/gmail account to log in to it. I'm hoping that's not too much of a pain. And then I'm going to start another blog 'Island Gardening' which will be open to all.
So! If you are still following, if you would like to continue to have access to this blog leave me a comment or email me islandgardening@gmail.com I won't close this one until I have set up the public one.
xChristy
Well it has been a while since I was here. We've been tootling along here though and managed to accomplish Christmas up North, time with kids at beach house, and looking after the paying guests and vineyard. I've just come up from stitching holes together in the nets in the vineyard. Nets went on this week, thanks to a mammoth effort by M and his small team of workers (Fit looking German backpacker guy 'I've never had such a hard days work in my life!'). Accommodation has been busy, with February forward bookings shaping up to be a record year - I think we've currently got about 3 or 4 nights when we don't have guests. I'm currently trying to psych myself up for another month of being crazy busy. Not complaining AT ALL. But does help to hold onto the thought that come June we will have earnt a whole month off.
Garden is dry(!) and just keeping it going at the moment. I would say a medium successful year as far as vege output goes. Had some dramatic failures include those expensive grafted tomatoes I bought. However the grafted eggplant is doing particularly well, with large fruit about to be picked. Successfully grew non bitter cucumbers yay! Pumpkin and melon patch doing reasonably well, but battling the pukeko at the moment. I do have a large net to go over it but haven't managed to get that job done yet. Chook house has been painted (see photo below), and chook run built, now just have to find some chooks to buy. Sold all my female ducklings (and one male) but still have 7 boys. Eight out of twelve ducklings were male! Not quite sure what's going to happen to them, someone's dinner I'm sure. but don't know if I could face consuming them. Have to deal with them soon, otherwise my three girls are going to get hassled a lot. Bees seem happy, need to put another honey box on each hive. Bought a child's bee suit off trade me, as soon as I've mended it Alex is going to come and do a check with me. Have done a sticky board monitor for varroa but couldn't see anything (fingers crossed).
Here's some random photos from the summer so far.
Poppa's amazing Christmas present to Alex. 'Primrose Cottage' for Alex to built complete with proper plans, bricks, and everything else you need.
Here's some of plans.
Poppa's amazing Christmas present to Alex. 'Primrose Cottage' for Alex to built complete with proper plans, bricks, and everything else you need. Here's some of plans.
My favourite pic from Christmas: Alex talking on the phone to his Uncle in Canada while his little sister paints his toenails. 
Saturday, December 19, 2009
A rather lengthy garden update
...because there is so much happening at the moment! We came back from our Melbourne jaunt to find the garden in full production, and a vineyard out of control. M tamed the vineyard over several (very hot) days, while I squeezed minutes (and sometimes even hours) here and there to do all the summer gardening jobs (more mulch, weeding, tying up tomatoes, planting, watering etc etc).
The berry season is in full swing. We are picking 1.5 - 2 kg a day at the moment. I do love the colours of berries - every time I pick a bowl full I want to take a photo of them.
Here's some red raspberries, my favourite I think. I'm just keeping the rust at bay with a weekly baking soda spray. Well that's the theory anyway.
Black raspberries, with a few yellow ones. The yellow raspberries get going gradually - last year they produced mostly in February, and kept going till June.
And there is nothing quite like a perfectly ripe boysenberry. 
The berry season is in full swing. We are picking 1.5 - 2 kg a day at the moment. I do love the colours of berries - every time I pick a bowl full I want to take a photo of them.
Here's some red raspberries, my favourite I think. I'm just keeping the rust at bay with a weekly baking soda spray. Well that's the theory anyway.
Black raspberries, with a few yellow ones. The yellow raspberries get going gradually - last year they produced mostly in February, and kept going till June.
And there is nothing quite like a perfectly ripe boysenberry. I've frozen quite a lot of the berries for future smoothies, and to make some jam later.
I was stressing a bit last week when it was Moo's kindy lunch, and I didn't have time to make anything, and then I thought of the berries! I was reading somewhere that someone's gardening philosophy is to grow things that require minimal preparation before you can eat them. Berries certainly fit that. Although berries and cream isn't entirely practical for a picnic lunch, but everyone seemed to manage okay.
The bees have been growing in numbers. I've checked on them a couple of times since I've been back. Remember this frame with the beeswax 'foundation'?
Now look what they've done with it - they certainly have been very busy. This is called 'drawing out' the comb. It is so beautiful and perfect and all smells so good. These are being filled with nectar.
This is the last frame in my first hive - just to show how the bees have started drawing out the comb in some parts but not in others.
Another garden project which has been ongoing for a while is the pumpkin and melon patch in the orchard. There is no space to grow these in my smallish vegetable garden so this is what I came up with. I've dug approx 20 holes 1metre apart for the melons down between one row of trees, and 10 holes 2m apart for the pumpkins down between another row, removing the 30cm layer of topsoil, and digging down into the clay.
Then filling each hole with compost, with a good dose of sheep pellets. This is Melina's favourite job, for some reason she's really taken with sheep pellets.
Now look what they've done with it - they certainly have been very busy. This is called 'drawing out' the comb. It is so beautiful and perfect and all smells so good. These are being filled with nectar.
This is the last frame in my first hive - just to show how the bees have started drawing out the comb in some parts but not in others.
Another garden project which has been ongoing for a while is the pumpkin and melon patch in the orchard. There is no space to grow these in my smallish vegetable garden so this is what I came up with. I've dug approx 20 holes 1metre apart for the melons down between one row of trees, and 10 holes 2m apart for the pumpkins down between another row, removing the 30cm layer of topsoil, and digging down into the clay.
Then filling each hole with compost, with a good dose of sheep pellets. This is Melina's favourite job, for some reason she's really taken with sheep pellets.
Then (and this is crucial to the plan), I put in an irrigation line down each row. I have a garden tank at the top of the hill which then gravity feeds downwards. The photo below somewhat confusingly also has a garden hose in it - the irrigation hose is the one that is zigzagging back and forth between the holes.
I've put two drippers in each hole.
Then, another crucial part of the plan, each row is covered with 2m wide weedmatting. This will certainly get rid of weeding, and I'm not going to have to mulch, but main reason is that it keeps the area tidier and easier for M to mow round. Also the current plan is to slowly get rid of the grass in the orchard and make it much more productive.
I've put two drippers in each hole.
Then, another crucial part of the plan, each row is covered with 2m wide weedmatting. This will certainly get rid of weeding, and I'm not going to have to mulch, but main reason is that it keeps the area tidier and easier for M to mow round. Also the current plan is to slowly get rid of the grass in the orchard and make it much more productive.
Here's Alex having fun with the drippers - something he is fascinated by.
I was amused to see him drinking from them - kind of like the water fountains at school I guess!
Then you cut a hole in the weedmat where the holes are and plant the seedlings. Here's one I prepared earlier. This is the pumpkin row - they went in before we went away, but the melons have had a much slower start and I'm only just putting them in.
Here's the rest of the ducklings - about three weeks old here I think. They do grow fast. Their mother duck is looking slightly better now, but boy was she looking scrawny and haggard for a while there. A good reason not to have 12 children, especially not all at once! We lost one duckling who got stuck.
And some more crop pics to finish up with, because I can't resist.
Apples ripening. Hopefully they won't all fall off this year.
Nectarine is fruiting for the first time. I think there about 5.
Capsicums coming along nicely. This was a nursery plant which I bought to see how it went. I've never had much luck trying to grow my own from seed.
Snow peas have been very much enjoyed recently, podded peas even more so. I would like to see if I can grow peas almost all year round. I do like them so much.
Yep it's courgette season again. Luckily we like courgette soup round here which can absorb a lot of courgettes. Looking forward to making my first courgette and basil tart. Basil almost ready to start picking.
And a new crop for me - edamame/soybeans. Looking healthy at the moment.
I was amused to see him drinking from them - kind of like the water fountains at school I guess!
Then you cut a hole in the weedmat where the holes are and plant the seedlings. Here's one I prepared earlier. This is the pumpkin row - they went in before we went away, but the melons have had a much slower start and I'm only just putting them in.
So I'm hopeful that we will have at least some pumpkins and melons to harvest this year. If I can keep them away from the pukeko.
So on to the ducks. A friend very kindly looked after the ducklings while we were away, and did a fantastic job, thank you! Mama Duck No. 2 took advantage of my absence to sit on her own nest. I don't really want any more ducklings, so not keen to have them sit, but she's only got two eggs under her.
Here's the rest of the ducklings - about three weeks old here I think. They do grow fast. Their mother duck is looking slightly better now, but boy was she looking scrawny and haggard for a while there. A good reason not to have 12 children, especially not all at once! We lost one duckling who got stuck.
And some more crop pics to finish up with, because I can't resist.
Apples ripening. Hopefully they won't all fall off this year.
Nectarine is fruiting for the first time. I think there about 5.
Capsicums coming along nicely. This was a nursery plant which I bought to see how it went. I've never had much luck trying to grow my own from seed.
Snow peas have been very much enjoyed recently, podded peas even more so. I would like to see if I can grow peas almost all year round. I do like them so much.
Yep it's courgette season again. Luckily we like courgette soup round here which can absorb a lot of courgettes. Looking forward to making my first courgette and basil tart. Basil almost ready to start picking.
And a new crop for me - edamame/soybeans. Looking healthy at the moment. Well done if you made it this far!
The majority of my larger plants have arrived for my food forest so that's going to be my main focus over the next few weeks. These things make me happy.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Melbourne
Going across the ditch for a wee break has always been what other people do - so it was lovely to be able to do so ourselves. The reason was for some gorgeous friends wedding (whoops I wrote weeding there first - too much time in the garden!). And the wedding was the highlight, with the bonus being able to explore a new city. Especially a 'proper' city that has bustling streets and good public transport.
It's appropriate the the first pic on my camera is of the small ones on the tram. They really were great. No worrying about timetables, as they came so frequently, and a lot of the ones we used were free. Go Melbourne!
From the trams to the Jail. Melina's games frequently include jail (when her toys have been naughty they are sent to be locked up, and she always constructs a jail for the engines when she builds a train track - not sure where she gets it from!). So I thought it would be interesting for them to see inside an actual, if a bit old, jail. Not such a bad thing that it was so grim - hopefully a good deterrent! They were a little nervous, but were interested. The jail was built when the philosphy was changing from hard labour to pyschological reform by solitary confinement. We've come a long way in 150 years.
So the cells were very small (we closed the doors for maximum deterrent effectiveness).
On a much lighter note, everyone enjoyed shopping for a picnic lunch at the Queen Victoria market. Picnic at the Botanic Gardens. Children's gardens one of Alex's highlights due to the little stream they had that you could race small 'boats' down.
We had fun tracking down the chocolate shops (why doesn't Auckland have a decent chocolate shop???). Special mention to Koko Black, for the chocolate themed platters, being able to see them make the chocolate, and for the decor.
Also special mention to a cafe called 'Cacao' in St Kilda (I think that's the name). In fact this may be one of the best cafes I have ever been to. I liked the focus on beautiful chocolates, the food all looked great, and the cafe layout had been well thought out. I may also have liked it so much because we had been walking the streets of St Kilda for a while desperate to find something decent to eat and some public toilets! Travel has a different focus when you have children!
Melina and I also managed to have some mother and daughter cafe bonding time when we went to check out the rose st artists market. This cafe also deserves a special mention, although I can't remember it's name, because of it's extreme child friendliness, in a cafe that was adult. I.e. no sandpits or highchairs, but unprompted they provided Melina with a cushion to sit on, colouring book and pens, a straw for her water, and her muffin arrived with strawberries and sauce on the side. Most impressive.
And so to the wedding. I didn't take many pics, so sorry Joff for the fact you look like you've got bubbles going up your nose. It was a lovely wedding, with a gorgeous bride and groom who were very accepting of the children being there. Thank you.
Melina couldn't quite believe it when the music started and people started dancing. She was in heaven. I'll never forget her serious little face as she danced and danced and danced until she was exhausted. The backpack had piggy bear and little sheet in it and had to stay on. We called it a night at 11pm, which considering it was 1pm NZ time was quite a remarkable feat for the children.
Thank you Joff and Min for making our first trip to Melbourne so memorable and full of such lovely memories.
It's appropriate the the first pic on my camera is of the small ones on the tram. They really were great. No worrying about timetables, as they came so frequently, and a lot of the ones we used were free. Go Melbourne!
From the trams to the Jail. Melina's games frequently include jail (when her toys have been naughty they are sent to be locked up, and she always constructs a jail for the engines when she builds a train track - not sure where she gets it from!). So I thought it would be interesting for them to see inside an actual, if a bit old, jail. Not such a bad thing that it was so grim - hopefully a good deterrent! They were a little nervous, but were interested. The jail was built when the philosphy was changing from hard labour to pyschological reform by solitary confinement. We've come a long way in 150 years.
So the cells were very small (we closed the doors for maximum deterrent effectiveness).
On a much lighter note, everyone enjoyed shopping for a picnic lunch at the Queen Victoria market. Picnic at the Botanic Gardens. Children's gardens one of Alex's highlights due to the little stream they had that you could race small 'boats' down.
We had fun tracking down the chocolate shops (why doesn't Auckland have a decent chocolate shop???). Special mention to Koko Black, for the chocolate themed platters, being able to see them make the chocolate, and for the decor.
Also special mention to a cafe called 'Cacao' in St Kilda (I think that's the name). In fact this may be one of the best cafes I have ever been to. I liked the focus on beautiful chocolates, the food all looked great, and the cafe layout had been well thought out. I may also have liked it so much because we had been walking the streets of St Kilda for a while desperate to find something decent to eat and some public toilets! Travel has a different focus when you have children!
Melina and I also managed to have some mother and daughter cafe bonding time when we went to check out the rose st artists market. This cafe also deserves a special mention, although I can't remember it's name, because of it's extreme child friendliness, in a cafe that was adult. I.e. no sandpits or highchairs, but unprompted they provided Melina with a cushion to sit on, colouring book and pens, a straw for her water, and her muffin arrived with strawberries and sauce on the side. Most impressive.
And so to the wedding. I didn't take many pics, so sorry Joff for the fact you look like you've got bubbles going up your nose. It was a lovely wedding, with a gorgeous bride and groom who were very accepting of the children being there. Thank you.
Melina couldn't quite believe it when the music started and people started dancing. She was in heaven. I'll never forget her serious little face as she danced and danced and danced until she was exhausted. The backpack had piggy bear and little sheet in it and had to stay on. We called it a night at 11pm, which considering it was 1pm NZ time was quite a remarkable feat for the children.
Thank you Joff and Min for making our first trip to Melbourne so memorable and full of such lovely memories.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Hiving the Bees
I hived my bees last night - the techy description for taking the bees from the cardboard boxes that they came in and transferring them to their new permanent home. Wielded my smoker with a bit more expertise than the last time, only had to re-light once. I'm using pine needles as my fuel as I frequently raid the neighbours trees for my blueberry mulch anyway. Old sacking seems to be the most popular (I'm guessing easiest) but I'm a bit concerned about chemical treatments on sacks nowadays. Once I get the hang of it I think the pine needles will be just fine.
Friends that have been round in the last few days have been fascinated by what actually is inside a beehive. So here's my step by step as I was putting it together.
First up is the hive floor. Traditionally a solid wooden bottom (and this is what the commercially available ones are), but for varroa mite screened floors are recommended. When the mites fall off the bees they fall through the mesh and can't climb up again, which they would be able to do with a solid floor. Plus you can also use put a sticky board under the screen floor to monitor varroa. I'm intending on doing quite a bit of monitoring as I would like to manage as organically as possible, and that means keeping a close eye on them to make sure the mite levels aren't getting too high. I ran out of time to attempt to make my own floors, so got a local woodworker to make mine. So they are beautifully done, I particularly like the rounded edges for the landing platform (Thanks K!). They are made out of a hardwood decking timber (non-treated). They also have a slide out solid floor so I can put in in winter if I want to, to reduce draughts.
Here's a front on shot showing what will be the entrance to the hive.
Here's where it gets slightly complex - don't worry if you get lost here if you are not a beekeeper! I've opted for 3/4 size boxes, both for the brood boxes (where the queen lays the eggs), and for the honey boxes. This is because they will be lighter to lift. The nuc colonies that I bought were only available in full depth sizes - so they won't fit my boxes. However the ever resourceful Liz has come up with a nifty solution. She's cut down some old boxes to 1/4 depth, and placed a piece of hardboard over the side where my 3/4 frames will sit.
Here's the nuc box opened up. These are the full depth frames.
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And this was the fun part. The bees seemed happy enough, so I spent a good while looking at the frames and the bees. Here's the queen bee from my first nuc, surrounded by her nurse bees (confession - I had to check with another beekeeper first before I posted this to check that this was actually the queen!). I liked watching the worker bees with their heads poked down in the comb and their bums up in the air (not sure what they were doing, have to go and do some more reading!). I also saw a bee hatch - that was pretty cool.
Friends that have been round in the last few days have been fascinated by what actually is inside a beehive. So here's my step by step as I was putting it together.
First up is the hive floor. Traditionally a solid wooden bottom (and this is what the commercially available ones are), but for varroa mite screened floors are recommended. When the mites fall off the bees they fall through the mesh and can't climb up again, which they would be able to do with a solid floor. Plus you can also use put a sticky board under the screen floor to monitor varroa. I'm intending on doing quite a bit of monitoring as I would like to manage as organically as possible, and that means keeping a close eye on them to make sure the mite levels aren't getting too high. I ran out of time to attempt to make my own floors, so got a local woodworker to make mine. So they are beautifully done, I particularly like the rounded edges for the landing platform (Thanks K!). They are made out of a hardwood decking timber (non-treated). They also have a slide out solid floor so I can put in in winter if I want to, to reduce draughts.
Here's a front on shot showing what will be the entrance to the hive.
Here's where it gets slightly complex - don't worry if you get lost here if you are not a beekeeper! I've opted for 3/4 size boxes, both for the brood boxes (where the queen lays the eggs), and for the honey boxes. This is because they will be lighter to lift. The nuc colonies that I bought were only available in full depth sizes - so they won't fit my boxes. However the ever resourceful Liz has come up with a nifty solution. She's cut down some old boxes to 1/4 depth, and placed a piece of hardboard over the side where my 3/4 frames will sit.
Here's the nuc box opened up. These are the full depth frames..JPG)
And this was the fun part. The bees seemed happy enough, so I spent a good while looking at the frames and the bees. Here's the queen bee from my first nuc, surrounded by her nurse bees (confession - I had to check with another beekeeper first before I posted this to check that this was actually the queen!). I liked watching the worker bees with their heads poked down in the comb and their bums up in the air (not sure what they were doing, have to go and do some more reading!). I also saw a bee hatch - that was pretty cool.
I was very paranoid about squashing the queen. And I couldn't find the queen in my other nuc despite looking for ages.
Here's the nuc frames after they have been put into my first box (this is sitting on top of the bottom floor board previously shown). They go all the way down to the screen floor, leaving space for the new frames to sit next to them , on top of the false floor.
Here's one of my new frames, for the bees to start working on.
And they are all sitting on the brood box. After a while we're going to do some artful manipulation to get rid of those full depth frames, remove that 1/4 depth box, and then I'll have straight 3/4 depth boxes. A note on boxes - I've chosen 'thermowood' boxes which is heat treated pine, which is supposed to have the same longevity as hardwood. Will see how they go. Again steering away from chemicals. And I do like the natural look.
And here are my two happy hives, side by side. Not shown here, but I have also reduced my hive entrances with a bit of cardboard tacked on, so that the small colony can more easily defend their new home.
Here's the nuc frames after they have been put into my first box (this is sitting on top of the bottom floor board previously shown). They go all the way down to the screen floor, leaving space for the new frames to sit next to them , on top of the false floor.
Here's one of my new frames, for the bees to start working on.
And they are all sitting on the brood box. After a while we're going to do some artful manipulation to get rid of those full depth frames, remove that 1/4 depth box, and then I'll have straight 3/4 depth boxes. A note on boxes - I've chosen 'thermowood' boxes which is heat treated pine, which is supposed to have the same longevity as hardwood. Will see how they go. Again steering away from chemicals. And I do like the natural look. 
And here are my two happy hives, side by side. Not shown here, but I have also reduced my hive entrances with a bit of cardboard tacked on, so that the small colony can more easily defend their new home.
We're off across the ditch for a week from tomorrow. But I know what's first on my list to check when we come home.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Occupation: Beekeeper
It's obviously the week for new arrivals. I picked up a few thousand bees today. We still have thirteen ducklings left but am down a couple of bees already - I managed to squash a couple already today, even though I was trying to be careful. I think beekeeping is going to be a good for me, I can see there are lots to learn, and lots to practice, plus somewhat challenging.
But first - the preparation. Nowadays you can make it easier for yourself and buy everything pre-made and pre-assembled, and there is a move towards plastic components too which make setting up pretty straightforward. But no, I didn't do that! Instead am doing the traditional way using wood, and wires, and beeswax. But I did buy kitset frames and boxes.
My nailing skills have improved considerably, especially under the watchful eye of Liz, who has been an excellent teacher.
Here are the kitset frames, these hang in the hive boxes.
And here's an assembled one. I like the way they all neatly slot together.
Here's a frame half way through the wiring process. I'm getting better at this the more I do it. And even have my own wiring board now that I made up at woodwork night classes. Just don't look too closely. There are a few misplaced drill holes that I haven't figured out how to disguise (or if I can be bothered...).
But first - the preparation. Nowadays you can make it easier for yourself and buy everything pre-made and pre-assembled, and there is a move towards plastic components too which make setting up pretty straightforward. But no, I didn't do that! Instead am doing the traditional way using wood, and wires, and beeswax. But I did buy kitset frames and boxes.
My nailing skills have improved considerably, especially under the watchful eye of Liz, who has been an excellent teacher.
Here are the kitset frames, these hang in the hive boxes.
And here's an assembled one. I like the way they all neatly slot together.
Here's a frame half way through the wiring process. I'm getting better at this the more I do it. And even have my own wiring board now that I made up at woodwork night classes. Just don't look too closely. There are a few misplaced drill holes that I haven't figured out how to disguise (or if I can be bothered...).
Here's a frame with beeswax 'foundation'. The bees use this as a guiding base and 'draw it out', to make the comb (?) which has multi uses i.e storing nectar, honey, pollen, raising new bees (feel free to correct me Liz!).
Here's the bees that I picked up today. They are called 'nucs' i.e a small nucleus colony. The ferry ride was fun - the beekeeper casually mentioned that it would be bad to lose them, and made it sound like it happened realtively frequently! I had visions of bees swarming round the ferry boat with everyone screaming..... Made worse by ending up having to sit next to someone who obviously had a few mental health issues - I was worried he was going to freak out mid ferry passage and open my boxes up.
And a self portrait even. One of the things I like about beekeeping is that I get to wear a size 'small' suit. I haven't fitted anything size small for years! However you will be lucky to ever see a photo of the rest of the suit as white and puffy is probably about as unflattering as you can get. Am looking forward to writing down my ocupation as 'beekeeper' the next time I'm asked for it. (I never know what to put).
Here are the nuc boxes with their entrances opened up. I'm going to transfer them to their proper homes tomorrow hopefully.
They've even got their own water supply. Wasn't sure if the ducks would like to share, and we definitely don't want them in the pool. Wood is for them to have something to land on.
Here's the bees that I picked up today. They are called 'nucs' i.e a small nucleus colony. The ferry ride was fun - the beekeeper casually mentioned that it would be bad to lose them, and made it sound like it happened realtively frequently! I had visions of bees swarming round the ferry boat with everyone screaming..... Made worse by ending up having to sit next to someone who obviously had a few mental health issues - I was worried he was going to freak out mid ferry passage and open my boxes up.
And a self portrait even. One of the things I like about beekeeping is that I get to wear a size 'small' suit. I haven't fitted anything size small for years! However you will be lucky to ever see a photo of the rest of the suit as white and puffy is probably about as unflattering as you can get. Am looking forward to writing down my ocupation as 'beekeeper' the next time I'm asked for it. (I never know what to put).
Here are the nuc boxes with their entrances opened up. I'm going to transfer them to their proper homes tomorrow hopefully.
They've even got their own water supply. Wasn't sure if the ducks would like to share, and we definitely don't want them in the pool. Wood is for them to have something to land on.
And look - it meets with their approval.
Here's to bees! And good crop pollination! And honey! (Can you tell I'm excited).
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The family has increased
by thirteen. Meet the latest members. They are soooooooo cute. Mama duck is doing well, although would quite like to be left alone. She may also be a bit confused as she still has two fake eggs under her. (She appropriated them from the other laying nests when I was trying to encourage the other females to keep laying in the same place). So far her offspring are obeying her - whenever we appear she softly quacks at them until they all clamber into the nest and under her. I'm not sure how long this is going to last though, even at only a day old some are definitely more reluctant to return than others.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Just because...
she's beautiful, and gorgeous, and I hope I never forget what she was like aged 3 1/2.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Peeled loquat anyone?
The loquat tree didn't know what hit it this year - fertilised (more than once!), mulched and now netted from the birds. The fruit are now three times as big as last year, and deliciously sweet since they have been left to hang on the tree.
Planning to make jam, chutney, and a compote for guests breakfast.
Other exciting fruit tree news - the nectarine tree has fruit! Conversely the almonds have put on a poor show this year with only about two fruit.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Michael Park Craft Stall
Our Kindergarten craft group had a stall at the Michael Park School Fair (a steiner school, so lots of sympathetic customers). Despite several late nights previously we had fun on the day, and made nearly double what we did last year, so quite satisfying. We're going to use funds raised for more library books and a couple of trestle tables, and stock up on craft supplies. I took a few rushed photos at the beginning.
Here's one of our raffles: mad by one of our talented mums who we are all in awe of. It's a seasonal tree. It stands about 40-50cm high and has been mostly needle-felted. Here it is dressed in it's spring colours - the fleece on the top can be removed, and replaced with summer one, then autumn colours, then winter has just the branches. Alex fell in love with it, and was very upset when the concept of a raffle was explained. He asked in a teary voice that if we didn't win could we please not tell him who did as that would make him sad. I'm half tempted to have a go at making one myself, but it's a lot to live up to!
A close up of the people who live inside the tree. (I made the baby!)
And the bird nesting in the tree. (I made the nest and eggs!)
Here's one of our raffles: mad by one of our talented mums who we are all in awe of. It's a seasonal tree. It stands about 40-50cm high and has been mostly needle-felted. Here it is dressed in it's spring colours - the fleece on the top can be removed, and replaced with summer one, then autumn colours, then winter has just the branches. Alex fell in love with it, and was very upset when the concept of a raffle was explained. He asked in a teary voice that if we didn't win could we please not tell him who did as that would make him sad. I'm half tempted to have a go at making one myself, but it's a lot to live up to!
A close up of the people who live inside the tree. (I made the baby!)
And the bird nesting in the tree. (I made the nest and eggs!)Here's the same mum's felted houses. These were very popular. (I made the little person!)
And another one that wasn't mine, but I am keen to do one of these.
We had two basic themes this year - farmyard and woodland. Except it did end of mostly being woodland. We were all inspired to make different houses. Fascinating to see how they reflected the makers personalities.
Here's one of my house contributions. I did a few of these in night school woodwork classes (they think my projects are always a little weird). It's not the best pic, but basically the fabric can just be lifted off and changed so it can be a house, or a stable, or a garage. I've saved one for moo for christmas, and will make her a little story set to go along with it.
Another couple of houses made by another mum - this time from thrifted knitted clothing that was then felted.
Here's some of mine (simple and small is what I do best!). Babies in cradles always seem to sell really well too.
A fishing set (not mine). But kids love.
Another general picture of the woodland end. I made the mushrooms and toadstools and the little people.
Before the fair I always think that I'm not going to do it again, then afterwards we are eagerly planning the next one (we're think dragons, princesses and knights and castles).
And another one that wasn't mine, but I am keen to do one of these.
We had two basic themes this year - farmyard and woodland. Except it did end of mostly being woodland. We were all inspired to make different houses. Fascinating to see how they reflected the makers personalities.
Here's one of my house contributions. I did a few of these in night school woodwork classes (they think my projects are always a little weird). It's not the best pic, but basically the fabric can just be lifted off and changed so it can be a house, or a stable, or a garage. I've saved one for moo for christmas, and will make her a little story set to go along with it.
Another couple of houses made by another mum - this time from thrifted knitted clothing that was then felted.
Here's some of mine (simple and small is what I do best!). Babies in cradles always seem to sell really well too.
A fishing set (not mine). But kids love.
Another general picture of the woodland end. I made the mushrooms and toadstools and the little people.
Before the fair I always think that I'm not going to do it again, then afterwards we are eagerly planning the next one (we're think dragons, princesses and knights and castles).
Friday, October 16, 2009
It's been full on around here ever since the family got back from holidays. I might have got a little too used to my own company actually as it's been a bit hard to settle back in, but a new project should do the trick - today I bought my first lot of beekeeping equipment. Slightly nervous about the whole deal, but have a friendly mentor (paid for, but still very reassuring to have). I've decided to go as natural as possible with the bees, but must be pretty hard to be completely organic with the varroa mite. So I'm eschewing the easy options like plastic comb foundation, and going to learn how to wire my own frames with traditional wax foundation. Don't worry about the technical terms - I'm only just getting familiar with them and am still confused easily. I'm hoping it's going to be a lot more obvious when I actually start working with them. My 'nucs' or small starter nucleus colonies are due to arrive at the end of November. Before then I need to make a flat hive site, get the rest of my equipment, and assemble my frames and boxes. I've assured M that this is all going to be a breeze.
Other news - the duck nest is up to about 12 eggs, but she hasn't started sitting on them yet. I'm hoping she will otherwise there is a lot of lovely eggs going to go to waste. We were short of eggs the other day, and Melina suggested we go and help ourselves to the duck ones. Melina is enjoying the ducks - well actually mostly the duck food. I have this nifty system from the company 'Nosloc' where you fill up a big hanging bucket with food, and it has a nozzle in the bottom where the ducks peck at and the food comes out. It means I don't have to worry about feeding them every day. I was a bit worried they would be too dumb to figure it out, but thankfully it only took about 24 hours. Anyway Melina is fascinated by the feeder and likes to take an empty conatiner down, and then poke at the nozzle to fill up her container. I don't think she's quite got the concept of feeding the ducks yet. So far I've dissuaded her from taking the duck food back into her room.... The ducks think I'm wonderful at the moment. I've been planting in their orchard, and as soon as I dig a planting hole they waddle over and gorge themselves on the unearthed worms.
We're planning a trip to Melbourne at the moment to go to a friends wedding. It's at the beginning of December, so we've decided to take a week. Looking forward to it very much. Just need to find somewhere to stay.
Alex is back at school and seems to be enjoying it. He has opted to continue with Ukelele lessons which is great. He does have a good ear for music (unlike me). They are studying plants at the moment and the teacher requested some indoor plants for them to study. Today I visited a garden centre in town (bliss!) and bought him a venus fly trap. M swatted a fly and we fed it to the plant. Alex loves it.
And back to the garden. It's really becoming an increasingly bigger part of my life, despite my best efforts not to make this a gardening blog. Anyway the garden centre was fun. We only have a small one on the Island, so I thought a day in town to pick up laundry would be much improved by a trip to the garden centre. I bought two roses (to replace ones that had died in the vineyard), a greengage plum for a wedding present for a friend (they requested fruit trees for their orchard - I approve!), a herb plant just because I didn't know what it was (centella - which I've googled and seems to be good for all sorts of things), and two grafted tomato plants to conduct a scientific experiment. The tomato plants were hard to buy at $9 each but I do really want to see if the grafted ones make a difference to production. So I bought two 'roma' plants, and I have some of my own roma ones planted from seed. If the grafted ones work well, I might see if I can do my own grafting for next year.
That's about it from me, must head off to bed now.
Other news - the duck nest is up to about 12 eggs, but she hasn't started sitting on them yet. I'm hoping she will otherwise there is a lot of lovely eggs going to go to waste. We were short of eggs the other day, and Melina suggested we go and help ourselves to the duck ones. Melina is enjoying the ducks - well actually mostly the duck food. I have this nifty system from the company 'Nosloc' where you fill up a big hanging bucket with food, and it has a nozzle in the bottom where the ducks peck at and the food comes out. It means I don't have to worry about feeding them every day. I was a bit worried they would be too dumb to figure it out, but thankfully it only took about 24 hours. Anyway Melina is fascinated by the feeder and likes to take an empty conatiner down, and then poke at the nozzle to fill up her container. I don't think she's quite got the concept of feeding the ducks yet. So far I've dissuaded her from taking the duck food back into her room.... The ducks think I'm wonderful at the moment. I've been planting in their orchard, and as soon as I dig a planting hole they waddle over and gorge themselves on the unearthed worms.
We're planning a trip to Melbourne at the moment to go to a friends wedding. It's at the beginning of December, so we've decided to take a week. Looking forward to it very much. Just need to find somewhere to stay.
Alex is back at school and seems to be enjoying it. He has opted to continue with Ukelele lessons which is great. He does have a good ear for music (unlike me). They are studying plants at the moment and the teacher requested some indoor plants for them to study. Today I visited a garden centre in town (bliss!) and bought him a venus fly trap. M swatted a fly and we fed it to the plant. Alex loves it.
And back to the garden. It's really becoming an increasingly bigger part of my life, despite my best efforts not to make this a gardening blog. Anyway the garden centre was fun. We only have a small one on the Island, so I thought a day in town to pick up laundry would be much improved by a trip to the garden centre. I bought two roses (to replace ones that had died in the vineyard), a greengage plum for a wedding present for a friend (they requested fruit trees for their orchard - I approve!), a herb plant just because I didn't know what it was (centella - which I've googled and seems to be good for all sorts of things), and two grafted tomato plants to conduct a scientific experiment. The tomato plants were hard to buy at $9 each but I do really want to see if the grafted ones make a difference to production. So I bought two 'roma' plants, and I have some of my own roma ones planted from seed. If the grafted ones work well, I might see if I can do my own grafting for next year.
That's about it from me, must head off to bed now.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
A Duck Update and Summer Garden Anticipation
Here's a rather better photo of my grogeous girls (and boy). The drake is the one with the green head, and he's extremely well-mannered and very chivalrous. He's the last one in the house when danger is coming (me), and always stands back to let the ladies eat first. M suggested it's either that or he's a bit dumb.... I may feel differently about him once he gets the mating urge but meanwhile I'm enjoying his gentlemanly ways. I have been enjoying the ducks a lot, they are very cute as they waddle everywhere, usually following each other in a staright line, and they are never more than a ducks width away from each other. The laying female even laid her egg in the duck house this morning which I am very pleased about - instead of in the wet pooey corner outside that she has been using. And I was happy to see that they are even toileting in the right place - the citrus tree which they decided to rest under today had a nice ring of poo around it this evening. It's so good to see a plan working! Hopefully no more hauling around buckets of fertiliser for this garden.
The spring growth has been phenomenal in the past three weeks. Here's some summer anticipation - blueberries - first time to be harvested this year as I ruthlessly culled all flowers last year much to family's disappointment (to help the plants concentrate on getting established first).
And first raspberries - these are from my autumn-fruiting raspberries - they produce 90% of their crop in the autumn, then the same canes produce more laterals in spring and produce the remaining 10% of the crop in early summer. Well that's the theory anyway, will see what happens. I've pruned my raspberries in two different ways to see what happens to crop levels.
And the tiniest cutest furriest littlest peaches. The pukeko are not going to get them this year!
Friday, October 02, 2009
The Front Garden
Woohoo! It's finally finished! Work started on this the week we moved in, but stalled for various reasons, not the least of which was that it turned into a much bigger project than anticipated. 3 1/2 years later, it's finished. The original plan was that it was going to be my vegetable garden. It's a steep slope, but the only place that is sunny, and reasonably sheltered, that didn't already have someting else on it (i.e. a vineyard). I always wanted berries, and they ended up taking up half the space. But I do love them, and have no regrets about giving them such a lot of prime space.
This garden has also ended up being something of a 'show' garden. I guess because it is right in fromt of the house, so very visible, also to justify the $$$ spent - it'll appeal to the paying guests. So now have to keep it looking pretty. I was thinking about it today while I was working down there, there will have to be a balance there as I still want the kids to be able to do stuff and play down there, and also help themselves to produce.
Anyway, how about some before and afters. I did kind of try to take some of these to match. Had to trawl through the picture files quite a way back to get some of these 'befores'!
First up the stairs. Because we've had the below slope for the past couple of years, which has seen a few out of control wheelbarrows.
And now we have this. I don't think M will miss the weed eating. These are in the middle of the garden, berries on right, vege beds on left.
Now right back to the beginning. Not quite actually - this is after the slope has been cleared of head height vegetation. I remember doing this painstakingly slowly, sliding on my bum down the slope, then hauling everything into huge piles.
The below photo is dated Oct 07 - so two years ago. Terracing for the berries going in.
And here's what it looks now....
Here's a good one. The bottom of the vege garden area, after the digger's been. (One of Melina's first words was 'digger'. I used to sit her in her high chair eating her lunch while watching the digger work.)
And here's the after shot - garden shed (potting area behing this), and three decent compost bins.
Bottom of the berry garden. This picture is from Jan 08.
Now it has blueberries planted, not very clear in pic sorry, and proper path (filled with wood chip).
Here's the lower vege bed, after the walls have been constructed, but before proper bed made and path. Had to dig out quite a bit of clay here and replace with topsoil.
This garden has also ended up being something of a 'show' garden. I guess because it is right in fromt of the house, so very visible, also to justify the $$$ spent - it'll appeal to the paying guests. So now have to keep it looking pretty. I was thinking about it today while I was working down there, there will have to be a balance there as I still want the kids to be able to do stuff and play down there, and also help themselves to produce.
Anyway, how about some before and afters. I did kind of try to take some of these to match. Had to trawl through the picture files quite a way back to get some of these 'befores'!
First up the stairs. Because we've had the below slope for the past couple of years, which has seen a few out of control wheelbarrows.
And now we have this. I don't think M will miss the weed eating. These are in the middle of the garden, berries on right, vege beds on left.
Now right back to the beginning. Not quite actually - this is after the slope has been cleared of head height vegetation. I remember doing this painstakingly slowly, sliding on my bum down the slope, then hauling everything into huge piles.
The below photo is dated Oct 07 - so two years ago. Terracing for the berries going in.
And here's what it looks now....
Here's a good one. The bottom of the vege garden area, after the digger's been. (One of Melina's first words was 'digger'. I used to sit her in her high chair eating her lunch while watching the digger work.)
And here's the after shot - garden shed (potting area behing this), and three decent compost bins.
Bottom of the berry garden. This picture is from Jan 08.
Now it has blueberries planted, not very clear in pic sorry, and proper path (filled with wood chip).
Here's the lower vege bed, after the walls have been constructed, but before proper bed made and path. Had to dig out quite a bit of clay here and replace with topsoil.
An empty vege bed now - it's not going to stay like that for long! This is where all my tall veges will go like toms and climbing beans, as it is the most sheltered. The retaining wall has a vege bed above it, so will planning on growing things like cucmbers down the wall.
Here's the top vege bed, as it was last summer.
Here it is now. I planted up quite a lot of this one today with seedlings. The netting is the asparagus bed (pukeko like asparagus).
And one last lot of pics - when I was going through old photos I came across this one. This is the boysenberries in October last year.
And now look at them! There's going to be a lot of berry pickin' round here soon.
I still can't quite believe it's finished. For the last week I've been going to sleep with a smile and then thinking bout it first thing when I wake up. Yay for gardens!
Here's the top vege bed, as it was last summer.
Here it is now. I planted up quite a lot of this one today with seedlings. The netting is the asparagus bed (pukeko like asparagus).
And one last lot of pics - when I was going through old photos I came across this one. This is the boysenberries in October last year.
And now look at them! There's going to be a lot of berry pickin' round here soon.
I still can't quite believe it's finished. For the last week I've been going to sleep with a smile and then thinking bout it first thing when I wake up. Yay for gardens!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Ducks
We've got ducks! I must have checked on them about 10 times today, but despite the constant intrusion they seem to be settling in well. We have four beautiful cayuga ducks - three female and one male. They came home yesterday with me via a 2 1/2 hour car trip, then two ferry trips (from devonport into the big city, then across to the island), then the final car trip home. There were a few protest quacks but overall they coped quite well. Although they did look a bit miserable all huddling together on the rolly waiheke ferry, especially as we got a doozy thunderstorm as well.
They are for my new 'food forest' area, and are hopefully going to keep the slugs and snails under control, spread a bit of fertiliser around, provide some eggs, provide some ducklings for the children to nurture, and maybe even some ducks for the pot. I've been much more excited by them than I have been by chickens, not sure why, but I find them really appealing. But am slightly apprehensive now that I am responsible for something living that is not a plant. If my plants die I can just chuck them in the compost heap and no one knows, but I think even M might notice if a duck or two goes missing. I have been practicing for the upcoming responsibility actually - I've managed to keep a sourdough starter alive that someone gave me for almost a month now.
Here's Klaus putting together the duck house that he designed for me. You can lift up both sides of the roof to check for eggs. It has no bottom so that you layer it with straw then when it gets mucky you simply pick it up and wheel it to another spot, then put in some more straw. A duck house isn't necessary for keeping ducks, but I want to collect eggs without having to hunt for them every day, I'm hoping this will be an appealing duck laying place!
The children think it's a great hiding place to play in.
Here are my painting helpers. Painted it with 'solagard' paint, to make it last longer. Was a bit nerve-wracking letting the kids loose with paint brushes. I had to do the last coat.
Here's where they are at the moment. This is their 'night-time' pen, and hopfully by the end of tommorrow I will have finished fencing the rest of the orchard area for them to be let loose on. If you look carefully you can see the drake heading in the duck house. He's spied me coming, and they've obviously decided that the duck house is a safe place.
...until someone sticks a camera right in there. I will try and get some better photos as this doesn't do them justice.
And they even laid an egg for me! Am assuming from the older female (aged 9 months). The other two females were born in July this year (out of season).
They are for my new 'food forest' area, and are hopefully going to keep the slugs and snails under control, spread a bit of fertiliser around, provide some eggs, provide some ducklings for the children to nurture, and maybe even some ducks for the pot. I've been much more excited by them than I have been by chickens, not sure why, but I find them really appealing. But am slightly apprehensive now that I am responsible for something living that is not a plant. If my plants die I can just chuck them in the compost heap and no one knows, but I think even M might notice if a duck or two goes missing. I have been practicing for the upcoming responsibility actually - I've managed to keep a sourdough starter alive that someone gave me for almost a month now.
Here's Klaus putting together the duck house that he designed for me. You can lift up both sides of the roof to check for eggs. It has no bottom so that you layer it with straw then when it gets mucky you simply pick it up and wheel it to another spot, then put in some more straw. A duck house isn't necessary for keeping ducks, but I want to collect eggs without having to hunt for them every day, I'm hoping this will be an appealing duck laying place!
The children think it's a great hiding place to play in.
Here are my painting helpers. Painted it with 'solagard' paint, to make it last longer. Was a bit nerve-wracking letting the kids loose with paint brushes. I had to do the last coat.
Here's where they are at the moment. This is their 'night-time' pen, and hopfully by the end of tommorrow I will have finished fencing the rest of the orchard area for them to be let loose on. If you look carefully you can see the drake heading in the duck house. He's spied me coming, and they've obviously decided that the duck house is a safe place.
...until someone sticks a camera right in there. I will try and get some better photos as this doesn't do them justice.
And they even laid an egg for me! Am assuming from the older female (aged 9 months). The other two females were born in July this year (out of season). The kids haven't seem them yet as they are up North with M.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Spring
The last 3-4 weeks really have been gorgeously spring like, and I've been getting a gardening itch quite often. I've been waking up early the last few days and on a couple of them I've even got up and gone into the garden for an hour or so before the rest of the family emerges. It's very quiet and peaceful. Looking forward to daylight saving, when I'll be able to spend some time after kids in bed out there. I do enjoy having the kids with me when I garden, but I also cherish that quiet peaceful time when I'm by myself. Instant stress relief.
My front vegetable garden, which has been a work in progress ever since we moved here 3 years ago, is finally being finished at the moment. So that is very exciting for me. I've been wanting to take some pictures but thinkI will wait till it's all done. Only got the main entrance steps to do now - should be finished about Wed next week. When I will actually be away... But will be looking forward to coming back to them! Have been feeling a bit sorry for the landscaping guys - I've been thinking and planning this garden for so long that I know exactly where I want everything and how it is to be done, so they haven't had any creative licence at all.
In the mean time there are pockets of the garden that are being distinctly spring like. These globe artichokes surprised me yesterday when I noticed them.
Actually this is more a last of winter photo, but I was quite amused by what is quite possibly my largest leek and my smallest leek. Both planted at the same time and treated exactly the same.
The vineyard of course is the most important spring time indicator around here. I really enjoy the 'bud burst' stage.
Then watching the new leaves unfurl. They look a bit like a new-born baby sometimes does, covered with a whitish layer. Or maybe not a good simile. I might be getting a bit too attached to the vines.
My front vegetable garden, which has been a work in progress ever since we moved here 3 years ago, is finally being finished at the moment. So that is very exciting for me. I've been wanting to take some pictures but thinkI will wait till it's all done. Only got the main entrance steps to do now - should be finished about Wed next week. When I will actually be away... But will be looking forward to coming back to them! Have been feeling a bit sorry for the landscaping guys - I've been thinking and planning this garden for so long that I know exactly where I want everything and how it is to be done, so they haven't had any creative licence at all.
In the mean time there are pockets of the garden that are being distinctly spring like. These globe artichokes surprised me yesterday when I noticed them.
Actually this is more a last of winter photo, but I was quite amused by what is quite possibly my largest leek and my smallest leek. Both planted at the same time and treated exactly the same.
The vineyard of course is the most important spring time indicator around here. I really enjoy the 'bud burst' stage.Then watching the new leaves unfurl. They look a bit like a new-born baby sometimes does, covered with a whitish layer. Or maybe not a good simile. I might be getting a bit too attached to the vines.
And the first sweet pea. I always like to plant mine back in autumn. Then they flower early, and have less fungal disease problems, and they've finished by the time the really humid weather comes around.
Oh and look, a non gardening photo even managed to get in. Some pixies knitted for the upcoming kindy fundraising stall at Michael Park School. They're kind of addictive to knit. But decided 10 was a good number to stop at.
The kids and I are off on an early school holiday break to stay with my parents up north for a week or so on Monday. The house bathrooms are being demolished and re-done (due to lack of waterproofing when originally built) so happy to leave them to it. The current plan is to bring the ducks back home with me too. Can't wait. Hoping the poor ducks don't expire before we get back home though. 2 1/2 hours in a car, plus a ferry trip, then another car ride. I'm sure they are going to be traumatised. On the hunt for chickens now. Which seem to be incredibly hard to source in or near Auckland. I'm probably not looking in the right places. Have to do some more research.
Oh and look, a non gardening photo even managed to get in. Some pixies knitted for the upcoming kindy fundraising stall at Michael Park School. They're kind of addictive to knit. But decided 10 was a good number to stop at.
The kids and I are off on an early school holiday break to stay with my parents up north for a week or so on Monday. The house bathrooms are being demolished and re-done (due to lack of waterproofing when originally built) so happy to leave them to it. The current plan is to bring the ducks back home with me too. Can't wait. Hoping the poor ducks don't expire before we get back home though. 2 1/2 hours in a car, plus a ferry trip, then another car ride. I'm sure they are going to be traumatised. On the hunt for chickens now. Which seem to be incredibly hard to source in or near Auckland. I'm probably not looking in the right places. Have to do some more research.Web Site Counter
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