GARDENING BLOG

Week eighteen April 29th May 6th

2005

May 4th 2005 The wind has turned to the north again and it is cold - no good for opening up beehives. I still have plenty of digging, sowing, weeding and planting to do but it was still tempting to stay on the south side of the sheds out of the wind. However, I need to sow more broad beans, as, for the first time ever in 20 years those sown already have been consistently dug up and eaten once they are an inch or so above ground. The next lot that I sow will have protection from birds as it is the crows that I blame for digging them up.

The Japanese onions are bolting again. Only two so far, but I'm sure there will be others to follow.

May 2nd 2005 We have been experiencing a spell of warm weather recently and it is well past time for clearing out and burning off the base of the WBC hive and as a swarm had been reported in the allotment a couple of days ago I was keen to check it wasn't from one of my hives. The WBC as in fine condition with a queen laying well. It was time to put some empty frames on ready for the storing of honey. The boxes look strange and naked on an old base but the hive needs a new paint job before it is put back together again.

Planted out Leamington spring cauliflower. Sowed first French beans.

Weekend April 29th May I'm still planting potatoes.

2004

Monday 3rd May 2004 Rain

Sunday 2nd May 2004 The evening was sunny enough in for me to open the two bee hives that needed queen cells removed. Both hives had only two queen cells to choose from and they both now have only one. These two hives now need to be left alone for at least three weeks during which time the virgin queen bees will hatch out and build up their strength for their maiden flight. On one fine sunny day they will leave the hive and fly off to mate. There are now other bee keepers on our allotment site, so there will not only be drones from mine own hives looking for flying virgin queen to mate with, but drones from their hives as well. Hopefully both virgin queens will mate and return safely to the hives they left. Then the hives can really get working again and make some honey.

The earliest planted Japanese onions have started to bolt.

2002

4rd May 2002 The wind is in the north/north east. The has been cloudy with sunny intervals but the clouds had cleared by evening - and now we will have another cold night. I started sowing runner beans very early this year and those that have been coming through the ground while we have been having these cold nights are now a sickly yellow. The earliest sown are so far OK as they had a warm spell in early April to get established. They also have many self sown radish seedlings around them that I think may protect them a little (my excuse for not weeding them out yet). So far the potatoes have only been caught once very early on when they got the tips of their leaves singed but we still have some weeks to go before all threat of frost is over. Weeded the onion sets hoed and between rows. Watered the cauliflower. Bedding plants still need to come in at night or be in closed down cold frames.

2nd May 2002 As the ground is so right for planting out - I did - more sprouts, more lettuce and All The Year Round cauliflower that were given to me by Steve some weeks ago and have been in a holding bed (near the tap!) waiting to be moved to their final positions when they were big enough and the conditions right. Still need to weed the onion sets.

The rain came and with it the wind now by have ceased and this evening was calm and sunny. The three bee hives in the apiary all needed another box on the top as the one put on just over a week ago are nearly full. The ground in the allotment has been transformed as we did get a considerable amount of rain that has worked it's way right down a full spit into the soil. I planted out a few more calabrese broccoli and lettuce. As I left the plot the evening was clear and turning cold - frost could well do some damage tonight - the potatoes are well past being small enough to earth up and the earliest runner beans are a couple of inches high.

2001

Time to start mowing the lawn

2000

29/30 April 1st May The bank holiday weekend started warm and sunny and ended cold and grey as the wind returning to a North Easterly direction. The rough digging is almost complete and extra peas, beans, onions and carrots sown. I now have two complete rows of lettuces planted out thanks to my allotment neighbour - one coz and one soft round one.

The bees on the allotment are getting very itchy feet. My inspection at the beginning of the weekend meant the destruction of several queen cups with eggs laid in them. They seem to want to swarm already. I gave them another super in order to give them something else to do. Maybe now they won't feel so crowded and ready to leave. By the end the Monday Mayday Bank Holiday the weather was so cold very few were leaving the hive for anything. If we had a run of warm sunny weather these bees would be ideally set up to produce a good crop of honey - that is if I can prevent them from swarming.

Friday, 5th Today has been the first day since the weekend gone that we have seen the sun. The week has been cold, grey and generally miserable. No chance for making honey, even the honeysuckle is late flowering. We must now be a week behind previous years. Mowed the lawn.

6th May Saturday morning warm still and sunny - summer is here again. The plum tree outside my window has made several inches of growth already. Apparently now and the next few weeks is the best time to prune plum trees because the wounds (that can be the entry point for silver leaf disease) heal over faster when the plant is in the full surge of early summer growth.

Of the two bee hives that survived the winter one is continuing to be a mystery. No eggs have been laid so far this year. On two occasions I have switched empty cone with the other hive that contain eggs. The intention being that a queen less colony would take the opportunity to turn one or more eggs or early stage brood into a queen cell. So far no queen cells. So if the queen is there why doesn't she lay? On checking today and not finding a queen cell I didn't switch another frame deciding to see if the improved weather and the abundance of food supplies may bring the queen into lay. Rosemary tells me that it's possible that the queen won't lay until there is food to support the brood. In future I must ensure that enough sugar syrup is provided to see them through the winter.

The other 'cottage' hive had a sneaky maturing queen cell tucked away at the bottom of one of the last frames to check. As none of the other frames even had queen cups with eggs in I was thinking that this hive had no desire to swarm and very nearly missed it. Maybe I should have put this into the other hive to see what would happen. If the weather is fine tomorrow I will check the hive in the allotment and learning from today's lesson - very carefully.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for the next few weeks in the allotment. The potatoes are growing too big to be easily earth up and are in danger if we get any more frost. Early sown beans, courgettes, tomatoes, etc. could also be damaged. On the other hand when the wind is from the south (as it is moving to at the moment) it suddenly becomes hot and sunny and the watering can may be needed.

At this time of year the snails that have hiding away for the winter are all about. In my garden they particularly like to get up under the gutter on the singles story kitchen extension behind the clematis. Now that I know that, they don't stay there for long. Over the wall is the school's, very wild, wildlife garden - just right for snails - but will they be back for the clematis?

I don't take cuttings of shrubs nowadays, as I don't have a greenhouse or conservatory, but I did in the past and several of my shrubs as a result have their own memories attached to them - some happy, some sad. I have a small flowered delicate lilac that came from a large fifteen-foot high shrub from the garden in the middle of Hyde Park Corner. It's flowering now and although I took the cutting maybe fifteen, or more, years ago it is only seven or eight feet high at it's highest point and but a few feet across in each direction. Each year, however, it grows in strength and vigor and I'm beginning to think that area beneath and around it is due for some replanting. Consultations with the head gardener will have to take place before I begin, or my work will subject to much criticism and eventually get undone.

1999

May 2nd 1999

The bees are making honey. Day time temperatures are high for the time of year although we are still experiencing cold nights as the prevailing wind is coming from the East.

The last of the main crop potatoes, have now been planted. More French bean, radish, cabbage (January King) and runner beans sown.

May 5th. The first sowing of courgettes (F1 Zucchini) into open ground can now be risked and cabbages planted out. We are already beginning to need rain although the weather is changing and East met West this evening with a cold fine drizzle. Useful for planting out, but not enough to make a real difference. Wallflower, and more cabbage (Savoy) seed sown.

May 6th. Warm evenings have arrived the light breeze is from the West and early Summer is here. The winter cauliflower have just about finished as has the white and purple sprouting broccoli. For me that means digging in these old plants and planting out the new. Harold, my allotment neighbour, has given me some of his greenhouse germinated cabbage plants that are now standing in row where two hours earlier flowing purple sprouting broccoli, winter cauliflower and seeding beet spinach stood. Given a good dressing of blood fish and bone they will be welcome in the summer by which time we will have got bored with the taste of spring cabbage