Still Harvest time

Still collecting apples of the trees this week I collected a couple of kilos of apples various variety's. I am ever so please with this years harvest. Some of the plums aren't doing at well this year. They have maggots in some of them and the wasps are in possession of some of the trees. Its the sugar in the plums that is attracting them. They seem to only like the ripe fruit and sucking out the sugar from the fruit. You can still find some very tasty fruit but you do have to pick them carefully and ensure that its good maggot free. In some cases I have bitten into and only after the second bite realized that a maggot is nesting with the plum.

I'm not sure how to deal with the maggots in the plums, they seems to burrow down to the stone and then eat around it and contaminate the fruit. I have to do some research into this.

I have started the apiguard treatment for the bees, the weather was nice and they didn't seem to mind me going into the hives. I had over the previous weeks seen that they had put lots of honey around the super areas of the hives and they have started to bring it down into the brood boxes.

I had to make some space and placed the apiguard treatment into the hive. I actually bought it from John Madgwick at the Birmingham honey show. I normally use Api Life Var and had changed the product for two reasons. 1st because John didn't have enough Api Life Var and 2nd a slight change to the treatment so that the varroa mites don't get accustom to the treatment.

Lots of mushrooms around on the grass.

The orchard is looking great to me. The place is now looking more like a traditional orchard.

The guys who own a livery are still practicing in the orchard. I have spoken to Chris and he has promised me that if its rained he won't bring any horses into the orchard. His daughter recently had a tournament in abroad which was on grass and they wanted to practice on grass. They are meant to deliver a pile of well rotted manure in the next couple of weeks.

Birmingham Honey Show 2013

Honey trophies to be won

Mead can't touch or drink

I visited the Birmingham honey show last week. It was held at Martineau Gardens in Edgbaston as usual. It was the sunny of the two day event and I took the kids. They aren't that impressed with Honey shows if you visited some of the smaller ones they are all pretty much the same. A collection of different colored honey, various wax candles, meads, honey cakes all of which you can't try or touch then some interesting pictures, photos or beekeeping articles.



You can talk with various beekeepers and people making products from arty items like rolled candles. You can buy products like lip balm, make up. perhaps soap and candles. Then you have a go at spotting the queen in an observation hive.

Honey Cakes

The one thing that Birmingham Bee keepers do that is interesting is they invite people and organizations that are from differing pursuits into the honey show so that they can advertise and promote other products also. As always they had people from Martineau Gardens who were giving walks and talks about the gardens and wildlife that can be found in the gardens. They have orchards, allotments, a small wood, a coffee shop etc. They had people in a yurt selling books, and telling stories, people selling jam's and the like with produce from the gardens. People selling home made cakes etc.

All in all it was nice, and lots of lovely people, not just the bee keeping fraternity.

More Honey 

Still gathering fruit and have cut the grass.

The weather over the past couple of days has been nice and warm, however looking forward its going to be wet, so I managed to borrow my brother's transit van and have cut about 90 % of the grass. It took 6 hours and my pedometer says I has walked 21 Kilometers. The last 10 % I will leave and can see lots of insects have made the orchard their home. This will give them shelter.

Orchard after having cut the grass

The grass is looking lovely, now. 

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had a young girl and her friends practicing horse jumping in the orchard. The girl was at the European championships recently and needed to practice on grass. 

She did well and looks forward to competing again in Europe.

The later crops of plums in the orchard are coming into bloom at present. Mainly the green gages I have found that a number of the plums have small holes and when you open them up you can find a small maggot. Not all the plums are infected, but its not good. I may have to harvest some of the plums early and let them ripen at home. I will leave the infected ones on the trees. The wasps are also enjoying the plums.

This morning after I had cut the grass the weather turned and we have a severe down pour, good thing I got the grass cut. Still waiting on the delivery of manure.