All the trees have a straw bed

I have now put straw under every tree, at least 4 inches worth. As it rains and get warmer it will mulch down. It should decompose and add to the soil, it should also suppress weeds.

The gate has been fixed. Acquired new hinges, I found a manufacturer in Cradley Heath. The gate is easy to open and close now. I may have to move the post closer, which will be an effort as I will require help.

I have also spoken to a couple more people about sheep. A couple of farmers have ewes that may be suitable and would mean I do not need to buy them. I even have a lady with ponies that could graze the grass, but only when I am around.

The grass is getting longer and in some parts it is lush, getting it cut may be difficult. I have looked at buying a second hand ride on mower they are both expensive and I'm not sure if it would be a good investment. Why would some one what to get rid of a perfectly good working mower.

I have started to look at wild flower seeds, perhaps have lines of wide flowers between the tree rows. Its expensive but would be beneficial for the bees.

I have also been to the WBKA Sutton Coldfield Apiary and seen inside a hive. Fascinating I wasn't stung and I wasn't that scared, it was exhilarating and interesting. It does look like lots of people are getting into bee keeping.

Natural England have also made some announcements about Britain losing traditional orchards, which has been interesting and we shall see what comes of it. I am already registered with Natural England and have been in touch recently with a lady called Anita, she has sent me some information, which was nice of her.

Sweet Blossom and pests

We have blossom on the trees finally, and its beautiful. Not all the trees but some and the rest will have blossom in a couple of weeks probably. A number of the trees still have small buds but they are growing.

We have fixed the fence and it looks good. I had purchased a number of new brackets for the gate but they were all the wrong size, they have now gone back to the supplier. It looks like I may have to find them from a different supplier.

We have found some pest or disease on a couple of leaves, I am looking into what it could be and what I should do. I will not be using chemicals.

Finally we have been mulching again. We have bought bales of straw and wood chip, we put the straw down within the fencing and then wood chip on top. This should stop the weeds from coming up. We have started getting lots of weeds but we have had good week with lots and rain and sun.

On the 19th I am going to Stoneleigh to the county Bee fair. This will be an opportunity to make some new contacts and look at what I'll need to keep bees.

Fencing, ants, mulch and blossom

Easter bank holiday so its been a busy weekend. My brother and I have been fixing some of the fencing, and we still have more to do next week. We had to give up as we have broken two hammers. We have been using the claw on hammers to remove old rusty nails, and then replace them with new screws. One of the hammers belongs to my dad and he must have owned it for a least 25 years the other was a hammer from Wilkinson, both have broken necks.

We then started work on the gate. The hinge was bent and we need to replace it. It took us a while to take it off and now I gave to find a replacement. This may take a while, I may have to go to a farm shop on the weekend and see if I can get one.

Lots more of the trees have larger buds ready to open and a couple have opened. I examined all the trees and I found ants and spiders crawling all over the trees. Not sure if its a good or bad thing.

My brother has also been adding leaf mulch to the soil. This is to stop the weeds that have been building up recently. We are going to need a lot more leaf mulch as we seem to be using lots and it just composts down into the ground, and encourage weeds.

I have spoken to a couple of the farmers in the fields nearby. I may be getting some help to get the grass cut and sheep may be on the way soon. Some of the farmers are using fertiliser on the fields, I will not be.

Fixing Fencing

This weekend I have checked on the trees, they are fine. I have fixed some of the fencing that was lose. I still have more to do and will get it done next week with help from my brother. The gate to the orchard is also broken and this will take two of us to repair. In fact we may have to get some new parts to fix it properly. I need to get all this done before getting the sheep.

Also yesterday I found one of the spare stakes had been put inside the fencing next to one of the trees. This was a bit worrying as it means someone has been around the orchard and been messing. The trees were not harmed so I guess I'll put it down to kids on the Easter break messing around.