Stowe Apple Day

The Midshire Orchard Group had an Apple day over the weekend at the National Trust Gardens in Stowe.

It was a great success, the weather was lovely and they had activities for children to do and as people came to visit the landscape gardens they had to walk past some of the Apple day celebrations, which enticed them in. I would say though some people had come specifically for the Apple day.

People were offered apple juice to try 50p a cup or a taster for free and various apple tree varieties were on sale with varying root stocks as well as cakes and preserves and bottles of juice for sale.

My daughter made a bird feeder, which was a pine cone wrapped in lard and then plunged into various seeds and dried fruit. She also entered the longest peel contest and managed to walk away with three apples and the one she had peeled, which were quickly consumed by me and the kids.

They also had a talk after 3pm which I couldn't stick around for, I'm sure it would have been nice.

They had the usual apple identification. I did see lots of people using the service which was nice to see.

Lots of apples on display mind which was great.

I only wish I could have tried them all and compared them and got other peoples thoughts on them, to see if I could find ones that we could plant in the orchard at some point in the future.

London Honey Show

I visited the London honey show which was a lot more extravagant than the honey shows I have been to. For a start it was on a week day evening and in a nice hotel. The show looked to me to be a success. Lots of people and events and things to see, try and learn. Everyone was approachable and keen to pass on knowledge etc.

The location was at The Lancaster hotel which is between Marble Arch and Notting Hill opposite Hyde Park.

 I attended two lectures, however more were available and then browsed the stands. Seating for the lectures was limited, but worth attending, I had to sit on the floor but it was ok.  

Garden Organic's were around as were Bee Craft and the guy from Omlet selling the bee haus. Lots of people selling memberships to this and that, plus DVD’s and books for sale, including 2 by Celia Davis. You could also by various other bits and bobs.

I entered the tombola and won a honey jar donated by Daylesford Organics. I also saw a couple of celebrities including Charlie Dimmock who looked very glamorous. I tried several honeys’ all were good all of varying colours and subtle taste differences. The lectures were on selling honey and hive byproduct which was interesting but could have been better. The other presentation was on school that has set up a hive on its grounds and is now integrating it into the school curriculum.

All in all, a very nice evening. I did enjoy the complementary nibbles.

Leaves are a falling

Autum is settling in things are beginning to calm down and its visible from the trees, things are moving slowly. Leaves from the trees are starting to change colour and the tree from last week which had bright red leaves has almost no leaves remaining. They seem to have blown away. The energy from the leaves is flowing back down into the ground.

I thought I may have to add more fondant to the bee hives but to my suprise no, they have enough food for probrably more than a week. I could have added the extra foundant on Saturday but with it in place it makes it difficult to check the bees and the brood pattern. Which I like to check, so I'll wait. The final Guards are up and the space for the bees to get into the hives is now very small.

It also seems that they bees are bringing in lots of yellow pollen  back into the hives. I am not sure for how much longer they will be bring in pollen, of course Ivy and some other late and wintering flowering flowers still produce pollen but usually not enough to sustain them over the winter.

Quiet weekend

This week I was dreading going to the Orchard. I went down and checked on the trees all are fine. I can't see any further damage. I then checked on the bees with a friend. The bees are also fine. I have seen much of the fondant that I put into the hive has been taken down and consumed. I have put guards on the hives put couldn't make the entrance smaller. The hive blocks I had taken down were a little large, but I have found the correct ones. That’s a job for Saturday next week.

I looked at the damaged from last week and well in truth I can only hope that in time the trees will grow true and strong. It would be nice to see the trunk repair itself, which is possible and it may make a great home of a small creature, probably an insect, but let’s wait and see.

The friends that came down have missed much of the fruit this year but I have given them a Jar of honey.

The colours of the trees are changing and I have put up a picture of a plum tree with beautiful red leaves, each day the leaves are getting brighter. I have also noted that rabbits have been very active over the past week digging holes. Perhaps its cause by the very strange weather we have been having over the past few days. I have seen more ladybirds around, as they seem to be bedding down for the winter.