Pennsif's Progress - The Days are Numbered // Day 904 : Flowers for bees, tins for us
One of the things I am most looking forward to next year is the coming of the bees.
We've been thinking about getting bees for our homestead for three years now.
I've been on an introductory beekeeping course so I know the very basics but I have not felt quite confident enough to the take the plunge.
I've even looked at the new Flow Hives that are supposed to make beekeeping a whole lot easier. But in the UK the beekeepers I've met suggest they won't work so well because our cooler climate will mean the honey won't flow easy enough.
Now we have met some new friends who just moved nearby. One of them is a keen long time beekeeper. He has offered to help us get started with bees in the spring.
That is just what I wanted - a guiding hand nearby to get me going.
So the bees are coming. We better get ready.
One thing I do know is that bees like flowers. So I am planting flowers and bulbs everywhere. I am a man on a mission fully charged with flower power.
The flowers are pouring in. A couple of days ago 170 Harlequin Primrose plug plants and 100 Colourburst Pansy plug plants arrived from Jersey Plants Direct. £27.99 for 270 plants seemed like a good deal.
Today a great big sack of bulbs arrived - 150 dwarf iris, 80 sunshine mix daffodil, 160 winter crocus and 32 everlasting tulips. I have never bought bulbs before but I think over 400 bulbs for £50 from Van Meuwen is not a bad package.
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I'm looking forward to starting on the planting of these all around the place this weekend if the weather is good.
Together with about two dozen fuchsia plants I have been cultivating, half a dozen roses, some more lavendar plants, a tray of geraniums, and a third new herb bed by the polytunnel I want to make the bees as welcome as possible.
If there are any other specific bee-happy plants I should be getting please let me know in the comments.
Emergency Food Supplies
As well as stocking up with flowers we have also been stocking up with tins.
Even though we are growing more and more of our own food I am also keen to have a good stock of long term stored goods.
We do have about a month's supply of very long life freeze-dried food from Mountain House and Wise Foods but I am more concerned about having supplies for the one to two year timescale.
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I haven't yet done any systematic planning with a spreadsheet and stock control. It is more adhoc buying so far when I spot a good price or a good bargain, along with a few cases of items we use regularly like tinned chickpeas.
We buy some in bulk from Suma and Amazon and some from discount supermarkets.
Today I added to our stores some tinned meats, spaghetti and soup that were on offer at the local Co-op.
With whatever I buy I always make sure they have a good shelf life of at least a couple of years. And most importantly they are items that we eat regularly so that we can ensure good stock rotation.
That's it for now. I am off to bed a bit early tonight as I have something special planned for tomorrow.
I am super excited about it. All will be revealed tomorrow evening.
If you found this post useful or interesting please do upvote, resteem and follow. Thank you.
You might also be interested in some of my other posts :
Pennsif's Progress - The Days are Numbered // Day 905 : The garden keeps on giving
Pennsif's Progress - The Days are Numbered // Day 907 : Where should I put my nuts?
Pennsif's Progress - The Days are Numbered // Day 919 : Goodbye young cockerel, hello new friends
My Steemit Promotional Ideas : SteemTowns, Cooking with Steem, Recruitment Reward Scheme : an update
Calling Wales, Calling Wales - any steemit citizens from Wales or living in Wales?
Does steemit need a referral reward system? Recruit a Friend to steemit - CONTEST PROPOSAL?
SteemTowns - connecting the virtual with the reality - would it be possible?
[all images provided by @pennsif]
Our local 'farm shop' sometimes has bankrupt stock in. A couple of years ago I brought quite a few catering size cans (3kg sort of size) of green beans and boiled potatoes for a quid each. I always look out for there bargains, trouble is that my little shed is chock-full now lol.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a man embracing his inner flower power. Good for you to stock can goods and food. I also have a good supply, of canned goods, water, and medical. Again thanks for sharing
It's awesome you're venturing into beekeeping. Looking forward to the updates here.
Stocking up is on my list too. Been saving up for that BIG trip to the meat market and bulk store
@originalworks
I want bees as well, but like you, I am nervous about it without a nearby guiding hand. I need to pay more attention to when there are bee keeping classes in my area. Over here, tulips don't provide much for our native bees and butterflies since they are not native to our area. You should definitely look into native plants as they provide the most in terms of nutritional value to your bees. Plus, they are much easier to keep as they don't require a lot of watering or soil amendments. Good luck! Keep us updated!
Go for it! Bees are very interesting little critters. I was a beekeeper up until 2 years ago. I suddenly developed a allergy after being stung a few times. It's was a very wet summer lots of rain, bees hate rain and dragonflys! Mine swarmed and left for greener pastures.
I tried bee lining for the second time last weekend. It is an old fashioned way to find a wild bee tree by catching bees off of flowers and training them to return to a dish of sugar water. It was fun, but very time consuming.
Unfortunately, I only found a little pile of queenless, homeless worker bees, so I didn't get anything out of it. The process works, though. I'll post something if I get a chance to go out again.
You are going to be busy planting for the next little while...Having an experienced beekeeper to help you get started is real blessing...
Ha! You really are a man on a mission. Props for that! Luckily I befriended someone on Instagram a couple of years ago who has a smallholding near my farmland and...she keeps bee's! She's a novice but I reckon by the time I get there she'll know enough to help a newbie out.
Good plan on stocking up and prepping. I really need to do that too; it's something I aspire to but never get around to actually doing.
smart to stockpile only what you eat already! I have way too many beans! LOL
We went so far as to get bee boxes but just do not have time to really start a new project. Blessings with yours!
Happy Day!