Good Spring!

New plant starts inside

Sorry it has been awhile since I have posted. The spring was so busy I didn't have time to record it! This picture shows how I started my plants this year, in cages to protect them from domestic felines! After moving to the greenhouse, the plants languished. They just didn't grow and were really stressed. I think it was partly due to improper soil I used for potting, but mostly it was just plain COLD! I fertilized with organic fertilizer and just waited. Finally, the plants, the garden, the weather and our schedule all worked out for mass planting the first week of June. Although that is later than most years, it was just right for this year. After we got everything in, we slipped away for a week of vacation, a precious commodity for a farmer, especially during growing season! Fortunately for us, we have a terrific team of farm helpers who covered everything beautifully for us.

Now, the really BIG and WONDERFUL news! On Saturday, May 24, 2025, I cleaned up my two horizontal beehives in preparation for the two nucleus hives I had ordered. I decided to set up a third hive, a vertical hive, just in case I happened to catch a swarm. On Monday, May 26, 2025, my daughter was mowing the yard, when a swarm of bees surrounded her. She got off the mower and followed them to see where they would land. They checked out all three hives, then unbelievably, settled on the third hive, the one I had designated for a swarm! They all marched in and set up house.

A few days later, I spoke to the owner of the gravel pit where the commercial beekeeper has been placing bees for the past eight years and causing me headaches and loss of honey and bees. The gravel pit owner told me he is not allowing the commercial beekeeper to keep bees in the gravel pit this year! There are still two adjacent pits I am not sure about, although he told me those were both under new ownership, which I am hoping will not allow the beekeeper in.

On June 9, 2025, I installed the two nucs I had ordered in the horizontal hives. Now I have three beehives again. The basswood trees on my property are budding with lots of clusters, which is hopeful for a good basswood honey flow in early July.