23 minute read
Home and Garden
Home and Garden A bee's work is never done by Amanda Baughen
Last month we looked at the role of the male drones in a colony of bees, so this time round it seems only fair to consider what the girls get up to, especially as they make up the rest of the numbers. At this time of the year that means there are around 60,000 female bees in a typical French Dadant hive, and the only female that is mated, the queen bee, will be laying up to 2,000 eggs a day. So in the three weeks it takes for eggs to develop into adult bees, that means there will be another…umm….a LOT of bees. This apparent population explosion is kept in check by the bees’ shortened lifespan, which in spring and summer is only 5-6 weeks. It’s a sad fact that they practically work themselves to death. Spare a thought for the female bees; from hatching to dying there is no rest for them, as they work in a number of different roles throughout their lives for the greater good of the colony. These flakes are taken by the builder bees and chewed up with water to make them soft and malleable. The resulting soft wax is used to build new comb as well as to seal over pupating bees and to cap nectar that is ready to turn into honey. As the bees mature and become stronger they will help to defend the colony by standing guard at the entrance to their home and checking the comings and goings of foragers. Imagine nightclub bouncers – if your name isn’t on the list, or your face isn’t recognised, you’re not getting in! For the final two to three weeks of their lives, the female worker bees are the ones you will see in your garden, busily going from flower to flower in search of pollen and nectar. These bees are foraging, and are currently busy collecting food for all the new mouths to feed, but also to store for the coming winter. Although we are only just past the summer solstice, the bees are aware that the hours of daylight are reducing and there is a finite amount of time in which to store enough nectar to feed the colony during the winter months. The female bees have stings, and so if you have ever been stung, it will have been by a girl….
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Of course, the queen bee is female too and, as mentioned earlier, she works hard at her job of ensuring the continuation of the colony by laying eggs and producing new bees. There has to be a constant cycle of bees of all ages to ensure the efficient running of a colony: the nurse bees are necessary to ensure the larvae are fed, without the wax producers there would be no comb or seals, and without the foragers there would be no food. As you can see, each and every bee has an important role to fulfil, and none of them can take a day off….so when you are lounging in your garden, enjoying a cool glass of something and watching yet another gorgeous sunset, spare a thought for these busy buzzies and perhaps consider learning how to look after them.
Interested to know more? Contact us at 13 Bees on 05 45 71 22 90, or visit our website www.13bees.co.uk
When they first emerge from their cells, chewing through the wax caps which protected them whilst pupating, bees need to ‘dry off’ and feed. After a few hours they will take on roles such as nurse bees, tending to eggs and larvae, providing ‘brood food’ or ‘bee bread’ to nourish the growing bees. This food is made up of pollen and water, and in the case of new queens, royal jelly. They may also become ‘storekeepers’ whose task is to take pollen and nectar from returning foragers and to store it in cells in the wax. Housekeepers have the unenviable job of clearing away any detritus including dead bees, although bees close to the end of their lives will typically fly away from the hive to save their sisters extra work.
Wax-builders are vital to a colony, as are the wax-producers, bees aged 11-14 days that produce tiny flakes of wax from glands on the underside of their abdomens.
love youR GaRden
by Greenfingers
After spending two weeks in the UK, I am pleased to be home once again. I loved catching up with the whole family (wonderful to see them all), but I get home sick for my house and garden when I’m away. I know that sounds absurd, but I really do miss being outside on our small piece of French soil. My sister and I had a wonderful time visiting garden centres galore and I was in my element….the choice they have to offer is just so much more varied than here……and then there are the ‘add ons’, the most important of which is the café or tea shop. Fabulous to gorge, not only on plants and seeds, but scones, crumpets and tea too! We must try to introduce the idea to French people, so that garden centre visits can become a ‘total’ experience and those people who are not really interested in gardening can have a lovely time with friends just chatting in a different environment and enjoy ‘afternoon’ or even ‘morning’ tea together. It is so lovely to have an opportunity to see what’s new in the world of garden tools, seeds and more importantly what’s available to plant now. British garden centres provide an environment that is interesting, stimulates the senses and are places of learning too. Each one that we visited was different, all had huge varieties of plants, but some specialised in house plants, (not really my cup of tea, but each to their own!) others had ranges of gardening clothes and boots or, huge selections of tools that it would be impossible to garden without! I do visit garden centres here often, they have an irresistible attraction for me and I do like the differences between here and the UK. I enjoy being able to buy small potted perennials for less than three euros…….some because they are just for me to try in my spot, and others because I can afford to buy two or three at a time and plant them out, not exactly en masse, but covering a goodly bit of earth. I feel rich just by doing it! If I don’t succeed with some, I haven’t lost a fortune, but if they go well, I can save up my ‘pocket money’ and buy more! Covid is now not a daily item on the news, but its’ very presence amongst us, when so many people were very ill, has changed many of us or has changed the way we think about things. Although most of us now have been vaccinated, or will be again soon, the disease remains with us and I’m still hearing of people catching it or recovering from it. The after effects seem to be a sort of lethargy in some, a lack of energy or purpose in others and yet others are back to their old selves……each of us is different. Being able to sit outside in the garden, however large or small, or on a balcony enjoying the sunshine, having a quiet cuppa, and just being quiet and contemplative, is so beneficial. I’m lucky that I have a garden, which is definitely a work place for me, a dreaming place, a planning place. The time passes quickly in a ‘fully occupied’ and satisfying way. Yes there can be frustrations……..the next door cat has dug yet another hole in a flower bed, the birds have upended another full feeder scattering the seed everywhere, those six perennials I was going to plant, became only three as I ran out of daylight….am I slowing up I wonder, or just doing things more thoroughly? I was watching Gardeners’ World the other evening which featured a chap who had taken it upon himself to enrich his local environment by planting trees. He has now planted thousands and is still doing it, and may he long continue to do this environmental enrichment!! Just having that greenery in the road nearby or in the park or even in your garden is just a joy. I love trees. I think they are majestic, the huge ancient oaks
and even the slender silver birches. My walking partner and I never tire of just stopping to look, to listen to the wind through the leaves, to notice the bark, the butterflies that we see resting there. Near to our local lake where we often walk, a piece of grassland has been converted into a planting area by the local council and two hundred tree saplings were planted there last autumn. We keep an eye on how they are developing, each one being protected by a meshwork membrane. Nearly all of them now are producing foliage which is taller than the meshwork………so a success thus far. We assume when they get much bigger, they will be transferred somewhere else to grow on and will eventually become part of the landscape.
What to do in your garden now:
• Make sure that all tall climbing plants are ‘staked’ securely to protect fragile stems in case of bad weather and high winds. • Reduce water loss due to evaporation, by watering plants in the early evening and putting a good layer of mulch around each one. • Prune flowering shrubs such as philadelphus and weigelia that have already bloomed. Prune to healthy new growth lower down on the stems and cut out old or damaged stems down to ground level. • Cut back growth in hanging baskets to encourage new foliage and flowers and to prevent self- seeding. Water well and feed with a pot plant or basket fertiliser. • Hardy geraniums and delphiniums can be cut back too… the ‘Chelsea Chop’! (I deadhead mine instead as I love the colours and spread of the flowers, but I will cut them back when they get too straggly!). • Wisteria can be pruned now. The long whippy side shoots are quite obvious and should be cut back to about 20 cms from their base. • Prune lupins to encourage a second flush of flowers. • Divide clumps of bearded irises to encourage better flowering next year. Trim the leaves down to about 15 cms and into a fan shape then divide the rhizomes quite simply by breaking them into suitable pieces. Replant the healthiest either back into flower beds or into pots so that new roots can develop quickly before the colder autumn weather arrives. • Make sure that clematis roots are well shaded and any new growth is tied into a support securely. Remember to water regularly otherwise they will become ‘stressed’ and there is a tendency for clematis ‘wilt’ to develop. This can be recognised by the leaves collapsing….’wilting’ and the stems turning black. Remove any diseased foliage or stems or it will spread quickly to the rest of the plant.
• Prepare for some autumn colour in pots and the garden by planting nerines (also known as Guernsey lilies), colchicum and sternbergia. They can stay in the ground after they have finished flowering at the end of autumn. • Deadhead roses regularly to keep displays looking good and the perfume to keep wafting. Remove dead, damaged or diseased stems from rambling roses when the flowering has finished. • Pick sweet peas regularly and remove any seed pods that form. Feed weekly with a high potash feed….tomato feed will do….and keep the plants well watered. • Weed flower beds regularly, especially removing dandelion plants, the seeds of which are airborne at the moment. I cut the fluffy heads off as soon as they appear. Dandelions are destined for my wild flower ‘meadow’ at the bottom of the garden, but I don’t really want them in with my hostas! Also weed out herb Robert, which is a wild form of geranium. It is pretty, very invasive, having a central arrangement of the leaves. The roots spread out almost flat on the earth and they can cover a wide area quickly. They are easy to pull up because of this circular formation. The tiny flowers are pink and the lower stems a deep red colour. • Hollyhocks can suffer from rust in hot humid conditions.
If you have it, prune out any affected leaves and spray the plants with a fungicide. • Now is the time to try to eradicate ground elder and bindweed, before it takes over! Use a strong solution of
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water and white vinegar and water any specimens of these plants that you find. If there is an eco-friendly weed-killer in the garden centres use that instead…….always following the instructions of course! • If pepper plants have grown well, transfer them into larger pots and this will encourage more ‘fruit’ development. • Pinch out side shoots on tomato plants. Cut off any foliage growing below the lowest fruit. This will improve air circulation around the plant and help to discourage mildew. It will also be easier to see any pests which may have ‘arrived’. Keep the compost moist all the time to avoid blossom end rot and ‘splitting’. Pick off any yellowing leaves and feed with tomato fertiliser every week. • Fruit trees and vegetable crops will all benefit from a high potash feed now as it encourages the setting of fruit and the growth of the vegetables. Thin out fruits on apple and pear trees so that good sized fruit is produced; picking the fruit now also helps to allay the development of brown rot.
Feed citrus plants throughout the summer with a specific citrus fertiliser. If apple scab develops, treat with a fungicide from a garden centre……always read the label on its use especially when dealing with edible crops. • Courgettes should be harvested when they are small and young; the skin is very bitter and tough if left too long on the parent plant. • Harvest runner beans often, before they have a chance to become stringy and tough. Ripe pods left on the stems can inhibit more flower production which will result in fewer beans being produced. • Gooseberry bushes attract sawfly and their larvae can decimate the entire bush within a few days. Pick the larvae off by hand or ‘splat’ them with the jet hose! • If fig trees are producing lots of fruit, pinch out the tips of side shoots where they have developed five leaves. • Prune back blackcurrant bushes after harvesting and remember that raspberries need daily watering in hot weather. • Harvest all vegetables as they become ready this month- make sure there is a room/space to store them, which is dry and well ventilated. Keep checking them over in case any rot sets in and turn them regularly. • The warm, damp humid weather usually means more slugs-- they seem bigger and more numerous this year, especially the enormous orange coloured ones! Sprinkling a little kitchen salt on them seems to kill them quickly.
Not sure about the environmental result of doing that, but careful aim should keep the salt where you need it to be effective. Summer is generally the season for pests of all sorts, slugs, snails, insects, fungus, mildew etc. Keep checking plants, pots and soil so that if anything ‘creeps in’ you can deal with it swiftly. If the aphids invade, just rub them off the leaves and stems with your fingers wherever you find them. Ladybirds, lace wings and hover flies all eat aphids, so welcome them into the garden by putting up more bug ‘hotels’, they don’t have to be sophisticated; corrugated paper, straw and cardboard in a box or container of some kind, are all you need to attract them.
• Keep birdbaths topped up with fresh water and make sure they are cleaned regularly to prevent disease spreading. • Thin out oxygenating plants in the pond to encourage pond creatures back into the water. Having a fountain or a cascade or just some running water, helps to keep the levels of oxygen up on hot days. • If there is a bit of empty space available in a pot or a flower bed, it is not too late to sow spring greens and oriental vegetables, to give an extra harvest. Keep sowing leaf crops such as salads, spinach and spring onions for a continued supply during the summer. Water at the roots frequently. If some salad crops have been damaged by bad weather or they are past their best in the garden, pull them up and add them to the compost heap, then sow some more seeds or plant out seedlings to replace those that have been lost. • Lift first early potatoes and at the end of the month, second earlies. • Take semi-ripe cuttings from evergreen shrubs and hardy climbers. Take the cuttings from the base of the parent plant as that growth will have begun to harden a little and
they have a better chance of ‘striking’ roots. Lavender, sage and rosemary are good plants to take cuttings from. Choose non flowering stems and pot them up into moist compost and leave in a spot away from direct sunlight. • Trimming laurel encourages denser growth and also helps to maintain a good shape; remove any suckers that are growing from the lower part of the main stem. • Check that anti- bird netting around veg plants is taut and securely fixed; so that birds don’t get trapped or injured in it • When mowing the grass, keep the blade level a little higher, which allows the grass to grow more strongly and it will be more drought resistant and stay greener for longer. • Baby hedgehogs will be out and about now, so leave some water out in a dish to keep them hydrated on dry days and some tinned cat food to supplement their diet. • When dahlia flowers have finished flowering, they leave a yellowy coloured, conically shaped seed head. Cut these off to ensure continued flowering. • Thin out foxglove seedlings. I’m inundated with these in my flower pots, but they have made a fantastic ‘unplanned’ colourful addition to the garden. I’m saving the seed to plant them in a ‘preferred’ area! • Penstemons are easy to take cuttings from, and produce roots fairly quickly. Take a non- flowering stem about 10 cms long, just above a leaf junction on the parent plant. Remove all but two sets of leaves at the top and pinch out the
growing tip. Pot up in gritty compost and water well; leave on a window sill or place them in a propagator and keep the compost damp but not drenched. Roots should appear in a few weeks and then the new plants can be potted on when they have grown bigger. • Collect seeds from aquilegia, lychnis, foxgloves, centranthus etc. Many of the perennials that flower early in the season, will have produced dry seed pods now and these are easy to collect by just shaking the stems into a paper bag. The seeds will drop to the bottom of the bag and the stems can then be thrown away. Don’t forget to label, date and seal the bag! I keep mine in an old chocolate tin as there are some insects about that eat paper and the seeds will be lost if they get to them.
Whatever you do in your garden take a moment from the labour to savour what you have accomplished, to think about what you might do next, have a cuppa whilst you are doing it……and Enjoy!
Greenfingers
A Friend In The Garden
He is not John the gardener, and yet the whole day long, Employs himself most usefully, the flower beds among. He is not Tom the pussy cat, and yet the other day, With stealthy stride and glistening eye he crept upon his prey. He is not Dash the dear old dog, and yet perhaps, if you -Took pains with him and petted him, you’d come to love him too. He’s not a blackbird, though he chirps, and though he once was black, But now he wears a loose grey coat, all wrinkled on the back. He’s got a very dirty face, and very shining eyes, He sometimes comes and sits indoors; he looks…….and p’raps is….wise. But in a sunny flower bed he has his fixed abode; He eats the things that eat my plants…….he is a friendly TOAD!!
Juliana Horatio Ewing Juliana was born in Ecclesfield, Sheffield England on August 3rd 1841 and died in Bath Somerset in 1885. An English writer of children’s stories, she had great understanding of the lives of children and a strong religious belief.
DONNA IN HER POTAGER
July 2022
It’s been a disappointing month in the potager! All the seeds sown in the bales have germinated, started to take off and…disappeared! I resowed, in the hope that the burgeoning nasturtiums might entice the little beasties away from my veggies, but no, they prefer anything I try to grow. Typical. I’m not sure what is eating them but I have a feeling it is slugs, snails and birds. I’ve put up some bird scarers but probably need more and as for the gastropods, I’m not sure how to beat them, unless I sit out on a rainy night and pick them off as I won’t use slug pellets and don’t want to use beer traps either. I haven’t had the problem this bad before and I do feel quite disheartened! The no dig beds are not having the same problem and there are lots of empty snail shells which have obviously been predated by hedgehog, frog or toad. I don’t know which, as I have all three and although they can all climb, why climb when there is food in abundance on the ground?! So, while I’ve enjoyed straw bale gardening, I’m going to change to no dig beds for the outside plants next year as the yield will also be bigger in the ground. I have transplanted some self sown rainbow chard to the bales as they don’t seem to be eaten quite as much, and usually
by Donna Palframan
go mad in bales. The tomatoes are doing well, apart from one that keeps trying to die, so they will be in straw again. This year’s straw will be nicely rotted so will be used with compost to provide the thickness needed and as ground cover has been down for four years, I won’t worry about cardboard, although I am saving it…just in case! The hugul bed is also not doing what I wanted as the top layer of horse manure is slipping off the second layer of hay. In hindsight, I think a finer compost would be better but I’ll keep trying with it and see what happens! For various reasons, my time in the potager has been rather brief over the last month but the distractions have now, hopefully, been dealt with and I can spend more time in my happy place! I must remember to take a chair there for those pondering moments.
There is some good news though! The first harvest of globe artichokes has been made and they are nestled in olive oil with some aromatics and will be ready at the beginning of August to be devoured. Once the apical artichokes are harvested, smaller axillary ones grow and these can also be harvested. Some are left so they can open as the flowers are pretty and the insects love them. The coriander seeds have germinated too – this is the third batch I’ve sown. The first were in a seed tray, and did nothing, the second in bales and disappeared but the third are in the ground and are growing well. I adore coriander and use it a lot in my cooking, so need to get more going. The turnips in the ground are also at the point where they need thinning, which is positive and the beetroot in the ground and bales are developing nicely.
Some of my chilli plants have been moved to the polytunnel and are loving the extra heat and light. They
are in pots and have been overwintered but sadly, I lost my jalapeño as I put it in the polytunnel when I was conditioning the bales, forgetting that quite a noxious gas can be produced, which managed to kill it. Very sad, as it was just sprouting new leaves and this would have been it’s third year. I have some habanero and cayenne varieties but do love a jalapeño so I will get some more seeds, unless I see a plant somewhere else first. Another lovely chilli is the Espelette which is from the Espelette region in the Pyrénées-Atlantique and is described as the flavour of Basque cuisine. I had a plant which I didn’t manage to overwinter, sadly. It is milder than a cayenne and has a lovely flavour. I keep looking at the tiny jars in the shops then look at the price so I must get some seeds or a plant. I was hoping that this year, potager production would be better and have felt a bit despondent but it is still quite early and I will be able to get plenty of vegetables on the go – I just have to avoid being distracted! One little (ha!) job that was started was moving my IBC (water store) as the wooden base was collapsing and it had a dangerous looking tilt. So, I decided I wanted to move it about a metre away and while we were putting it on a metal frame, we could elevate it using agglo and a plastic IBC base we have hanging around. The light bulb moment came to make underneath it suitable for a hedgehog house. First, of course, it had to be emptied. Not wanting to waste water, this was done when watering was needed but of course, it rained, so it took longer. Then the day came to move it. The weather forecast was okay – sunny spells with the odd light shower. Not a problem. However, I don’t think the forecast was actually for our area as it started to rain. The app said it would stop in half an hour, so we sheltered in the polytunnel and I did some tying up and tomatoey jobs. Half an hour passed and the rain started to ease until we went outside and then the heavens opened and it became torrential. Now, I don’t mind working in light rain but when it’s raining so hard that it’s running into my eyes so I can’t see, that’s it. Tools are downed and job abandoned so the next exciting instalment will have to be next time, I’m afraid!
