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Biting the Hand that Feeds You

August 29, 2014

Bishop Beekeeping, Composting, Gardening 2 Comments

I was tending to both my bees and my garden this morning. My bees just typically go about their business and I go about my business without conflicts. I am still giving the hive sugar water to help as they continue to grow in size. I noticed that the quart jar in the Boardman Feeder was empty so I gently eased down, removed it, shooed the few bees that had clung to the lid and took it into the house for a refill. A few minutes later I returned, slipped the quart jar into place without event. I always do this without any beekeeping gear, so it was shorts and a t-shirt with my camo Crocs on my feet….the ones that my daughter Lisa hates to see on my feet at the coffee shop or for that matter….anywhere in public. Too bad, I like them and they are comfortable.

Bees just continued to do what they do ignoring me. I spread some pine needle mulch and grass clippings around to help suppress the weeds. My son had mowed our neighbor’s lawn and brought the clippings home. I decided to add that “black”, key word, bag of clippings to the compost bin next to the hive. I grabbed it and swung it up onto the bin’s cross bar to untie it….not even thinking about how the bees would react to this big black object swinging through their air space….

So, a big dark black object coming quickly into their space is seen as a threat. Me, being attached to he black bag was also, apparently seen as a threat…..dark red shirt worn by this dummy in addition to the black bag threat made it doubly bad. Well 8-10 bees tried to encourage me to leave and I just tried to ignore them. Trying to untie the knot must have been see as a aggressive act so, one of the protectors gave up their life and stung the hand that also feeds them…..OK, I get the message. I walked away, used my knife to scrap the stinger out and left them alone for about 15 minutes. I put a dab of cortisone cream on my hand and all was fine.

After 15 minutes I went back out and as usual – they ignored me, I untied the bag and slowly dumped it and finished my chores. I believe I learned a lesson…..I just hope CRS doesn’t kick in and I forget the lesson.

Just doing what they do best...... I just need to make sure that I am not an irritant or look like a bear.

Just doing what they do best…… I just need to make sure that I am not an irritant or look like a bear. Photo from earlier in the year when someone else’s bees were pollinating my lemon tree.

TTFN

Bishop

 

Bees – Lessons Learned

August 6, 2014

Bishop Beekeeping, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle , , , 1 Comment

If you are going to be a bee keeper you are going to get stung! I am still using a Boardman feeder holding a quart sized jar of sugar water. The hive is healthy and growing. They will consume a quart in about 10 hours!

Therefore, I, or my daughter Lisa, have to refill it daily. We don’t put our gear on or use the smoker. We just calmly approach the hive, remove the jar, shoo away the few that hang on and refill the jar. Once topped off calmly replace the jar.

A few days ago I was apparently too abrupt on my approach. As I removed the empty jar, four or five bees came at me. Most were just bumping me, trying to discourage my presence. Apparently one Lone Ranger bee saw me as a bigger threat and popped a stinger through my shirt on my left pec. Fortunately I don’t react to stings, just itched a bit for a day or two. Lesson learned, be gentle and the bees will respond in kind!

Lisa and I added a super and the queen excluder over the past weekend. We were appropriately attired in our beekeeping gear. The bees are busy making honey and more workers! I hope to have my first harvest/extraction by the end of summer.

I will leave them alone for the next three weeks or so before doing a more thorough inspection of the hive and the queen. Who knows, I may get lucky and be able to split a hive! I do have an empty NUC hive box. Maybe I should try and capture a swarm. I do have some extra full sized frames! Waste not, want not.

TTFN
Bishop

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Boardman feeder similar to the one I use.

Playing in the Rain and in the Garden

July 17, 2014

Bishop Beekeeping, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Tomato Growing, Vegetables , , , , 4 Comments

I do believe that I am a 6 year old trapped in the body of a 63 year old man. We have had a couple of good downpours today – I wish I could send some to my California friends – mixed with gentle sprinkles. During one of the misty lulls I went out to the garden inspect and snack….

Inspecting how the bees were doing, I am happy to report that they are doing very well. Here is where the curiosities of a 6 year old kick in. I stand off to the side of the take off and landing pattern. I marvel at the roles visible at the entrance….some bees just hang out there as guard bees preventing “robbers” from getting in and fanning at the entrance to help maintain proper hive temperature. The others that were zooming in and out are the foragers, the last period of a worker bee’s life. They are on a mission! When they arrive at the entrance from a foraging flight, it is all business and they disappear inside immediately. The foragers departing don’t display quite the same sense of urgency…. some wander around for a few moments…possibly checking out the proposed flight plan and then off they go. Others, the hesitation is very brief and then off they go. I feel such a sense of wonder, almost mesmerized, as I watch the choreographed activity!

If you haven’t had the opportunity, follow a 3-6 year old child as they wander around outside. Watch to see what they find fascinating and attempt to see it through there eyes….some amazing things are taken for granted in this natural world around us….never lose the ability to see and appreciate the simple wonders around you.

Post rain - the bees are slowly beginning to forage and defend the entrance.

Post rain – the bees are slowly beginning to forage and defend the entrance.

Snacks…My Juliet tomatoes are such a sweet snack. I picked a large number of the little cherry tomatoes and have about a dozen or more of the Juliets ready to be picked for the kitchen. Post rain they are so picturesque! Beads of rainwater still clinging to their skins and begging to be picked and consumed. Who am I to argue! Several found their way into my mouth!

Small, probably 2 ounces, but prolific and tolerant of the Houston heat and humidity.

Small, probably 2 ounces, but prolific and tolerant of the Houston heat and humidity.

Going vertical….Cucumbers and yes, even watermelons. My pickling cucumbers succumbed to the nasty white flies….the Lady Bug beetles were working hard but not enough to keep them in check. I still have Straight Eight and Armenian type growing and beginning to develop fruit.

An Armenian Cuke developing.

An Armenian Cuke developing.

I am growing a variety of small watermelons. A refrigerator  type and growing them vertically. As the fruit develops I will have to hang a sling to keep them up off of the ground…..I can’t wait. In the background is a banana plant that should bear fruit next year. I met a Mexican worker on a pipeline job that I am supporting that gave me the corms. He grows many varieties of bananas in his yard south of Houston. It is an apple banana, Manzano Banana tree! Looking forward to harvesting!

A developing melon. Full sized will be just a bit smaller than a volleyball.

A developing melon. Full sized will be just a bit smaller than a volleyball.

The vertical climbing vines with the banana tree in the background.

The vertical climbing vines with the banana tree in the background.

I finally got a “round to it” handed to me concerning my worm farm. We have all used that phrase I am sure….”Yeah, I’ll get a round to it.” – But we never do…..I had a coworker who had a bunch made up – they look like wooden nickels and he hands them out to procrastinators…..I received one…what does that tell you about me? Yes, I fit the description! I harvested at least 10 pounds of wet worm poop and made several gallons of diluted worm poop tea! After spreading the gathered goodies I heard some “oohs” and “ahs” as the garden absorbed the delicious feeding!

TTFN

Bishop

Still Overwhelmed With Tomatoes!’

July 13, 2014

Bishop Gardening 3 Comments

Today a I dealt with an overload of tomatoes and made some Pico de Gallo. 93% of the ingredients from my little backyard farm.

4 – large, ripe and meaty tomatoes- “Mater Sandwich” variety
1 cup of finely chopped yellow and red onions – so sweet !
3 – Serrano peppers, seeded and also finely chopped
1 – Jalapeño pepper also seeded and finely chopped.
2 tablespoons of store bought crushed garlic – the 7% component
Cilantro- none – feedback on the home-front indicates we can live without it.

Let it sit overnight to marry the flavors.

Tomorrow- how about Gazpacho? Hopefully the neighbors and friends will enjoy the respite from the knocks on their doors with bags of tomatoes hanging on the knob as we slink away!

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Yummy Pico de Gallo…. Beak of the Rooster!

TTFN
Bishop

Overwhelmed With Tomatoes

July 6, 2014

Bishop Gardening 2 Comments

One Juliet plant, one Matt’s Wildcherry, two “Mater Sandwich” plant and an Arkansas Traveler plant have produced like gangbusters. The weather has shifted to a flatline of 90 plus degrees every day so they may slow down…… Friends and neighbors will probably thank me!

The strawberries are struggling! Gotta keep them hydrated, especially the ones in the towers. The Houston heat and humidity create a special set of gardening challenges!

I pulled the top on the hive yesterday and added a medium “super”. The hive is healthy and buzzing with energy. I am looking forward to some wonderful honey by summer’s end!

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TTFN
Bishop

My Bees are Home

June 13, 2014

Bishop Beekeeping, Gardening 1 Comment

I picked up my 4 frame NUC (Nucleus Colony) from an Apiary in the vicinity of Navasota. Quite a crowd on hand for the pick-up date. The bee keepers are a mixed bunch. A grandfather and his grandson, a retired couple form Georgetown adding a third colony to their backyard, several young couples ( FYI – most of the couplse were younger than me!), a young man picking up 5 NUC’s …… beekeeping is alive and well in Texas. I feel like I am doing my little part to address the big problem of the disappearing bees!

“Being part of the bigger picture: Save the bees!

The facts that keeping a hive in the backyard dramatically improves pollination and rewards you with a delicious honey harvest are by themselves good enough reasons to keep bees. But today, the value of keeping bees goes beyond the obvious. In many areas, millions of colonies of wild (or feral) honey bees have been wiped out by urbanization, pesticides, and parasitic mites, devastating the wild honey bee population. When gardeners wonder why they now see fewer and fewer honey bees in their gardens, it’s because of the dramatic decrease in our wild honey bee population. Backyard beekeeping has become vital in our efforts to reestablish lost colonies of bees and offset the natural decrease in pollination by wild bees.” http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/discovering-the-benefits-of-beekeeping.html

The new bees clustered around their frames installed into my hive.

The new bees clustered around their frames installed into my hive.

My new hive and the new occupants.

My new hive and the new occupants.

In operation...almost. Restricted entry for a week or two and feeding sugar water until they are well established and filling in most of the bare frames.

In operation…almost. Restricted entry for a week or two and feeding sugar water until they are well established and filling in most of the bare frames.

TTFN

Bishop

Bringing Bishop Bees

June 13, 2014

Bishop Gardening 1 Comment

I am off to Navasota on Friday the 13th to pick-up Nuc Pack, 4 frames of bees and a queen. My wife still gives me the hairy eyeball look when I bring up my latest hobby/venture! Once the hive becomes part of my backyard garden landscape it will fade as a focal point( I hope! )

Sunday, of this week I finished building all of the hive parts. I saved a few dollars and assembled everything myself. If I value my time at about 25 cents per hour I break even. I will admit that I was not very efficient. I will be adding a super ASAP. I may just buy it complete!

I need to thank Linda who writes “The Orange Bee” blog. A talented writer, cook and bee keeper. Her inspiration along with the beekeeping class my daughter Lisa gave me for Christmas has pushed me off center! Check out Linda’s blog.

Peach Upside-Down Cake

Expect some photos from installation day!

TTFN
Bishop

“Doin’ The Dew”….Wild Dewberry Jam

May 11, 2014

Bishop berrries, Gardening, Strawberry , , , , 12 Comments

In the woods around Kingwood…..my home location – the wild dewberries have been ripening up. We had a good spring…plenty of rain and the crop is massive. There is a good patch of low growing dewberries at East End Park….a nice, well used area with miles of walking and biking gravel trails…. lots of berry pickers! http://www.eastendpark.com/about.html

I will share two locations and keep a few others secret. As I mentioned above, East End Park has a nice low growing patch in the open area to the right as you go through the barriers at the entrance. The other location….and I really like this one because many of the berries grow in an upright manner….helps the “old Man” save his back while picking. This other location is in River Grove Park across the walking bridge to the soccer fields and then a short walk over to the East edge of the fields. Based on what I saw yesterday, next weekend will be an outstanding weekend for berry pickers.

I brought home enough from two separate expeditions to cook up a batch of dewberry  jam today. In fact, I had a little too much for one batch and the freezer holds the start of the next batch. I always make the low sugar version of jams, strawberry, blackberry and dewberry. I use 1/3 less sugar than the regular homemade jams.

I started with 6 ½ cups of mashed up dewberries …. The recipe called for 5 but I used about 5 ½ cups of berries, bagged a cup for the future and went to work. My “go to” pectin is Sure Jell Light. I do try to follow the recipe sheet and measure everything!!!!! I fudge just a little but try to stay within reason with my deviations from the recipe.

The mashed of dewberries coming up to a boil.

The mashed of dewberries coming up to a boil.

Filling the hot sterilized jars with the yummy mix!

Filling the hot sterilized jars with the yummy mix!

Tools of jam making.

Tools of jam making.

The idle food mill - sorry Hun - you will have to live with the extra seeds.

The idle food mill – sorry Hun – you will have to live with the extra seeds.

I am having a banner year for jams and other canning goodies so far. I made a double batch of lemon curd from my homegrown Meyer Lemons. Horribly rich so I just use a little dab when I indulge. I have about 18 half pint jars of my homegrown strawberry jam and now 8 half pint jars of Dewberry Jam. The pantry is looking good!

The Pantry - Lots of Strawberry, Lemon Curd and Dewberry. Also a dab of 2013 leftovers, Pomegranate Jelly, Chipotle Peach jam, a blended jam - Blackberry/Dewberry/Strawberry and some Serrano Pepper Jelly.

The Pantry – Lots of Strawberry, Lemon Curd and Dewberry. Also a dab of 2013 leftovers, Pomegranate Jelly, Chipotle Peach jam, a blended jam – Blackberry/Dewberry/Strawberry and some Serrano Pepper Jelly.

I sometimes debate whether I should run the mashed berries through the food mill to remove a bunch of the seeds….about half….the seeds don’t bother me so I skipped that messy step. As the mix comes to a boil the aroma is so good….once the sugar is added and the color deepens the aroma now becomes a little sweeter.

TTFN

Bishop

 

A Berry, Berry Good Time of the Year

May 3, 2014

Bishop berrries, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Strawberry, Tomato Growing, Vegetables , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

With 10 half pint jars of low sugar strawberry jam in the pantry and enough berries for another batch….. am Berry happy. As noted in the title…..this is a Berry good time of the year. My strawberries have been in full production and recent exploration of the local woods show a bumper crop of Dewberries ripening.

Dewberries pose a challenge though. Number one they are small and it takes a LOT of picking to make a batch. Secondly the vines have tiny hook like thorns…..curved perfectly to snag a stray hand, finer and/or arm…..it is usually AND! I will head out this weekend to gather some up….A lesson learned from last year – I will wear long sleeves and wear some gloves, thin enough for dexterity and thick enough to prevent the hundreds of micro-scratches!

Wild Dewberries...tiny but very tasty!

Wild Dewberries…tiny but very tasty! – Shaky iPhone photo

The strawberries may be slowing down…..the” June Bearing” varieties peaked in late March early April. I have about 100 new” everbearing” types that will give me a light crop through the summer and go like gangbusters next year. Those added this year are the Ogallala variety.  Les prolific in my backyard farm are my Pineberries. They are hardy and spread like crazy but the berries tend to be small. They are a taste treat……It was a bit of a learning curve to tell when they are ripe.

So - Which berry is ripe? They both are. The berry on the left is the Pineberry. When the seeds are red and a hint of pink is showing....it is ready to pick, taste, consume and enjoy!

So – Which berry is ripe? They both are. The berry on the left is the Pineberry. When the seeds are red and a hint of pink is showing….it is ready to pick, taste, consume and enjoy!

The Pineberry taste is a mix….the first is the tart-sweet and then an instant later a pineapple like flavor. I have decided to just add them to my freezer bag for the strawberry jam making! These Pineberries throw off a huge number of runners. I would say that they would be an ideal edible ground cover!

What else am I eating from the garden…..asparagus, not too much this year but the newly planted crowns will create a good crop next year. The snap peas are done and just harvesting mature seed pods for next year. Lettuce….good crop but showing signs of bolting. Harvested the red and white onions yesterday and letting them dry out….not real big but so fresh and tasty. White radishes and beets….I will let the beets go another week and then pull them up. Elephant garlic is looking very good and healthy. The red potatoes have about another 40 days to harvest although I am tempted to did down and gather some babies! Tomatoes are looking very robust and healthy……a new variety for me this year is the “Mater Sandwhich” variety. I looks like an heirloom and I am anxious to taste test it. The unfortunate truth is that is a hybrid variety. I like the looks of the fruit…..can’t wait to taste test! Cucumbers are coming up nicely and I hope to be overwhelmed with Cucumbers in about 45 days or so.

 

TTFN

Bishop

My War On Weeds

April 17, 2014

Bishop Composting, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Vegetables , , , , 4 Comments

I just cleaned out my carrot bed – one that I had allowed to be infested with too many weeds. It started innocently enough….the carrots were sprouting and I had made a halfhearted attempt to both thin the carrots and keep the weeds at bay. My work took me away for several weeks while the weather was perfect for the weeds…..I returned to a green mass with carrot tops poking through.

I harvested the carrots and decided to take a low tech approach to fight my “war on weeds”! I took bunch of newspapers and covered the bed about 3 sheets deep, some place a little more….it is a low tech approach so uniformity was not a big concern. My concern was coverage! After the newspaper I added a thick layer of shredded leaves from the bottom of my compost bin.  It looks very good now and at least for now, the battle is looking like a victory in the making.

The other beds have been well covered with shredded leaves and are relatively weed free. The covering of leaves help smother the weeds and those that do manage to make it through are leggy and easy to pull. I believe that extra barrier of newspaper will make it even more difficult on the evil weeds.

FYI, the  Houston Chronicle uses a water based, non-toxic ink. Non-toxic to readers and the environment. Newsprint will breakdown nicely in the garden as well as in the compost bin…..I use it both places.

Spreading the newsprint...spraying with water to keep it from blowing away!

Spreading the newsprint…spraying with water to keep it from blowing away!

Newsprint covered with the shredded leaves.

Newsprint covered with the shredded leaves.

Some of the carrots ....stubby due to my heavy soil but still very tasty!

Some of the carrots ….stubby due to my heavy soil but still very tasty!

TTFN

Bishop

 

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