Sharing a post from my Beer Blog that is at least 50% about “gardening”. Elements of Beekeeping and Beers!
Hive loss but found a soothing ale….Please check it out.
A post from My Beer Blog
May 1, 2019
Beekeeping, craft beer, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Optimism Absconding Bees, beer, Friends, humor Leave a comment
Hurricane Harvey
August 26, 2017
Beekeeping, Gardening, Optimism, Top Bar Hive Friends, houston, Hurricane Harvey, Rain, storm, texas, vacation, wind 6 Comments
Hurricane Harvey sneaked up on me. My wife and I left the Houston area 7 days prior to Hurricane Harvey hitting the Texas coast. We were celebrating our daughter’s wedding up in gorgeous Aspen Colorado. We decided to stay a little longer and returned on August 25th……coinciding with the arrival of Harvey. United pilot flew in through the storm bands circulating with Harvey and touched down whisper smooth!
On August 19th, the day after we left for Colorado, the National Hurricane Center indicated that Harvey’s circulation was disintegrating. No worries, huh? Once the storm crossed the Yucatan Peninsula and passed into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico the energy and circulation increased. Well, my bees, in a couple of locations, were at risk from potential winds.
My biggest worry was my top bar hive in Splendora. Less of a worry were my 3 hives located up off Russel Palmer at the western edge of Kingwood. My protege, Max, took it upon himself to ratchet strap the boxes and top bar to prevent wind damage on Thursday, the day before the winds and rain began to kick up here. I had to thank him from a distance.
The top bar in the background and a triple deep Langstroth in the foreground. At the right, is an 8 frame garden hive that I had placed a strap on several weeks prior to leaving.
Now…..to Splendora. My two Langstroth hive tops were weighted down – one with a large disc brake rotor and the other with a old rusty hydraulic jack. The top bar hive was MY BIG worry. I had a couple of mechanic’s wire tie downs for the top but…….after repeated use they had broken off too short…I hadn’t yet got a “round to it” given to me to fix them …….so, Friday, the day of the Hurricane as we were driving down out of the Rocky Mountain National Park, my Goo friend John and I discussed having him repair the wire tie downs…..He was my “round to it”.
John is an over achiever and wound up putting straps on all three hives….Thanks John!
In addition to a strap on the top bar in the background he added some bricks….well done lad!
Now, to wait out this storm and hope the bees tolerate the rain! I hope my curiosity can be held in check …….. I want to visit my bees! Almost 5 inches of rain in the last 24 hours and much, much more is expected.
TTFN
Bishop
Gobs and Gobs of Green Beans
April 26, 2017
Beans, Buzz Polination, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, pollination, Vegetables Friends, houston, sharing, texas, wife 1 Comment
Even with good friends to share with, I am overrun with green beans. I built two 6-pole tepees for my green beams and a set of vertical poles at the entrance to my hide-away garden. I prefer pole beans vs. the bush beans…..why? – The bush beans ripen pretty much all at once and I used to be 6’3″ tall…..too much bending over to pick! Two varieties seem to do so very well in the Houston area, Kentucky Wonder pole bean and the Blue Lake variety.
I had a long weekend over to the New Braunfels area of Texas over this past weekend. My “Goo” friend John picked enough for his wife and made a bee run to feed my bees in my absence. When I returned, I picked over 3 pounds of green beans on Tuesday…..Gobs and gobs. I had instructions from my wife to deal with them ASAP…..I negotiated a reprieve until this morning….I am an early riser and would have them dealt with long before she awoke….I even managed to prepare 8 quarts of sugar water for the bees.
Unfortunately – most of the green beans were on the larger side of what I prefer, so, add, bacon, onions, garlic and a long slow simmer……Yum!
Just beginning to simmer.
The color of the fresh green beans alone is appetizing and the aroma as they simmer, so tantalizing!
A six-pole tepee with two bean stalks per pole. I soak the bean seeds in water overnight to help with germination before planting.
At the entrance to the garden…..at 6’3″ I still need assistance when picking the tall vines….lends credence to the “Jack and The Bean Stalk” story….
Now to brag a little. It is April 26th and the tomato harvest has begun. I believe that it is the first time time in many, many years that i have had ripe tomatoes before May 1st! Not complaining…..! Another good surprise is the health and productivity of my Brandywine heirloom tomato plant. I have half a dozen large fruits developing….If you have never taste a Brandywine….find one and try it. It is the very best I have ever tasted. I have been diligent with my buzz pollination, electric toothbrush technique this spring and it appears to be paying off. Expect some more bragging and photos when I harvest!!!!!
A bunch of Juliet tomatoes ripening on the vine!
TTFN
Bishop
Christmas Eve in the Garden
December 25, 2016
berrries, Composting, Gardening, Healthy Lifestyle, Strawberry, Tomato Growing, Winter Chill Friends, houston, Merry Christmas, Papaya, texas 2 Comments
It was “77 degrees F” yesterday and I actually worked up a sweat raking leaves to add to the compost bin. It wasn’t too bad….just barely a one T-shirt job. Summer jobs in Houston are typically 3 or more T-shirt changes.
I gathered up the ripening, the dropped and the green Juliet tomatoes. Even covered, the last freeze hit the plant hard.
Well the last freeze has made the Juliet tomato plant look pretty sad. I grabbed this handful, green ones included, as the last of the harvest. Yummy Christmas cookies in the background….my secret recipe. Ask for it…
The freeze didn’t bother the strawberries. They handle it well. If I see temperatures in the teens I will definitely cover them. I added another 100 plants last fall……need to treat my babies well!
December 24th and the strawberries are making their appearance.
The colder weather of last week finally started killing off the asparagus ferns. I will find a nice day next week to cut them back and top dress the asparagus bed.
A tangled mess. I didn’t get to it but I will cut back the asparagus ferns next week and dream of spring spears.
I will make some Meyer Lemon Honey Jam in a week or two and maybe a small batch of lemon curd….so rich and so yummy.
My sad transplanted dwarf Meyer Lemon. I moved it from it’s wine barrel home of 4 years to my garden last spring….hope for better results this next year.
My experimenting will continue into 2017. Mike and Annette, who host one of my hives, have two volunteer papaya trees that bear fruit. Fruit tossed into their compost bin several years ago took off and bear very nice papayas. I saved some of their seeds and put them in a small pot. They are doing well. I will repot and protect the young ones for spring.
Papaya….I have a hive in a yard here in Kingwood that has two papaya trees. I dropped a handful of seeds into this pot and have been rewarded. Now to transplant them.
Merry Christmas
TTFN
Bishop
Carpenteria Farmer’s Market
October 11, 2013
California, Healthy Lifestyle, Strawberry, Vegetables Carpenteria Farmer's Market, Cork Tree Bistro, Friends, Island Brewery, strawberries, tomatoes 3 Comments
Thursday Afternoon – We, my wife and visiting friends from Canada took a stroll down the 800 block of Linden Avenue in Carpenteria, California. The weather was perfect and our friends, Alan and Jan, seemed to enjoy the day.
Below are a few shots I took as we wandered down the street, puntuated with stops at the brewery a few blocks away toward the beach and at the Cork Tree Bistro on the way back. It was a great evening.
Orchids – so beautiful!
I wish I could get my heirlooms to grow this beautifully. Jan had the green striped variety with her lunch on the pier in Malibu.
I couldn’t resist – I bought three baskets! Yum
The colors and variety are a visual treat as well as nutrional treat.
TTFN – Houston is cooling off but it will never match the weather in and around Santa Barbara!
Bishop
From My Backyard 