What has happened to the wasps ?

We have now finished feeding the bees , we just need to top and tail and treat for varroa and wish them luck for the winter.
There are no wasps anywhere, usually when feeding the bees we have to reduce the hive entrances and put out traps. There are also hardly any butterflies and not much fruit on the trees.
I have accepted I have no control over my Bantams , we have built them a large fox proof run, provided 2 cosy houses and still they roost in the trees, play chicken with the fox and lay where they want.

I can not bring myself to clip their wings. These are the latest additions to the colony , I thought the fox had taken her.
I am planning some more willow weaving workshops late September/October  so please contact me if interested.

Potato Harvest

We had 52.5mm of rain 2inches in our part of Suffolk in August including the hail.
I stuck to traditional varieties of potato growing Charlotte,Wilja and Kestrel but I still got blight it happened so suddenly almost overnight . Luckily the weather was kind so we removed all the tops ,burnt them and lifted all the potato's. The Wilja were disappointing and suffered the most slug/worm damage and don't taste nearly as good as Charlotte's. Overall  not many tubers were blighted and thanks to the rain a good size.

Suffolk Summer

It has been a very wet summer 120mm of rain in July including this hail storm which really hammered the fruit and veg.The bees have continued to struggle and I had to resort to emergency feeding.

We did have a very hot day for the willow weaving workshop, everyone took home the cloche they made, 3 people and three willow structures in one car. The willow cloches are very versatile in the garden and the techniques of weaving can be applied to all sorts of structures.
Please contact me if you would like to book a place on a workshop, We are in East Anglia close to Ipswich.

Learning about wood

This is the hurdle I made at Orchard Barn. I also learnt so much about basic carpentry as well as green woodworking.The hurdle is made from sweet chesnut and ash coppiced this year.
As we spend a large amount of time in the winter managing our hedgerows it was also the opportunity for us to learn more about coppicing , handling and storing wood.

The sweet chesnuts and hazels I planted 2 winters ago have begun to get going, It is hard work for them as I discovered when planting them lots of bricks and rubble where a building must once have stood.
The fence around them I made while clearing a nearby hedge although now tatty it has worked at keeping the deer,hares, squirrels away.  The fence has also been my motivation to learn more about natural fencing. Ironically the pressure treated poles we bought to stake the new fruit trees (we could not find a supply of sweet chesnut at the time) are already rotting at ground level.

Green woodwork at Orchard Barn Suffolk

Yesterday was spent at Orchard barn  www.orchardbarn.org.uk   learning about the tools and the skills needed to make a hurdle or gate with Stephen and Becky Westover.
We are using coppiced sweet chestnut and ash.
Chris is helping to make a pair of 5 foot gates for the entrance to Orchard Barn.
It is a treat to be in the company of Stephen and Becky , there is so much to learn about wood.

Willow plant supports workshop August

I am running a willow weaving workshop here at Bungeons farm on Tuesday 14th August , Please contact me if you are interested.


Below is a weaving I have made from hazel and willow prompted by enquiries regarding the Hazel structures 
in the Laurent-Perrier Bicentenary garden at Chelsea. I have evening primroses growing through mine, which always need supporting. In the background are very simple weavings I made about 2 years ago to cover the rain water storage tanks, They are now covered over by evergreen honeysuckle and grape vine.

"Bumpy brood" and newts

We found this newt in the muck heap yesterday,greatly relieved we didn't stab it with the fork.
We visited the bees and no bumpy brood so the new queen is laying well. The hives are full and the bees are hungry and quite cross there is certainly no spare honey.
I am off to the local supplier Richard Martin to buy a new veil today, mine has a hole covered with gaffer tape, but each time I visit Hive 1 a bee wants to join me inside my childsize veil, how they find the hole I don't know but it makes me anxious and they know that !
The Strawberry fair at Alder Carr went well ,the sun shone,children played, the food sold out and everyone seemed happy. I sold a few items ,talked about willow and have requests for more workshops.
It is raining again the wettest June so far. 80.75 mm (just over 3 inches)  here in our part of Mid Suffolk other parts of the country have had far more than us.