I have been pondering how to make best use of my garden, now that the chickens are [mostly] contained, and I am very conscious of the looming supply problems we will inevitably face thanks to the Russians invading Ukraine, one of our major grain producing areas in Europe. There's also the death throes of the …
Early Spring Thermosolar Visit
It was raining when I arrived at the Berwick solar farm today, but I'd been to visit a friend nearby and wanted to make sure the bees were ok after Storms Eunice and Franklin. There wasn't much flowering apart from some brave blackthorn blossoms, and I was not expecting to see the bees flying. There …
Poultry, Bees, and Gardening
Way back in 2019, I used to run a great sourdough course with my friend and fellow fermenting enthusiast, Vicky, in her fabulous kitchen at Starnash Farmhouse. Fast-forward to now, and the philosophy behind our baking - to bring the wild levain process to anyone who wants to make their own bread - has been …
Thermosolar Insight
I have been part of the Solar Bee Project at Berwick since its launch back in 2019, and although one of its aims, namely to introduce a focus for biodiversity and increase public engagement with solar farms, the Thermosolar Hive and Varroa control part of the project has been a little more of a struggle. …
New Ideas
This year is going to be a little different here at Wayward Bee. I have transferred much of my operation to places beyond Shawpits, so the hens are over at Starnash Farmhouse, and my bee commitments will revolve around the Thermosolar hives, the wild-living bees at Selmeston, and other hives I visit as part of …
Winter at the Thermosolar Hives
A beautiful bright day at Berwick made me keen to see how the site was looking, and whether the bees had decided to make an appearance. At this time of year they can pop out for a few minutes for a 'cleansing flight' but it's easy to miss and fear that your hive has died. …
Wild-living Honey Bees in January
I visited the Langstroth hives at Selmeston today as we have had some beautiful spring weather and I wondered if the bees were flying. Sure, enough, they were! https://videopress.com/v/ySTaeADc?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata Their hive has completely sunken in to the ground so they are using this entrance which they opened last year. There is some very pale pollen …
How to Grow Bees
Yes. Growing bees. I had this thought on the way home from meeting my friend Paul, where we had been lamenting the problems of 'wildflower meadows' in community spaces, as he is masterminding in the churchyard at Winchelsea. The difficulty is that the public perception of a wildflower meadow is cornflowers, poppies, daisies, waving grasses, …
Winter Solstice and the Thermosolar hives
It's the shortest day today, and the weather has been calm and cool. Rain is forecast for the rest of the week (including, obviously, the Christmas weekend) so I wanted to go and check on the Thermosolar hives while it was at least dry, if a little cold for the bees to be flying. A …
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Christmas Shopping
I have a very low threshold for shopping, but I do love food and Christmas is a great excuse to indulge that. One of our favourite places is Plaw Hatch which is part of the Tablehurst biodynamic family of farms in Forest Row. The veg, meat, and cheese is all of such tremendous quality and …
Wayward Bee 