sitting on pins & stingers

Last week when our beekeeper Dave ( Baues Bee's ) came by last week to do some maintenance on the hive, he gave us the forlorn report: NO BROOD, THE QUEEN WAS DEAD.
Just when we thought we might be able to create a second hive with all overcrowding in the first.

That was very depressing. We wondered if we might be experiencing colony collapse disorder. There was no evidence trail to follow, he thought it could be pesticides, or just about anything. But the ray of hope was that the workers had FULL POLLEN SACS . He couldn't imagine them working this hard for a dead queen. He said they might be grooming a young lady bee for the new position.

We hoped & prayed and for fear of saying it out loud I decided to wait for the real news before reporting this story.

Soooo, Dave stopped by and took a peek, and there she was, in all her glory. at the risk of being premature: We got Brood, We Got Queen!!

Makes you wonder if the old Queen was just too staid in her ways & there was a coup d'etat??
If the 2nd hive starts growing, maybe we can assume that rumor...

You know those Royals...


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vintage is everything

Is it any surprise that something built in the 19th & 20th century would be desirable to us now in the 21st. I supose it depends what it is & who you are. As a small farm where we plant by hand, or occasionally the sometimes dreaded darthvader seeder, this particular item is VERY DESIRABLE.

de·sir·a·ble–adjective 1.wworth having or wanting; pleasing, excellent, or fineorth

having or wanting; pleasing, excellent, or fine having or wanting; pleasing, excel

Look at this fine fella in a tie planting his garden

You better believe I am building this sucker up... these things cost mucho bucko buddy. well not as much as a john deere, but not far off.... depends on your financial perspective I 'spose...
This particular model hails from the 30's ( we think) and has been very well taken care of. The logos are still on it. and there is very little rust. and certainly no rust through.

It is truly a beautiful thing, and by that I mean Ebay. We longed for months for just the right seeder. We considered one that was really rusty, thank goodness we were outbid. We considered a brand new one..... for a hot second. When the time was right we were the winning bid.

And it's a dandy, we wouldn't take twice what it cost to be without it.

It came with some assembly required. Ain't it purdy? I could have a photographic field day. But I'm farming & the point is to get seed in the ground dangit.
It has Pinion Drive Gear this works the drills that lay the seed. ( I think)
I'm not a mechanic but I play one on the farm.


So we called in a Sr. Farmer to help with the assembly, I can attest to his abilities; as I know for a fact he assisted Santa in some midnight construction. Oh, and he used to farm & schtuff.

Allow me to introduce the Triple H, The Harry, The Howeth, The Godfather, The Daddy.
Here he is helping make sense of the parts and lack of an owners manual. In this photo he & hattie discuss the finer points of seed droppin.


I mean look how purdy!!! And she's a big boned gal. If you are weak the day you are planting you might want your assistant to carry her out to the bed you want to plant.... cause we can't guarantee the plate will disengage completely for her to roll out (to) the bed....

The Planet Jr. way.....Planting must be regular, accurate, at the proper depth and in a narrow line, to make after-cultivation easy and to produce a large, even crop.

I'm still not sure where they got the name Planet Jr. and with the logo of a saturn type planet... except that they were ahead of their time in the think globally concept. what say ye?


ANNOUNCEMENT: I discovered the subscribe gadget for the blog! so it is my belief that if you subscribe you will get some kinda notice in your email that there is a new post!! exciting!!

i have a confession

I'm in love. I have been since the very first moment. You can do no wrong. Everything about you exudes perfection. Sustainable? You are the epitome of recycling. Your motto is "Leave it, I'll take care of it". I mean who wouldn't love you?

I can give a million reasons why you are the light of my life and in the process convince others that they need you too. The first time I heard about what you do, I was curious. I mean; I knew you were out there and that you were important to my life, but the speed and enormity of how you do what you do? Well.... that just SENT me.

In the year since I first heard about you, I began my obsession. Before I could approach you I wanted to learn all about YOU and where you like to live and what you like to eat and what you liked to sleep in. People who knew you said how simple your requirements were, and that I could easily have you. But I wouldn't rest until I knew the BEST way to take care of you.

I followed you on youtube, I met you at Monticello, and finally found the confidence to approach you after PASA. But first I wanted to have a home that you would appreciate and stock it with plenty of food for you, and a lovely warm space to sleep. And then, when I was satisfied that you might consider me, I called for you. And you came. EPIC.

I let you settle in this week and I hope that you and your kin are happy. Eisenia foetida, I am so happy you are here. I plan to feed you lotsa garbage and I expect plenty of crap outta YA!


Here are some construction photos of the NEW PLACE. And then some shots of homecoming...






I used 2 standard rubbermaid bin and drilled holes in it. I also added a drain spout in the bottom bin for all the worm tea. they will live in the top bin. The tea can be used to water plants and has many nutrients that feed & ward off disease. I have heard of lawns being fed by compost tea. No chemicals!



Bedding of choice newspaper & cardboard. Yum Yum kitchen waste, more bedding and some dirt. I aged the contents for easier digestion. So much recycling! and it will turn into delish dirt!!!!







you came in a tiny duffel bag and quickly got to work on the new place!
The bag was about a pd of wigglers. and should be enough for one person's waste
I hope you are happy!


Being a 'FARM' we are gonna need a name for this here R BAR .... so let the contest begin....
post your ideas for our worm farm... you will win BIG PRIZES!

If you don't have an outdoor compost try a worm bin, the turnover from refuse to dirt is miraculous & there really is no smell if you keep the wet/dry balance correct and feed them what they like. they don't escape because they don't like light. easy!

Here are some facts!
First I want to say that this type of compost happens much faster than the standard compost. I mean the worms EAT! the stuff! and leave DIRT! fast!! no odor! just amazing. how can you not love that!!?

Plant waste, veggie & fruit waste, cardboard & newspaper are enjoyed!
grain, bread, pasta, tea bags, coffee grounds and manure of vegetarian animals ( not recently wormed! of course) garden debris and grass clippings.
Dairy , meat, fish, citrus are not enjoyed.
remember to keep it balanced. not too wet, not dry, remember the worms in the summer who got caught out in the tarmac? we dont want that!
Tear the cardboard & paper in to small pieces, let the food stuffs get soft. not rotten but like 2 days old. Leaves are food and bedding.
They will multiply their numbers to keep up with the amount of food.
They can't tolerate too high or low temps. 34º-84º are acceptable

Use a zonal application; when you apply more waste, put it in 1/3rd of the bin, when they eat that use the next 1/3rd. The worms will move where the food is & leave the poop behind. wuka wuka....
You will eventually have to get the poop outta there. or move the wigglers to another bin. plan to harvest approx every 3 months. I will let you know how fast the tea is brewed!
this can be a lesson for the next worm installment... stay tuned

NAME THE WORM FARM CONTEST!! enter today!!

the only hive in town

Last summer Hatties Garden agreed to have a Baues Busy Bees beehive come to live here. Wow have they been busy. Apparently it is unusual for a first year hive to make enough honey to share with the humans. but there was so much in the frames that our beemaster, Dave, decided it was best for the bees to remove some. And it was good. I rationed my pint all winter.

I'm here to tell you that if there was sun, they were flying. They gotta have a serious bout with cabin fever. Now, a bee-keeper friend of mine said they go out for a little pee! even if they aren't finding pollen. I didn't know they were so fastidious. I wonder what the queen does! ewww.

Dave's latest visit uncovered a packed hive. So many he was worried they might swarm if action wasn't taken. First he added a couple honey supers. those are the 2 smaller boxes that will be on top of the 2 larger boxes, its where the bees store the honey.

The smoker wasn't cooperating but he's still in there.
I think he is immune to the stings since he only wears a hat. As you can see I am FAR AWAY. I am intrigued by the darling drones but the dive bombing & getting stuck in my ponytail makes me a little unnerved.

Anywho..... the next step is to give the bees an option of starting ANOTHER hive.
"Well we're movin on up, To the east side. To a DEEluxe apartment in the skyayayaay."


At this very moment, the drones are selecting their new queen, you know the type; the virginal, vibrating, type A personality with WIDE hips for birthing baby bees..... well .... do bees have hips?


At least we can hope they will occupy the new hive. I mean look at it! all elevated! It's got that clean hive smell.... come on now......


We have plenty of the purple dead nettle (in the foreground of this photo) for them, AND unlike many other farms, we actually have some turnips and arugula and purple mustard that we let go to seed, so they should be quite happy to dine at the only hive in town.


This is a snap from last summer, Dave is giving us a lesson on propolis.

( a resinous mixture collected from sap & other botanical sources, they use it to seal gaps and a buncha other stuff)


For instance... if something dies in the hive & they can't carry it out, they cover it in propolis!
( Thats what wikipedia said) wild huh??



DATELINE: Spring 2011, the weather is making it difficult to believe, but it is. This is how I know, the purple carpets all over the empty fields. Weeds, naturalized but not native, seem to be harmless; in fact they have a purpose. At the time of year when there is very little in bloom, the bees have pollen to gather. You can thank henbit & purple dead nettle for this display, I'm okay with it. it goes away. don't be dose'in it with chems please. thanks.

NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE : Join us next week to see which Queen gets the rose, and if the new apartment gets renovated!