How many times, in the last two months, have I clicked on the blog with full intentions of putting down A LOT of thoughts? Only a couple hundred. I cannot believe the whirlwind since the last time I blogged, and actually cooked, at the same time. LOL
Spring Fever does it to me every year. This is year is a bit more exciting due to actually building such an awesome garden and apiary for Sweet Beginnings. Nothing is better for the Soul than Freshness. The word of the year – Freshness. It, and all it’s related words… make me smile.
Making special soil for all 16 beds, using only heirloom seeds from families across the country, ordering bulbs, seeds, cuttings, of little known to quite popular plants people have had on their bucket lists, but for one reason or another, haven’t taken the time to purchase.
But mostly, the last couple of months have been used getting ready for the two new hives and the girls that went in them! That’s right! It has been a year since first getting into the beekeeping craze and what a joy it has been! Absolute Crazy Joy is more like it, but happiness none the less. I am pleased to inform you I did not lose a hive. No starvation, no mites… just a lot of beetles and yellow jackets to contend with. It helped that Winter wasn’t exactly cold here in North Florida for the Girls. They were out flying around picking up pollen almost the entire Winter. One of the original hives had a terrible bout of beetles in January. I thought for sure they were going to be lost. But they held it together with the help of some housekeeping on my part. And then their population Exploded in the most amazing of ways. By the end of February, when I went to do a split, they had already created 3 queen cells and had enough girls to split into three hives, instead of just two. I am waiting on two new AZ hives to arrive from Slovenia for the last of the hives to be moved into their new digs.
I am so pleased with these new AZ Slovenian Hives. Three are Drebbieville AZ Hives from North Georgia, USA. And there will be a total of three AZ Slovenian Hives, directly from Slovenia. I wish I would have known about them during my two years of research before buying all the other kinds of hive boxes I have. So much easier, cleaner and safer for the Girls and myself to deal with.
So yes, in case you lost count…. I ended my first year of beekeeping with the two original hives. Then purchased two new nucs for 2019 and then had to split an original hive into thirds LOL… So there are SIX Hives in the Apiary. If I don’t get honey this year, it will only mean that I have no business being a beekeeper 🙂 Fingers Crossed!
While we wait on the new hives to get here, there is still MUCH to do in the new gardens. There are four more raised beds to build and fill with the homemade soil. Along with fencing the perimeter and putting in the pavers for the walkways. And of course more Amaryllis beds around the inside perimeter of the whole garden. The process is long and tedious for the making of the soil for the flowers and the raised beds, but from what has started growing already.. herbs, broccoli, garlic and okra., we can tell it is going to be a fantastic year of production!
I still have a ton of photos to take. Will add a few here for this post. Hopefully it won’t be another three months before I update again. I am already thinking about the tomato post I will be making. There are no tomatoes yet, but after making my last pot of spaghetti sauce this morning from canned tomatoes… I cannot wait to start canning tomatoes straight from the garden! These canned San Marzanos have gone down hill since the last time I used them. Very disappointing to say the least.
Happy Spring, Y’all!
Cindi~
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