The awesome energy of the earth.

"Natural farming, natural diet, and natural healing are all part of one whole" - Masanobu Fukuoka

[sojamfresh]

6/29/18- 10 days behind schedule due to mower repairs. At the last minute the throttle cable gave out and 10 days later I had epic plough down on my hands. Tremendous amount of winter rye, daikon radish and hairy vetch residue left on the soil surface. Mugwort in front of the bee hive left untouched.

[sojamfresh]

2/27/2018- After several frigid weeks of weather this winter things are warming up and looking good. #urbanapiary #Honeybees #Honey #Beehive #Rooftopapiary #Honeycomb #Robertsbeecompany

[sojamfresh]

06/02/2016 - kill time on left and 9 hours later. Mower took a lik'n but in the end - kept on tick'n. 3 tanks of gas. 1 air filter replaced and fresh oil added. After adjustments, mower ran like a charm. Tremendous amount of residue left on surface. in addition to the winter rye, the Japanese knotweed added another level of difficulty to the plough down.

[sojamfresh]

05/23/2016 - Pupae - maybe days before emergence. This is a result of my ignorance.

[sojamfresh]

05/23/2016 - What I took away from the inspection today. Feeder bottles covered with comb, brood comb,capped comb and the bottom of the feeder bottle frame.

[sojamfresh]

05/22/2016 - Winter rye, hairy vetch, mammoth red clover, forage radish, field pea and Japanese knotweed. 12 days until kill and transplant, 25 days until direct seed.

[sojamfresh]

5/21/2016 immediately after install.

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05/22/2016 - things are looking good. Waiting for Queen acceptance. First inspection in 30 days, will probably add a feeder at that time. Hive will be relocated to Corn /sunflower

[sojamfresh]

05/22/2016- install to 1 hour start to finish. Smooth sailing. The bees immediately started house keeping;removing the dead bees that were inevitably installed with the live bees. Installed just ahead of rain.

[sojamfresh]

05/21/2016 - package arrived yesterday afternoon. A considerable amount of dead bees. Install this morning.

[sojamfresh]

Cover crop of Winter rye, Hairy vetch, Mammoth red clover, Forage radish, Field pea and Japanese knotweed is coming along winter rye is 5' easy...

[sojamfresh]

When Mother Nature gives you lemons - you give Mother Nature 4 I bolts and 2 ratchet tie downs.

[sojamfresh]

05/04/2016

[sojamfresh]

04/13/2016- After being down for 2 days with it’s seals compromised in the aftermath of the 60 mph wind gusts that knocked the hive down 3 times 10 days ago; I thought the outlook was dim. I stood the hive up and figured I would let things settle and wait before making an inspection. During the past 7 days there was no visible activity; as the days past I started to think that the wind event was catastrophic and the colony was lost. I wanted the weather to settle before conducting an inspection. Weather was good today so I planned for a mid afternoon inspection. I went to the roof early this morning and did a recon. The first thing I noticed was brood that was scattered in front of the hive - actually these were almost full term bees, cream colored the size of bees, no eyes, legs, color etc. I wondered how did they get there? Were they ejected when the hive fell, wasps? After my recon I decided that a full inspection would go as scheduled later in the day when it got warmer. Fast forward 8 hours to the inspection. Fearing the worst, I went to the roof with only a plastic bag to put comb filled with dead bees into. Ready to clean the hive and get it ready for a new package. To my pleasant surprise, this is what I encountered. Activity similar to what it was prior to the hive going down. I could not believe what I was witnessing. I think that the partially formed brood scattered about the exterior of the hive is the colony exhibiting hygienics - cleaning out cells that house, dead, dying or diseased brood; that’s a good thing.

[sojamfresh]

04/04/2016 - 24 hours later and the monster winds have passed. Hive is up and sitting good. Activity is surprisingly good. Rain / snow forecast for entire day and throughout the week. Time to let things resolve. Tether on Wednesday

[sojamfresh]

04/03/2016 - After surviving 26" snow in January and a typical Northeast winter; the hive was taken down by this 24 hour weather anomaly of 60 mph wind gusts. The first fall came at 7:20 this morning. The hive fell intact, but while attempting to right the unit, the hive bodies separated and there was a whole lot of mess going on. Bees escaping, Bees dying and honey all over. After securing the hive - to my dismay the wind took it down several times. Decided to leave it down and will triage after winds subside. # Mothernature #beethinking #bees#rooftopapiary #urbanapiary #topbarhive #warrehive #sustainable #honeycomb #honey

[sojamfresh]

03/27/2016- Second greenhouse rooftop rig setup this morning. Eggplant and peppers started to germinate and I was able to get the trays in and on the roof. Should have no issues with legginess. First unit setup last week had significant buildup of condensation on the interior and it was time to ventilate. Starts that were leggy have fell over but look healthy. I will support with a bamboo skewer in a few days. All other starts appear healthy and stout. Raining this morning - (heavy winds forecast for tomorrow morning) -the units held up well, with no evident leaks or damage to the plants. Vented the first unit with squirt bottle tops inserted into the sides and left in place. Will vent the Second unit in a few days. Second unit is all peppers and eggplant.