Weekend round up

We have had a week of lovely sunshine. Not a cloud in the sky for seven days. What a change from the wettest April in 100 years. But we have a great deal of catching up to do. Not much planting was done in April and early May as it was too wet so I've spent quite a bit of the last week getting seeds into the ground. Peas were the first to go into the ground. This is an important crop, along with beans, for those seeking to become self-sufficient. They are good for protein and vitamins. Carrot seeds were then planted. We have rather neglected growing carrots in the past, a mistake we are not intending repeating. As well as being a great source of vitamin A, it contains minerals and fibre. They also store well so we can use them throughout the winter when fresh vegetables from the allotment and foraging are very limited. Also planted are beetroot and more onions and shortly I will be planting parsnips, turnips and swedes. In other words, quite a few root crops. Meanwhile we have spent part of today sorting out the beehives. Earlier this year we merged two hives together as one had lost its queen. Today we were able to split them back into 2 hives. One will be weaker than the other to start with but hopefully will be up and running properly over the next few weeks. Our third hive was also checked but we found no queen cells in it. No chance of it swarming therefore, but no possibility of being able to artificially swarm it to create another hive. The super however was filling with honey so very soon we will be able to get our first honey crop. I'm certainly looking forward that that.