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Heather25

Thought I'd dug out all the crocus bulbs in autumn in preparation for my new veg garden but the plot is full of flowers. Started sowing veg seeds in 2 propagators (unheated )on Thursday . Couldn't wait. They've appeared already. Help! Made the mistake of putting them in lines in a large tray. Should've put them in individual pots so I could take them out when needing slowed down.

Primrose

What kind of seedlings are they? If they're tomatoes, beans, courgettes or anything like that destined for outdoors, it's too early to be sowing them now and you might do better to start again in a couple of weeks to avoid ending up with leggy plants when it's still too cold to plant them outdoors when there's still a risk of a late frost.

patricia50

Dont know if I am posting in the right place but am hoping some of you greenfingered people out there can help. Whilst digging a small plot at the end of my garden my daughter was knocking down a little wall that was at the end of this. Bees were buzzing around a bit and when she got to the footings of this little wall and was able to lift them up we found there was a bees nest there. Really dont know what to do. I read it was best to call a local beekeeper and they will remove them for free and I did this but the lady was not that helpful. She more or less said leave them alone and they will be fine but I cant continue my gardening until they are gone.Also my grandchildren were here and I dont want to keep us all in the house on a nice day. She asked how old the grandchildren were and when I said 9 and 14 she just said "oh there're not babies then, they can keep away " but its a small garden and we dont want to stay indoors. Has anybody any more sensible advice please

Primrose

Patricia - this has been idea warm weather for bees swarming and it's quite possible that this is a new nest with a new queen just settling into it.
If the beekeeper you contacted wasn't very helpful, try Googling "Beekeepers in "Name of your country or postcode" and see what throws up. Alternatively the Environment Department of your local council may have a list of local beekeepers who could help.

Our neighbour had just your problem a few days ago and was able to find a local beekeeper by this method. He turned up in all the gear with a cardboard box, as the nest was in a tree. He collected the Queen with his net and got her into the cardboard box which had a couple of big holes drilled into it. Once the queen was in the box, the strong scent of her attracted all the other bees and within 30 minutes they'd all stopped swarming around and had joined her in the box.

Such swarms are then either kept by the beekeepers for an additional hive or given to novice beekeepers to start new hives. The advice the beekeeper gave our neighbour was to keep relatively still and not move around quickly near the swarm/nest, as this gets the bees agitated. If you move slowly, they're a lot less liable to become alarmed.

Kitchenbunny

Just found this board - I guess I really should have checked it out sooner. I'm Kitchenbunny, I prefer to cook but I love the idea of growing my own. I'm trying to grow a few things this year - shallots, peppers, chillies and carrots - and hope I can get some good results.

KB xx

Jake'sGran

Am I getting older? It looks likeI am as I don't quite understand. Will the
new forum be part of the the Greenfingers one? If so I just wanted to tell you that there is a very busy swapping section on "Allotments for All" . Some people list half packets of seeds they won't use again.

People used.to post seeds, cuttings, rooted cuttings - all sorts of things.. But now I think it a stamp is expected. I have received some lovely seeds - all sort of things. Pop along and have a look.

OutdorzyType

Hello,
Complete newbie to this site. I know I'm being stupid but I can't figure out how to post a new question? Anyway I was wondering if anyone knows of any places I can go to buy some agricultural land? (Approx 4 acres) and from what I gather from research is that an acre costs about £7k...
Any help or advise much appreciated!

Primrose

You could always register your interest with an estate agent in a rural area near you although most land for sale on their books would probably be for housing development. Farming or agricultural magazines might throw up some leads, or putting an advert in a suitable rural magazine?

notjustlaura

Hello

I'm excited to find a gardening board as I'm getting the keys to my first allotment on Saturday.

I'm a beginning gardener - have been using containers since the autumn but it's an expensive way to do it. The lottie will be a whole lot cheaper - and a whole lot more work!

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Laura

Primrose

Welcome although I haven,t been on here for a while and must get back into gardening routine. I hope you get a lot of pleasure from your allotment although in the beginning it will probably be hard work especially if it,s been neglected. I guess your first task will be to get it properly dug over ready for spring planting so in this wet weather I hope your first investment will be a good sturdy pair of Wellington boots!
Think about the things you eat most and aim of growing them, especially the expensive vegs and don,t get tempted to grow things you don't like unless you think experimentally growing a few of them will help you change your mind!