Its been just over a month since the bloom finished and the trees are coming along nicely. Right now the early apples are about the size of a quarter and the later varieties are abit smaller. The rainfall has been just about right and the bugs havent been too bad either......so far.
After accessing the winter damage, it looks like we lost around 25-30 trees. There will be a few more next spring because if I think I can save the tree, I will let it go allittle longer before I dig it up. I usually loose a few trees each winter but this last winter was probably the worst I have had to deal with. I guess they call that farming!
The bees are also doing well and doing what they are supposed to do and thats make honey. I have one colony this year that has been very crabby, which is unusual for me. After being stung several times, I decided to re-queen it and see if it makes a difference. It should, but only time will tell. The hive always has the same temperament that the queen has. So if she is aggressive, then the hive will be too. In this case, since she was so aggressive, I had to replace her and the new queen will calm the rest down. In theory.
Other than that, the orchard is looking good for this fall. Some varieties will not be as plentiful as last year but then other varieties will make up for that. Lets just hope that the weather continues to cooperate and avoids us with any nasty storms!
After accessing the winter damage, it looks like we lost around 25-30 trees. There will be a few more next spring because if I think I can save the tree, I will let it go allittle longer before I dig it up. I usually loose a few trees each winter but this last winter was probably the worst I have had to deal with. I guess they call that farming!
The bees are also doing well and doing what they are supposed to do and thats make honey. I have one colony this year that has been very crabby, which is unusual for me. After being stung several times, I decided to re-queen it and see if it makes a difference. It should, but only time will tell. The hive always has the same temperament that the queen has. So if she is aggressive, then the hive will be too. In this case, since she was so aggressive, I had to replace her and the new queen will calm the rest down. In theory.
Other than that, the orchard is looking good for this fall. Some varieties will not be as plentiful as last year but then other varieties will make up for that. Lets just hope that the weather continues to cooperate and avoids us with any nasty storms!
