Sally's GF3 thread

[cavemanrich]

If she does, we will have a real heart to heart talk about how she will keep them out of my gardens.

Mention that whatever is in your garden you eat. Hint Hint,,,,, and pack some heat with you when you have that conversation.,,

 

[Sally PB]

Mention that whatever is in your garden you eat.

Yeah! Somehow, a deer got in (I found the spot and fixed it), and I was thinking... ooo, when did I plant vension seeds?? They're ready now!

 

[Debbie292d]

I have heard that skunks might bother a hive, but haven't had any trouble with them. Thank goodness we do not have bears! I doubt we would have gotten bees if they were an issue.

Oh yeah. Varroa mites. They came on the scene in the US in 1987, and you can just assume that you have them. The question is, are there enough to cause damage to the bees to threaten the existence of the hive? Plan on treating for them, and trying to keep the numbers below the critical threshold.

We went our first year with none but were warned ahead of time to plant mint around the hives, and that would help, so we did. Well, it didn't help enough because the 2nd year we got them. I remember hanging a strip in one of the hive boxes and did get rid of them. We treated it twice, if I recall, and then kept that stuff in the freezer for the next time, which never came as we sold them.

 

[Sally PB]

We treated during a relatively cool period in August. We did a sugar shake, found 3 mites. The hive we bought included a FormicPro treatment, so we used that. I like that it was ok to use with a honey super on, as we'd put the super on and didn't want to take it off..

 

[NanaK]

I'm taking notes! Thank you both.

 

[Sally PB]

I saw this at the Muskegon Irish Music Festival.

 

[Sally PB]

Our new under-the-basement-steps pantry, or rather, half of it. There is just as much on the other side, and there are shelves on all the supports now. The wood was the decking on the porch roof of the old house. Paid for long ago and reclaimed for a better use.

I was originally thinking of painting it all white to brighten it up. Even if I did that, it would still be dark under the shelves. There just isn't a lot of good light in the basement, and I can see myself needing a flashlight to see what's at the back of the shelf.

So, no painting. I like the look of the reclaimed wood. It tells a story.

Eventually, we'll put doors on the front to keep the mice out. What's going in there is stuff that mustn't freeze, like my 63 (!) quarts of tomatoes and all that salsa. The basement has heat from the furnace, but not from the woodstove, so it doesn't get below about 45ish. Good for storing potatoes, onions, and of course, garlic.

 

[cavemanrich]

I like the look of the reclaimed wood. It tells a story.

I'm ALL IN ON THIS,,,

 

[fuzzi]

View attachment 3641635
Our new under-the-basement-steps pantry, or rather, half of it. There is just as much on the other side, and there are shelves on all the supports now. The wood was the decking on the porch roof of the old house. Paid for long ago and reclaimed for a better use.

I was originally thinking of painting it all white to brighten it up. Even if I did that, it would still be dark under the shelves. There just isn't a lot of good light in the basement, and I can see myself needing a flashlight to see what's at the back of the shelf.

So, no painting. I like the look of the reclaimed wood. It tells a story.

Eventually, we'll put doors on the front to keep the mice out. What's going in there is stuff that mustn't freeze, like my 63 (!) quarts of tomatoes and all that salsa. The basement has heat from the furnace, but not from the woodstove, so it doesn't get below about 45ish. Good for storing potatoes, onions, and of course, garlic.

How about hanging a motion sensor light? I have two in my shed, one is batter-powered and the other is solar. The latter one lasts at least a month. I can remove it and charge up outside on a sunny day.

 

[Sally PB]

How about hanging a motion sensor light?

I thought about that. We have some of the stick on, battery operated ones. I could see needing one on every level. I think the DeWalt rechargeable battery flashlight will end up being easier to use.

That thing is always charged and handy because we use it a lot. If it isn't on the chair in the mudroom (its usual home), somebody will have to answer, "Where's the flashlight?"

More "stuff" is stored away now. All the salsa jars have been wiped with distilled vinegar, date written on the top, and put downstairs. I got my steps in today!