Pennsif's Progress - The Days are Numbered // Day 904 : Flowers for...

One of the things I am most looking forward to next year is the coming of the bees.

We've been thinking about getting bees for our homestead for three years now.

I've been on an introductory beekeeping course so I know the very basics but I have not felt quite confident enough to the take the plunge.

I've even looked at the new Flow Hives that are supposed to make beekeeping a whole lot easier. But in the UK the beekeepers I've met suggest they won't work so well because our cooler climate will mean the honey won't flow easy enough.

Now we have met some new friends who just moved nearby. One of them is a keen long time beekeeper. He has offered to help us get started with bees in the spring.

That is just what I wanted - a guiding hand nearby to get me going.

So the bees are coming. We better get ready.

One thing I do know is that bees like flowers. So I am planting flowers and bulbs everywhere. I am a man on a mission fully charged with flower power.

The flowers are pouring in. A couple of days ago 170 Harlequin Primrose plug plants and 100 Colourburst Pansy plug plants arrived from Jersey Plants Direct. £27.99 for 270 plants seemed like a good deal.

Today a great big sack of bulbs arrived - 150 dwarf iris, 80 sunshine mix daffodil, 160 winter crocus and 32 everlasting tulips. I have never bought bulbs before but I think over 400 bulbs for £50 from Van Meuwen is not a bad package.

I'm looking forward to starting on the planting of these all around the place this weekend if the weather is good.

Together with about two dozen fuchsia plants I have been cultivating, half a dozen roses, some more lavendar plants, a tray of geraniums, and a third new herb bed by the polytunnel I want to make the bees as welcome as possible.

If there are any other specific bee-happy plants I should be getting please let me know in the comments.

Emergency Food Supplies

As well as stocking up with flowers we have also been stocking up with tins.

Even though we are growing more and more of our own food I am also keen to have a good stock of long term stored goods.

We do have about a month's supply of very long life freeze-dried food from Mountain House and Wise Foods but I am more concerned about having supplies for the one to two year timescale.

I haven't yet done any systematic planning with a spreadsheet and stock control. It is more adhoc buying so far when I spot a good price or a good bargain, along with a few cases of items we use regularly like tinned chickpeas.

We buy some in bulk from Suma and Amazon and some from discount supermarkets.

Today I added to our stores some tinned meats, spaghetti and soup that were on offer at the local Co-op.

With whatever I buy I always make sure they have a good shelf life of at least a couple of years. And most importantly they are items that we eat regularly so that we can ensure good stock rotation.

That's it for now. I am off to bed a bit early tonight as I have something special planned for tomorrow.

I am super excited about it. All will be revealed tomorrow evening.

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Pennsif's Progress - The Days are Numbered // Day 904 : Flowers for bees, tins for us