Went down to my apiary about 2pm to check on the hives ahead of Storm Frank. Temp was 11.5°C and one hive was showing active flying. Previously when I had hefted the hives 3 were light, having eaten most of their winter stores, and are now on supplementary feeding. The oil seed rape, their main forage crop here, is remarkably tall for this time of year.  Driving back I noticed hazel catkins in the hedges. What we don't need is an early spring followed by a cold spell.
Advice to beekeepers who have not checked their hives - heft them now and be ready to take action or you may lose colonies.

Roger

Next year's self-sown nasturtiums already germinating in the garden (not a chance of them getting through the winter, though). A neighbour has 6 daffs out, not a specially early variety either.

Next year's self-sown nasturtiums already germinating in the garden (not a chance of them getting through the winter, though). A neighbour has 6 daffs out, not a specially early variety either.

I just checked ours in response to your post, Dave- found plenty of nasturtium seeds but not quite germinating yet. It's a shame yours have kicked off- as you say, it only needs one proper bit of frost. I suppose it's too fiddly to scoop them all up & bring them in.

Will need a cover on  Thursday night. They are very prone to frost.

 

I just checked ours in response to your post, Dave- found plenty of nasturtium seeds but not quite germinating yet. It's a shame yours have kicked off- as you say, it only needs one proper bit of frost. I suppose it's too fiddly to scoop them all up & bring them in.

I don't do fiddly - and I sometimes think the soil in our garden is about 50% nasturtium seeds! They'll be germinating all the way from now to next autumn whenever there's a mild spell. Any that poke their heads up early will just have to take their chances.

It's like a gardening 10 plagues from Exodus, this. First the plague early flowers, then the gnats, then you mentioned the wasps. We've had the plague of rain, and the plague of growing grass. Then came the plague of stormy winds and now there is a veritable plague of slugs. My first five crocuses have been chewed to the stem barely after getting up, and my primroses have been shredded.

What next? I suppose a frost plague to upset all us blackcurrant growers.

The Missus comments that her leeks are already building up to flowering!

On the subject of nasturtium seeds, if you have lots at the end of next summer they are worth pickling and used much as you would capers. Not bad.

Roger

A plague of leeks, then.

First genuine spring flower - a lesser celandine - seen today

It's not the length of grass that's bothering me now- it's the state of the lawn with all this water. Even in 2011/2012, it drained away daily. Now it's becoming a puddle all over. My neighbour has pulled his boat around to the back of our shared bottom fence. Ominous.

And now a miniature iris in a pot in the garden

My garlic is growing really well despite it not having much in the way of frost.