So we've starting feeding both hives with syrup, in order to get them all ready to start harvesting honey. However, in feeding of them, and in expanding their openings a bit more, we've noticed some problems with the hive that was more productive last year. There's this black tar-like substance (Update: probably bee feces) on all of the wood and also in the combs, and the bees have done a very poor job of cleaning their hive: there were hundreds of dead bees left on the bottom that should have been removed from the hive. I'm hoping that both of these things were just because the bottom door was too small, or it was too cold for the bees to clean the hive, and now they should be able to clean themselves out. However, it could be a bacterial disease, which will likely kill the hive. We'll see what happens, and will be talking to our local apiarists.

Update: it appears it's nosema or some other type of dysentary. I'll still check with some kind of expert to confirm and for advice on what to do, but i don't think it's as bad as if we had foulbrood, as it's something of a common thing to happen when you don't have enough ventilation in a hive during the winter or it's too cold for the bees to defecate outside.

This Friday, March 18th, we'll have a potluck from 6 to 7 PM at the house of Tom Heather and Heather Brumm, at 2218 Donald St. From 7 to 8, Shari Reilly will facilitate a discussion about Benedictine spirituality and ethics, and how they relate to the environment.
Come to share good food, thoughts, and community!

The day after that, Saturday, March 19, we'll have a workday from 1 to 5 PM on the farm. We'll be preparing beds for the coming season, cleaning up our greenhouse, propagating elderberry, and more!

Finally, we're still looking for some people to buy CSA shares. Please talk to your friends and neighbors about getting a great deal on fresh veggies while helping feed people at Food at First, the Emergency Residence Project, Beyond Welfare and the many other places we donate our food. Contact Alice, 515-460-1467 or Shari, shari@staparish.net or 515-509-6851 with suggestions for new share members.

Read below for some updates on seed starting!

Above is two parts of our farm, about two weeks ago. On the upper left, starting from the left, there's dead pepepr plant held up by white poles, followed by cover crops planted late last summer: Oats, which winter-killed, rye, which is still alive, and mustard greens, which also winter killed. On the far right and left of the photo, and in much of the left of the second photo( the rest is also dead mustard), you see soil that is largely bare. There, we planted rye as well, but planted it later, and it didn't get any rain, and so didn't germinate. We're now seeing a bit of growth, but definitely not as much as we'd like for carbon input to the soil and erosion and weed control.

On the left is when Chantal and I put the bees in the hive last spring, and the right is a picture I took a few Thursdays ago, when it was about 60F out, and the bees were flying around cleaning their hive and looking for nectar, which wasn't really there yet. Both hives survived the winter, probably because they didn't swarm during the summer, we treated them for varroa mites this fall, and the winter was relatively mild.

So this Friday, January 21, we are having a potluck and discussion:
Dinner will be at 6, with the discussion at 7.

The discussion will be led by Troy Jansen from ERP. The topic will be “Solidarity with the Poor”

At the house of Jennifer Garst and Steve Libby, 708 Brook Ridge Avenue, Ames, Iowa 50010

http://www.practicalfarmers.org/#panel-8

So a little over a month ago, we cleaned out a good part of our farm, then planted rye, so that it would grow up and protect our soil from water and wind erosion, add organic matter to the soil, and absorb nitrogen and other nutrients to stop them from leaching: But actually, the picture is from just a week ago. After planting, we didn't get any rain for like a month, and now it's too late to grow much. So we have a big area of our farm that was going to be all green and protected, and now its just bare.

dear everyone,

our house looks like a home on the outside, and it is a lovely shade of blue! inside, we're still racing the winter, trying to get water, heat, a kitchen, etc. it's been awesome weather the past 3 weeks, and that has been helping tremendously. if you are a skilled carpenter, or chimney installer, or have other such skills, we're definitely feeling the pressure of the cold weather, and could use your help almost any time.

I wanted to give everyone a little update as to our new friends that will hopefully be occupying the new bat house.

I was a little late in erecting the house because most temperate bat colonies start dispersing in late July as young begin flying. In August, most are in the process of migrating. I hope to have a few bats in the home before winter, so that when they roost to form a nursery in the spring they will flock in large numbers.

I think I saw this one yesterday: