Bees... The New Chickens?

It seems that even before the true benefits of chicken keeping have been acknowledged we are on to the next step to self-sufficiency. For those, like me, who are still revelling in the dream of owning chickens and desperately measuring the ground and counting the pennies to decide how to make these feathered friends a permanent feature of our self-sufficiency lifestyle, the introduction of a new dream draws our imaginations down a new enchanted path.

Since deciding that chickens were step one on the way to self-sufficiency and reading every magazine on the shelves relating to the subject I begin to notice that Bee Keeping was starting to crop up here and there and soon was commanding it’s own two page spreads in glossy Technicolor. Before I had even chosen a spot for the coop I was already thinking thoughts of home-made honey and my own tribe of pollinators!

So with this in mind, is Bee Keeping really for everyone? Or should it be(e) left to the experts? What is in it for us and is it as difficult as it appears?

Bee Keeping is apparently, once the hive and colony is established, an easy hobby with much sweet reward. A hive requires little space so can be maintained in a small garden or even on a flat roof. So long as the area is sheltered and sunny the world is your oyster. The main question is:

How Do I Learn? (Followed closely by Will I Get Stung? – Sorry, but the answer is Yes!): Join a local bee keeping club, they run courses for beginners, lasting around 12 weeks, and will train you in both theory and practice. After this time you are given a mentor who will help you through your next year with either a club supplied hive in the apiary or your own hive at home. What better way to learn than through practice! This sounds like my kind of learning, being quite impatient I admit I like to get on with things, so the idea of starting straight away in a controlled learning environment really appeals.

What do I need?: Bees! But also, a hive – there are many companies including the chicken keepers favourite Eglu that supply hives - hat, smoker, veil and smock top and hive tool. A rough guide on price is around £400, but this can obviously be more if you go for more elaborate kit or less if you look for second-hand or DIY. If you take second-hand hives lookout for disease as it can remain dormant in some hives for up to 30 years.

So how time consuming is it?: In the height of summer, which is the busiest season the hive requires around 30 minutes a week of time spent maintaining it, this is assuming that all is running smoothly and there are no issues that require to be resolved. Honey is extracted only once or twice a year and during the winter there is no need to do much beyond checking the hive for damage.

Honey: Honey is extracted between July and September and is removed by spinning the frames in an extractor (which can be bought or hired). The honey is left in a vat for 48 hours before it is ready to eat.

Can I Sell The Honey?: Many people on the road to self-sufficiency look for both what they can eat and what they can sell. As with most produce you make, of course you can sell it; however you should make yourself familiar with your country/area’s legislation and labelling laws before hand and should obtain the correct food hygiene certification. It is always better to be safe than sorry!

I really like the idea of keeping bees, and could easily imagine the hive in the orchard with a little cloud of buzzers humming around it. They would make a good source of my own pollinators and I would have my own supply of honey for us, friends and family. So maybe bees will feature on the farm sometime, but until then I have a coop that needs filling. In fact I have a coop that needs buying, then filling. But watch this space…

If you are interested in learning more check online to see if there are any local groups near you or check out some of the links I found on my travels:

http://www.britishbee.org.uk/
http://www.honeyshop.co.uk/
http://www.omlet.co.uk/
http://www.parkbeekeeping.com/
http://www.honeybeekeeping.com/

Most of these links apply to British groups but are sure to provide great background reading for all, for you local source of information just do a search around your own area.

Chickens.. The Road to Self Sufficency?

Chickens. By now you will be pretty much aware that I am all about the chickens (it’s even in the blog title!). So I thought that in preparation for getting my own ‘brood’ I would take a delve into the life and times of the chicken and hopefully learn some great info along the way..
come..
join me.. “puuu cuuukkk” (that’s a chicken noise! Well, you spell it!)

History

In 2003 there were 24 billion chickens in the world, more than any other bird in the world. So getting into chickens shouldn’t be too hard, we should be falling over them! When and where chickens were domesticated is under a bit of dispute but they have been reported in Greece, India and Egypt over 10, 000 years ago. It is believed that chickens originated from Junglefowl: our little feathered friends are jungle critters!!

Choose Your Chook

There are a great many varieties of chicken out there so you should first decide what kind of chicken you would like (what you are keeping them for, meat, eggs or just a pet) then look through the various breeds available. Look around your area for any farm shows this is a great place to see a variety of chickens and chat to breeders and owners about what is best for your needs and what each breed can offer. You can also pick up great care tips and tricks! If you are intending to breed your own little flock then a cockerel is a must, bear in mind, however, that he will be noisy and some can be aggressive. It is possible to have the little ‘McNuggets’ without a cockerel, you can buy fertilised eggs and either purchase an incubator and become a mother hen, or if you have a particularly broody hen she will sit on them for you. Hens will accept chicks from breeds other than their own (and even the chicks of the likes of Guinea Fowl) and are usually excellent mums.

With a rise in people wanting to ‘do their part’ by raising their own chickens why not go one step further and rescue a battery hen? There are many charities around that are looking for loving homes for ex-battery hens. These charities will get your birds for you and give you all the help and advice you need to care for your new (probably bald) chicken. How to encourage them to ‘be a chicken’ and how to ensure their feathers grow back successfully. These birds are usually available for a donation each to the charity in question. These hens may not lay as regularly as ‘normal’ chickens but you will still get a good egg supply, think of them as being about half as regular as a non-ex-battery and you should be fine.

Housing

So you have your chickens, now where do you keep them? There are various methods of keeping chickens depending on your space and the closeness of your neighbours. The housing of your chickens is the most important thing you will need to decide upon, for both you and your chickadees. They will rely on you to ensure that they are kept safe from predators, even a town house can get a visit from Mr Fox. But you will also need something that you can manage and maintain in the time you have available.

For town livers you may be looking for something small, compact and easy to look after. If kids are involved, and a chicken is a great pet to teach responsibility but also where food comes from, then fun coops can be found like the Eglu. This funky coloured coop comes with attachable run to keep your chooks safe and, perhaps importantly for the town dwellers, in your own garden. The Eglu Company will supply everything you need from the coop to the food to egg-boxes to the chickens themselves! They will also come round and install your coop and give you the 101 on chicken keeping. There are a variety of colours and designs depending on your needs. These coops are easy to clean but are quite heavy and if left on a lawn they will need to moved regularly which is a two man job! They also have a lack of proper roosting bars although there slats but are possibly not a great substitute for the real thing. The Eglu is a complete kit but can be costly so if money is an issue then perhaps…

The more traditional looking chicken experience would be something in wood. There are many, many companies online that would be able to supply you with your chicken coop check online. Also check out your local garden or DIY centre as many of the bigger names are beginning to stock up on a small selection of coops. These coops also lend them selves to being for free range or run enclosed birds. Either have no run fitted at all or allow them freedom from the run when you are happy that they can. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where there are existing sheds then perhaps the way to go is a shed conversion. Ensure that the shed is secure and draft proof, although some ventilation is necessary to prevent respiratory problems. Add a chicken sized door and a ramp if needed and some roosts. Plans for converting sheds can be found online once again and should supply you with everything you need to know about what your chickens require from a coop. There are also available plans to build your own coop from scratch so if you are handy with a hammer then this could be a great way to save money!

Remember plastic is more expensive than wood but wood will need to be treated to make it weather proof. Wooden coops tend to be cooler in the summer and are simpler to repair, but plastic models are better in the fight against Red Spider Mite.

When choosing a house try to find coops and runs that have

• good access, preferably from both ends
• nest-boxes with their own external access to allow the removal of eggs
• consider shutters to prevent birds using the nest-boxes to sleep in at night
• if you need to move the coop make sure it has sturdy carrying handles and/or wheels

Feeding

Useful Links

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/

http://www.omlet.co.uk/

Preserving... Extending the Bounty

Well, one of the things that has always concerned me about self sufficency is what to do with all this glorious produce (see how optimistic I am!) that you grow over winter? How do you look after it? How do you make it last? What should you expect to be able to serve on Christmas day? So with that in mind I went on another fact finding mission.. and so was born the second in the 'Let's Talk...' series.
There appear to be two basic sides to preserving: The whole thing as it is or making something preservable out of it. And the methods of doing this seem to be immense. I intially thought, naively that it was pickling or bust! But there is so much more.

Preserving as a Whole
By this I mean keeping the fruit or vegetable as it is, or close to it.

Freezing
Freezing is probably the most obvious option as this allows you easy access when needed and most people have a freezer available. I know a Deep Freeze is on my list of goodies when we move. Freeze soft fruit by spreading on a tray in the freezer first before transferring to bags for storing. Many vegetables, such as peas are a case of shelling, bagging and freezing, nice and straight forward. Some vegetables, such as runner beans will require to be prepared first, topped and tailed, and then par-boiled before freezing. This partial cooking will stop the beans from becoming hard and tough in the freezer.
Herbs can be chopped and placed in an ice cube tray, top up with water then freeze. To use just pop a herb cube straight into your dish.

Drying
This is obviously most useful for such garden produce as herbs. Blanching the herbs first will make the drying process better. Drying can be down the 'traditional' way, upside down, outside in the sun, but it is also possible to dry your herbs in the oven or even in the microwave.
Remember that produce such as garlic or onions also benefit from drying and can also make a great display if you plait the stems for hanging. Check out here for instructions http://www.bloomingfieldsfarm.com/garbrdhow.html on how to make your own garlic plait.

Making fruit 'leather' is a fun way to store soft fruit by drying, this doesn't quite fit in the 'keeping it whole' section but it is about drying! Check out here for the old how to's!

Outside Storage

Some produce such as parsnips and carrots can be stored in the veggie patch in the ground, just dig them up as you need them. Although some people may prefer to dig them up. If you do choose to dig up any root vegetable allow it to dry in the sun first (dig on a sunny day). If preparing potatoes don't leave for too long as they will turn green and eventually become poisonous. Then ensure that any veg that has signs of disease or bug attack are removed. The remaining veg can be stored in a double thickness paper bag or in hessain sacks. As with everything, keep them cool and dry.

Fruit such as apples should be kept individually wrapped in a dark cool place and they will last several months. The fruits must not touch each other, hence the wrapping, if you want the longest life from them.

Pickling and Bottling

Obviously the most common way is pickle or bottle (in syrup, sugar or brine) any vegetables you may have left. As a quick recipe for preserving in sugar.

Sterilize bottles or jars. Add the fruit of your choice and sugar (4oz of sugar per 2 pint bottle). Stand the bottles in a pan of cold water and ensure that they cannot knock into each other. Ensure that the water is up to the necks of the bottles. Heat to the boil and then simmer until fruit has reduced by 1/3. Allow to cool. Seal with airtight lids and store.

Preserving as a Product

This section shows ways you can turn your produce into something that will store better that the fruit or veg would store alone.

Jams, Jellies, Curds and Chutneys

This is probably the most obvious ways of preserving your fruit and some veg. In the coming posts I will reveal some of my own recipes for the above items, to keep you until then here is a great recipe of mine for strawberry jam.

Or a tangy Pear and Lemon Jam

For those unaware, jellies are essentially jam without the bits. You would need to seive the jam mixture to remove the lumps and then allow to set. The left over pulp could be used for fruit 'leather', see above. Jellies are good for seedy fruits, rasps and grapes of pips aren't your thing.

Fruit Butter

Now this was a new one to me, someone left a comment on the blog about making apple butter so I had to find out what that was all about. It appears it is like curd but without the extra ingredients. Essentially the fruit is slow cooked and reduced and reduced over several hours. Some recipes appear to add spices to the mix. Once the mixture is fully reduced the producted is bottled, cooled and sealed and then 'Ta Daa' - fruit butter! I have never tried it but it is now firmly on my list of 'To Do's'!

Cordials and Other Drinks

Finally on my short investigation into Preserving there is the cordial. This sounds like my kind of thing. There are loads of recipes out there so I won't post any here, but I may post my own in the future. Cordials are made from water, sugar and your fruit, and in most cases very little else. They keep for a good while and can be great for a variety of uses.

Never forget the advantage of fruit juices (and remember the pulp for your other receipes) and Apple juice can be taken one step further and turned to cider at very little effort, as too can pears.

With so many options out there for preserving my bounty I don't think I should worry about my fruit and veg not making it through the winter.

Orchards... Beautiful and Practical

I have just finished reading an article about the decline in British orchards. I was quite surprised at how many different species of apple can be grown in Britain, and used to be grown in abundance. The number of species now grown for the ‘commercial’ market has dropped significantly with lots of once common varieties disappearing completely from the shelves. Apparently, out of 2000 species of apple being grown in Britain only 30 of these are for commercial reasons, the rest are just for 'pleasure' growers. Orchards in themselves are diminishing at a great rate and it is said to be due to the commercialisation of apples and the requirements of supermarkets for the 'perfect' fruit. Although tasting good the British apple can be less than attractive leaving the market open for ‘prettier’, more uniform fruit growers. Although it is still possible to obtain any of the British species some are more popular than others as we are only exposed to what is in the supermarkets. So I suggest we all head down the local farmer's market and get trying some varieties we have never heard of! Bring back the British apple!!

All this talk of apples and orchards has got me thinking about this new place we are buying (yes, we still are and keep an eye on the 'Upcoming Events' for more info!!). We should be inheriting a huge field and it occurs to me that part of this could be given over to a nice little orchard. By little I mean about 6 trees! But I always have a vision of country life that includes an orchard, covered in wild flowers and some little white ducks running around in it, so with that image firmly in mind I decided to investigate.

I have read that one only requires a minimum of 5 trees to be considered an orchard, so that shouldn’t be too hard to get! The number of different fruits that can be grown in Britain surprises me (today is a day to be surprised by fruit!). From apples to plums to pears there is a wide variety of fruits available to the British climate. But being in Scotland, albeit a warmer part we will need to be careful we pick something hardy enough.

Apple Trees
I would defiantly be looking for apple trees and due to my love of cooking I think that a cooking variety and a eating/dessert variety are on the cards. Now some of these require two or more trees each to ensure pollination but there are some varieties that are self-pollinating, these could come in handy. Self-pollinating plants do better with a pollinator partner but should be pretty self fertile. Obviously there are many varieties that are possible but who require the help of another of the same species. These include:

Self Pollinators	Require Pollinator
· Sunset · Royal Gala · Scrumptious · Braeburn · Laxton’s Superb	· Golden Hornet · Bountiful · Discovery · Bramley · Katy · Howgate Wonder · Sweet Society

This is obviously not a definitive list, if anyone has any favourites, let me know and I can add them to the table!!
I have found that there are many varieties that can stand the Scottish climate so I don’t think that I will have a problem finding the perfect tree for me. Currently liking the sound of the Sunset, as I have had first hand reports from friends that this not only grows and survives but it also bears fruit!

Found For You
On my travels around the web and the magazine rack I have found a nice little company that will supply you with ‘Orchard in a Box’ (my name not theirs!) it consists of basically 5 trees that will fruit the following year to planting: you’d get 2 apple trees, 1 pear, 1 plum and a greengage. They also stock a wide range of fruit trees and a whole heap ‘o’ help. If you want to check them out go to http://www.realenglishfruit.co.uk/

Other Fruits for an Orchard
I think that I would want something other than apples in my little orchard. And the list seems quite bountiful. There are the obvious pears, but also cherries, damsons and plums all grow well in Britain and are excellent partners in the orchard for apples, and excellent partners in the kitchen too! Maybe some of each are in order for our slowly expanding orchard plan!

I am hoping to grow some fun fruits like peaches but I’ll save that for another post. I hope this has inspired you to take a look at growing your own tree. Keep in mind that dwarf varieties of most of these plants are available and can easily be grown in pots or containers; you don’t need an orchard to be growing your own!

Useful Links

Apples and Orchards Project
Trees in Pots
Fruit trees for Scotland