Ants are an unsolvable problem, spraying only kills workers, and then you can not eat your crops. I was told to buy a bait to have the workers take back to the colony to feed the queen. No queen equals no workers. I bought every type of bait on the market and the ants would not touch it. They were too smart. If someone knows a cure for ants please post that. Try the soil forum, and add lots of compost. It costs a lot of money to buy a lot of compost and add it. It's a huge investment, but there is not much that can be done about the cost of it. Making compost takes time and also money for bins or other products to add to compost mainly browns or else you need lots of leaves. I have page up on my website about composting, if you want to read all my suggestions. Click on the soil link. Here is a link that might be useful: My website

1) I am working overseas and will not finish this contract until 1st week of April. If I had all my supplies and hive(s) (- bees) set up before I got home...would it be too late to start a hive(s) from a NUC or package once I got home 2nd - 3rd week of April? Answer. It's important to get your packages ordered early. They always sell out. I order packages from Betterbee in Greenwich NY It's about 1 hr 1/4 away from me. They'll be taking package orders starting on Jan 4th. They usually have 3 or 4 delivery dates (saturdays) starting around april 15th Picking a date is hard because it all depends on the weather both up here and in Georgia where they get their packages. Delays from one week to 3 weeks aren't uncommon. You want to get your bees off to a good strong start but anything can happen. My first year I had a late delivery date. I was thinking that all the established hives would be building up while I was still be waiting to get bees. Well the weather here was cold and steady rain so the delay didn't hurt. Nucs usually come later because they have to be established already. I'd advise starting with package bees because you will be learning right from the get go. You'll have to install them in the hive, check for queen release, check to be sure she's laying a good brood pattern. In other words you'll be involved every step of the way and you'll learn more, and things will be gradual. 2) Everything I have read...the Italian bee seems to be the most docile bee. Would that be the bee for the beginner? answer. Italians are what I started with and still have the most of. I also have some Russians. It's all a matter of opinion. I don't find my Russians to be any more aggressive than my Italians. Russians have many good traits. One thing I definitely noticed with mine is they overwinter in a smaller cluster and consume much less honey. When buying a package, you may not have a choice as far as the type of queen you get. 3) How much time do you average a week working your hives? I have read numerous posts that "you experts" suggest starting with 2 - 3 hives (to gauge potential problems). How much time per week to manage my bees effectively with 3-hives? answer: You have to remember that this is agriculture so anything can happen and will, and it's all variable You'll plan your sight and get everything ready to go ahead of time which will take some work. On the big day, plan to spend a couple of hours being your first time. Once you have the hang of it you can install a package of bees in a matter of minutes. The first time you'll be double checking instructions and going over all of the details. You will be very excited and nervous at the same time. After your successful at that you do a check back in about 3 or 4 days, only to see that the queen has been released. At one week you'll check for signs that she's laying. You'll probably be feedin 1:1 sugar syrup to help them build up. In general there's lots of work in the beginning, less in the middle, lots toward the end. It's not an everyday thing and sometimes more than a week between any actual work. You want them to do their work without too much disturbance 4) I would like to sell my honey (- what we eat of course) and my wife is really into crafts so I am sure she will be interested in making candles etc. If the market was available in my area (which I am sure it is)...how much money could I expect to gross from my hives on an average season? answer: That's the toughest question of all. The saying goes the first year is a building up season, the second is a harvesting season, but it's all relative. (remember the agriculture thing)I've had 1st yr hives that gave a surplus of over 100 lbs and others that only made enough to get them through the winter. This year with some established and some new hives I got 375 pounds from the 5 that produced surplus. It ranged from over 100 to 35 lbs. We kept about 150 lbs and gave some away and are selling some. I'll probably gross about a grand but I'm not making a profit because I'm putting it back into bees and equipment. I hope to make another few hundred selling lip balm, salves, candles and soap. My first year I made enough to cover about half my costs. You'll get some wax from cappings but it won't amount to very much. You'll need to buy more for any real amount of crafting 5) I know I have read in several posts that an average hive produces about 110-lbs of honey (some 200-lbs). How does that compute into 1/2 pint, 1-pint, 1-qt jars of honey? I would think honey would weight a lot more per gallon than say water or milk? answer: Honey has to be sold by weight, so you'll be dealing in half pound, one pound jars etc. Do not get the idea that I am thinking strickly about the money...because I am not! When I get home in April, I want to semi retire (it pays well over here) and I would like to know what to expect. We have a huge garden, goats, chickens and soon to have meat rabbits. I have been slowly building a nice herd of goats the past 4-yrs and think I might break even or be in the "black" on them for the first time this year. We love the country life and if I could start these bees...who knows...diversity is awesome. I am just excited thinking about my little black / gold pollinators in my own garden. No more flowers falling off my pumpkins because "ZERO" bees to pollinate them. Sorry for rambling...I am just excited! I will continue to hang on "your guy's & gals" every word...so keep the posts coming. I am only up to about the 10th set of posts so far...so a lot of "back dated" ones to read. Hopefully by April I will have it all figured out (the process anyway). Sorry...one last question. How many times a week do you get stung...and...do you ever get used to it? answer: That's pretty variable too. A lot depends on the demeanor of your bees (demeaner dey are, da more you get stung)Actually if you work them at the right times and move slowly you may not get stung very often. This past year we worked our 10 hives mostly without gloves and sometimes in tee shirts, moving slowly and being as gentle as possible. I probably got a half dozen stings over the course of the season. If the bees seemed like they were getting angry we just backed off and waited, and wore gloves and long sleeves when it seemed necessary. A friend with a feisty hive got a half dozen at once, so you never know. Thanks, You're very welcome

The way the particle size distribution of the gritty mix is supposed to work ensures good water retention, but with no or negligible volumes of perched water to affect root health/function. It's important that the small particles be removed to accomplish this lest they filter in between the large particles, rendering the soil supportive of perched water and eliminating one of the most significant advantages of the mix. Another significant advantage is the aeration inherent in a well-made gritty mix, which would also be a casualty of neglecting to ensure the sizes of the particles are appropriate. If you don't screen the particles, what you end up with is a mix that will perform like a lot of other mixes, and whose only essential variance from most other mixes would be its structural stability, a derivative of the fact that it has a 2/3 mineral component and the organic fraction (bark) breaks down very slowly. This is one of the less significant attributes of the soil though, because inevitably a plant needs repotting long before there would be even a hint there was a hint the soil had structurally degraded. In fact, with a 2/3 mineral fraction, even if the entire bark fraction was to break down or gas off, the soil would still be perfectly servicable. I don't think I've ever really listed the attributes of the gritty mix, so: A) No or very little perched water - the most important (root health) B) Excellent aeration (root health) C) Extremely forgiving and easy to grow in D) Adjustable for water retention E) Serviceable indefinitely - won't collapse (root health) F) Easy to make, once ingredients are located & you're set up to screen I love to see people using it, but I have to be honest. If you can't find the ingredients or suitable substitutes, or don't want to screen them, I don't think it's a good investment of time/effort to make something that will perform similar to a from the bag mix. More important than a recipe, is the concept. The gritty mix is simply the best way I've found to implement the concept described in the thread I'll link to below. I honestly feel that an understanding of the information in the thread represents the largest forward step a container gardener can take at any one time. Root health is often overlooked or given short shrift; but it's very important to realize that a healthy plant is impossible w/o a healthy root system. Roots are indeed the heart of the plant, so it pays to keep them happy. ;-) Best luck. Have fun at the party! Al Here is a link that might be useful: Learn about soils .....

I have an instant pot and I use it at least twice per week. The food that comes out of the pot is excellent. I does save time on a lot of things. I also just find it really easy and non-stressful to cook in the instant pot. There's no checking on stuff, no basting, no stirring, no worries if you're not ready to eat as soon as the food is cooked or you get busy doing something else and forget about dinner (the pot will just keep the food warm for you, without overcooking), etc. I do not babysit the instant pot. When I first got the instant pot, I didn't quite know what to make of it and I didn't really see how it would be that helpful. But, after I started cooking different things in it, I really started to appreciate it. It just makes things easy. Of course, it's not for everything you might want to cook (nothing cooks everything). But, it does save time and effort on a lot of things and, for some things, it really does make them better. I don't find it hard to clean. A turkey breast takes about an hour, total, including the time for the pot to reach pressure. It takes about 15 additional minutes if you want to let the pressure release on its own vs manually releasing the pressure. The turkey breasts that come out of the pot are moist and flavorful, the best I've ever had. All I do is put a turkey breast into the instant pot, add about 1/2 cup of water, then turn it on and walk away. There's no checking, no basting, no worries that it'll get overcooked, no worries that it'll dry out. I just put it in and ignore it completely. If you eat skin, you should know that the skin does not brown in the instant pot. I don't eat the skin, so it's not a problem for me and I just take the skin off. My instant pot roasts are tender and also flavorful. It seriously makes the best pot roasts I've ever had. I sear the roast before cooking, which probably takes about 15 minutes. Then, I pressure cook for 35 minutes, open the pot and add potatoes, then pressure cook an additional 10 minutes. I like to let the pressure release naturally. Then, I take the roast and potatoes out (when I'm ready) and I make gravy right in the pot. It probably all takes about 1.5 hours from start to finish, but my time in the kitchen is minimal because I do not watch the pot. I just ignore it and do other things. Afterwards, there's only the one pot to clean (plus serving dishes). Artichokes take about 25 minutes, total (including the time for the pot to reach the appropriate pressure) and my house doesn't get all steamy and smell like artichokes cooking. When I want chicken breasts to shred, I can have them in about 20 minutes, or less (this includes time for the pot to reach pressure). My best chicken chili comes out of the instant pot, made with dried beans, and the whole thing might take about an hour because I cook the chicken breasts in the pot first, then the beans, then combine (with the rest of the ingredients) and cook for a few more minutes. I have actually been thinking seriously about getting a second instant pot so I can have both of them going at the same time! :-)