2018 was my first year in beekeeping. The colonies that survive the winter will give me a honey crop in the spring of 2019. It’s difficult to predict how much honey you’ll get from a hive. In my area, a healthy hive can produce as little as 10kg of honey in a year if the…
Planning for next growing season
November, December and January are typical months to be planning your outdoor-activities for the next year. I will be doing the same and I need to be doing this for my garden, my small livestock and my apiary. In this post I’ll explain how I decide on new varieties to plant. I’ll limit myself to…
Planting flower bulbs when you’re too late!
Most flower bulbs, especially those that bloom in spring are planted in autumn before the first frost. In my area bulbs are planted onwards from the 15th of October into November. If you respect this time frame there probably won’t be any issues, most bulbs are hardy and will show themselves in spring. There are…
Caramel-honey pear tarte-tatin
This a very simple recipe to make. It makes for a spiced cake that isn’t overpowering. The cake is quite light and fluffy, if you’re worried about the sweetness of the top layer, simply use less honey and syrup. Preparation and top layer Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a baking tin with parchment paper….
Carrot & walnut cake with mascarpone glaze
It might be funny to some, but this is the first carrot cake I’ve ever made. I’m a big fan of cakes made with fruits or vegetables, because these stay moist better than anything else. Honey cakes are a close second because of the hygroscopic nature of honey, but mango, banana, apples or carrots are…
An introduction to honeybee varieties
Across the globe, people harvest honey from various sorts of bee-types. In Asia apis cerana, Koschevnikov and Dorsata are used. Not all of these can be kept in hives, but humans have gone looking for colonies to harvest from for centuries. It has been a popular subject for photographers and documentary makers, to show people…
Planting for pollinators part 2
In part 1 of planting for pollinators, I focused mainly on plants that thrive in wetlands. Of course, not all valuable plants need a wetland to survive, many are more flexible. In this second part I’ll devote more attention to annuals and plants that grow on other soils. Probably the two biggest assets to…
Onion & mushroom soup with Chinese spices
Many people are familiar with using leftovers from roast chickens to make bone broth for soup. I recently experimented doing this with a duck carcass. I used a Chinese-inspired recipe for the duck, so the bird was cooked with ginger and five-spice. The broth: I simply put the leftover meat and the bones into a…
Statement autumn flowers
After getting in the leftover harvest from the vegetable garden and orchard, a part of me is always saddened at the prospect of the mostly dead garden in fall and winter. What makes the look of the faded summer splendor easier are a few flowers I’ve found bloom well late into fall. Most of these,…
Pumpkin, carrot and turmeric soup
Another recipe you can prepare with easy-to-grow and easy-to-preserve vegetables. I used chicken stock that I saved in the freezer from a rooster I butchered last month, but you can substitute with vegetable stock. Carrots are easy to preserve in a root cellar or in crates covered with sand. As long as a pumpkin isn’t…
Invasive species
Most ecosystems in the world today, have to deal with invasive species disturbing the natural balance of the system. Foreign plant species often get introduced through gardeners trying out something new in the garden, then losing control of what they planted. Some species, such as red oak and non-native honeybees, were introduced for commercial purposes….
Red beet and apple salad
It can be difficult, for those of us in northern climates, to maintain a diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Most methods of preserving the garden harvest require cooking, adding sugar, drying or another process that might remove nutrients from food. The inspiration for this gorgeous salad came from a recent restaurant dinner,…
Honey-walnut-almond cupcakes
These cupcakes might look plain, but they’re far from that! Cut up bits of walnut give a warm, earthy flavor and together with the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves it makes a great, wholesomely warm fall/winter dessert. These cupcakes retain a moist texture thanks to these walnuts and lend themselves well to being decorated creatively. Begin…
Keeping egg production up
Every chicken owner knows that egg production takes a nosedive when the days get short in fall. There is an egg season just like there is a cucumber, apple or tomato season. Most people who keep chickens to avoid buying eggs in the supermarket will prepare for this by either freezing eggs, pickling boiled eggs…
Quiet in the apiary
Today I believe my bees have finally gathered into their winter cluster. The temperature is circling 10°C and as I passed by the apiary a couple times today, I didn’t see any activity. During spring and summer, when the weather is cool or rainy, I can usually see bees peeking out around the entrance. Now,…
Processing the apples
What should you do with all the apples you’ll get during the fall season? I try to make lots of applesauce each fall. Last year I found some apple pie filling recipes I liked, so I went crazy with those, but this year I’m going back to basics. I don’t know too much about daily…
Quince harvest
We are lucky enough to have an 8-year-old quince tree growing on our property. Today, quince fruits are a rare find in stores or even farmers markets, probably because you really cannot use quince fruits until you put work into them. Quince fruits were traditionally used in various dishes, mostly desserts, stews, jams, jellies and…
Apple cake squares with honey
This one is the easiest and quickest apple cake recipe I have. You can use a baking tin, but if you dress a deep standard oven tray with parchment paper, you’d be able to make a very large cake (multiply recipe by at least 2 or even 3 for this) without needing a baking tin….
Apple varieties for permaculture gardens
The most important and rewarding area of a permaculture garden is probably the orchard. Although an orchard takes time to grow before you see any fruits, once established it will produce larger and larger yields, whilst demanding a minimum of care compared to a vegetable garden. I hope this list will help you choose varieties…
Perfect fall spiced apple cake
With fall comes colder weather, short days and a lot of rain. So we might want to reach for warm flavors and something that fills the air with an amazing enough scent to drive the chill and moisture out. This cake will do just that. I used apples from our own orchard, Red Love 119…
The Lowland Homestead 