the Honeybees
Honeybees seemed like a natural step in our farm goals. Providing pollination to the garden, their honey is a valuable product for our kitchen, and the wax is invaluable for home care and personal care items. But we had never had bees before! Farm Mom was scared of bees, to be honest, but having them seemed to make a lot of sense. Farm Mom had become interested in them long before moving to the farm, but they were not allowed where we lived previously. The first year on the farm was a busy one...building fences and sheds, painting the house. Farm Mom read some books and websites. The second year was spent in the garden, but there wasn't any money or time for hives. But Farm Mom kept reading and studying about bees. Then the third year, bees abruptly became a reality. Farm Mom bought two hives and all equipment and two packages of bees...and off it went.
Farm Mom learned a lot that year. She made queens. She made splits. She combined hives. She even harvested a little honey and wax! And Farm Mom was hooked and no longer scared of bees.
While we would love to have treatment free bees, the fact is numbers of hives here are low, which makes even losing one hive difficult and a major hardship. So we treat for varroa mites with MAQS, also known as formic acid. Already found in honey, formic acid is a certified organic treatment. We only treat if needed, and plans include adding varroa-sensitive-hygienic genetics as well as treatment free genetics to work toward reducing a need for treatment.
The plans for this year include:
Creating nucs for sale. Because of the timing, these will not be ready to go until after the nectar season is done in this area. Therefore, they will need to be fed to facilitate building up for winter. Nucs should be available in June.
Making queens. The best queens are raised after the solstice. We may have queens for late season requeening available.
Adding a top bar hive; one has been purchased and installed...time will tell if it succeeds!
Adding some hives to our numbers
Creating hand lotion bars from our own clean wax
Selling some local honey
Farm Mom learned a lot that year. She made queens. She made splits. She combined hives. She even harvested a little honey and wax! And Farm Mom was hooked and no longer scared of bees.
While we would love to have treatment free bees, the fact is numbers of hives here are low, which makes even losing one hive difficult and a major hardship. So we treat for varroa mites with MAQS, also known as formic acid. Already found in honey, formic acid is a certified organic treatment. We only treat if needed, and plans include adding varroa-sensitive-hygienic genetics as well as treatment free genetics to work toward reducing a need for treatment.
The plans for this year include:
Creating nucs for sale. Because of the timing, these will not be ready to go until after the nectar season is done in this area. Therefore, they will need to be fed to facilitate building up for winter. Nucs should be available in June.
Making queens. The best queens are raised after the solstice. We may have queens for late season requeening available.
Adding a top bar hive; one has been purchased and installed...time will tell if it succeeds!
Adding some hives to our numbers
Creating hand lotion bars from our own clean wax
Selling some local honey