Before we started beekeeping, the extent of our knowledge of beekeeping was seeing white boxes stacked tall on the edges of almond, orange, and avocado orchards in the San Joaquin valley. We grew up watching these boxes come and go year after year, season after season. When we started beekeeping we bought those same type […]
Winter is knocking at the door here in Middle Tennessee, and in your neck of the woods it may already be in the next few days. This past week has been dedicated to winterizing the hives (you can read the post about Winterizing Bee Hives). For the honey bees, the cooler temperatures mean clustering up
Outside the Beebox Read More »
On the eve of the online “Natural Beekeeping class (with Adam as the Instructor) being released with the School of Traditional Skills, we are super excited for this next season! We will be continuing to expand our online store, and we are already planning and preparing for next spring with Bootcamps, Homeschool classes and more
October Beekeeping Read More »
Here in a Middle Tennessee, September is bringing in slightly cooler weather and the Fall Flow. Right now the bees are wide open, bringing in as much nectar and pollen as they can with an urgency! By and large they have calmed down from being protective of their stores during the nectar dearth and we can visit with
Fall in the Apiary Read More »
Every year across most of the earth, honey bees experience a nectar and pollen dearth. This event occurs when the honey bees (and other pollinators) run out of forage during the summer between the drying of the spring blooms and the start of the fall nectar flow. This is also the time when conventional beekeepers prop up their bees by feeding
The Dearth, Robbing Season, and the Dreaded Yellow Jacket Read More »
Once you get into bees and people start to find out you are a beekeeper, you immediately start getting calls about bees. Bees in house walls, bees in bushes, bees in the ground, and bees in a tree. When I get a call like this I immediately start asking questions to find out if these
This post is a continuation in a series on the “Central Commandments to Natural Beekeeping.” You can read all eight commandments in the post titled Sustainable Beekeeping, and you can read more about the first six commandments in Swarm Traps and Horizontal Hives, Let The Bees Eat Honey, and Bees Know What To Do. Number
Mutual and Beneficial Relationship Read More »
This post is a continuation in a series on the “Central Commandments to Natural Beekeeping.” You can read all eight commandments in the post titled Sustainable Beekeeping, and you can read more about the first four commandments in Swarm Traps and Horizontal Hives and Let The Bees Eat Honey. Number 5…“Only propagate your bees naturally, through
Bees Know What To Do! Read More »
This post is a continuation in a series on the “Central Commandments to Natural Beekeeping.” You can read about the first two commandments in the blog post Swarm Traps and Horizontal Hives. Number Three…“Never feed your bees sugar.” This one is very simple and easy to explain. Honey IS the best and most healthy food
Let The Bees Eat Honey Read More »
On our homestead we take a hands off approach to our animals (cats and dogs), livestock, and insects. This hands-off approach (except if there is an emergency) started after many years of taking care of animals and bad experiences. Cats with urinary tract infections, a vet that continued giving our dog steroids that masked an
Beekeeping on the Homestead Read More »