Sustainable beekeeping, chickens, and cake
I visited Knockhatch about 6 weeks ago, and the swarm we caught in the bait box from the Oak Tree colony were building up gradually in their hive, and bringing in lots of pollen. We went to check them again, and being hot, mid-morning, and during the school summer holidays, we thought it prudent to … Continue reading New bees at Knockhatch
Last time I checked the Berwick Solar Farm bees, I put the inspection board underneath the mesh floor to see if there were any varroa mites. As the bee groom themselves and each other, the mites drop off, fall through the mesh and can be counted. Of course, it's only a proportion that appear, so … Continue reading Thermosolar Varroa Count
On Thursday I went along to an evening walk and talk with friends, Vicky of Starnash Farmhouse, and Andy of Almost Off Grid, at Tablehurst Farm to have a guided tour of their poultry unit by Robin and some of the volunteers. I find biodynamic farming absolutely fascinating, and love the general ethos of keeping … Continue reading Biodynamic birds
I have devised this course to show people how best to cater for bees and pollinators, and show that by adopting best practice for our bees, we can help other wildlife too. There is a certain amount of confusion around how to "Save the Bees", and many - rightly - feel that honeybees get too … Continue reading New Course: Gardening for Bees and Wildlife
I started working with the National Trust bees at Winchelsea when my friend and colleague Paul asked me to help remove some bees from a wall in a National trust cottage at Crutches Farm. We couldn't get them out so decided to leave them until they had built up again and were a bit more … Continue reading National Trust Bees on the Move
The Thermosolar hive's greatest attribute is its state-of-the-art Varroa control procedure, using the power of sunlight to gently heat the hive to a temperature for a short time, which doesn't harm the bees, but does kill the mites. I wanted to know if the bees do have a mite load, so I put the inspection … Continue reading Thermosolar update
The wasps are out in force at the moment as they no longer have brood to look after, and therefore are not only , but also deprived of their sugary hit they have been getting from the larvae. Wasps catch meaty prey for the larvae but cannot digest it themselves, so chew it up for … Continue reading Reducing the Hive Entrance
Ok, so this is a bit of a departure, but it ties in with some thoughts and other discussions, so bear with me... Sustainable beekeeping to me is having hived bees in such a way that incorporates them in to the local area so that we can share the fruits of their labours, but not … Continue reading House Cat, and Sustainable Bees
I hatched some chicks this year, as I wanted to rear some replacement pullets and I had a few people needing cockerels, plus I had a couple of Sketching Chickens classes booked, and chicks are always fun to watch and draw. They remind me so much of little dinosaurs as they run around the garden … Continue reading Boys and Girls
I needed to check the bees in the Thermosolar hive hadn't glued their roof down again, and for that I needed the propolis to be really soft. It's a hot day today in the south east, and while I was there I thought I would put a honey box (super) on too, so they have … Continue reading Super Thermosolar