Beekeeping can be tough on your back. Lifting a super full of honey that weighs 30kg or more is not easy. Bending down to lift it is even harder! This article is a step-by-step guide on how to build a hive stand that comfortably fits two Langstroth hives on it.
Continue reading “How to build a Langstroth hive stand”Happy new year everyone! We have a few exciting changes coming in 2019.
Eastern Australia is experiencing another drought. Droughts are normal and are becoming more frequent. This drought is one of the worst in several decades. 100% of New South Wales has been declared in a drought. Many farmers struggle through droughts, doing whatever it takes to survive until the rains come. Lots of awareness is raised about livestock and produce farmers. The obvious farmers running sheep, cattle, grain and vegetable farms. These make news headlines because farms that were once green pastures are now brown dustbowls. Such images invoke emotion and sell news. Beekeepers are farmers too. Beekeepers raise bees to produce food (honey), bees (for pollination and to sell to hobby beekeepers) and to sell the raw materials bees produce (wax and propolis). We are also hard hit by droughts. This article looks at how the drought affects beekeepers.
Lavender is a wonderful, hardy plant. It is an evergreen shrub that produces vibrant purple, off-white, violet or pink flowers depending on the variety. Lavender is very aromatic and brushing the leaves produces strong, fragrant scent. Lavender flowers are a magnet for bees. Lavender can compliment other plants in a garden or be planted in a pot when you don’t have much room. It can also be planted in rows to create an informal hedge along a driveway or garden path.
This post briefly describes our 2018 winter successes and failures.
We started winter with eight hives (our top bar hive, one single deep wooden hive, one single deep plastic hive, four double deep EPS foam hives and one triple deep EPS foam hive). Our goal was to over-winter five or more hives. We reached our target and managed to get seven hives through until spring. Only our own feeding mistake prevented us from a 100% over-wintering success rate.
Crepe myrtles are a wonderful addition to a garden and are used by bees for their pollen. They require little care once established and produce flowers from mid summer through to autumn. This tree helps bees prepare for winter by providing much needed pollen and to a lesser extent nectar.
This month we have compiled a list of bee related articles that were in news recently.
This blog details a day I spent exploring an apiary and eating fresh produce on an island less than forty minutes ferry ride from Venice, Italy.
A short ferry ride away from the millions of tourists that flock to Venice sits Sant’ Erasmo, an island just 3.26 square kilometers in size. The island is known as ‘The Garden of Venice’. Locals grow exceptional produce on the island including artichoke, wine and honey.
*Update: As of January 2019 Miele del Doge have their website up and running. Click here to visit their site. We found using a mobile to view the site gives us an option to switch to an English mode.*
An article by Esther Han on 10/6/18.
