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| DrBeekeeper Honey |
What better way to mark the end of the first year of beekeeping than harvesting your own honey. It’s been an eventful year since my bees arrived after being collected from the swarm on a tree at my beekeeping course in August 2012. Shortly after this I met my queen for the first time. Optimistically, I bought 246 jars of honey in September, even before there was any sign of honey, in the hope of a bumper harvest! In the early period I had problems with ants, which I discovered hate cinnamon, as well as my Ashforth feeder and also learnt how to mouseproof a hive.
In December 2012, I launched a new series of articles I wrote about Bees Throughout History which was published monthly in the British Beekeepers Association newsletter. This series explored the history of bees from their early origins, to their importance in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. It also explored the prominence of bees in religion and finished with an article about bees in the modern world.
More recently, I’ve shared with you a fascinating video of one of my bees hatching as well as my experience visiting a Sicilian apiary. I’ve also written about my experience of dealing with lots of queen cells and my strategy for dealing with wasps.
If you want to find out more about bees and how to get started do explore the site which I created to share my fascination of the complexity of bee society with others. There are also sections about beekeeping for experienced beekeepers as well honey recipes and sources of great honey worldwide. For those taking the BBKA exams you can access the revision guide. I’ve also reviewed several beekeeping sites and books. If you want to connect with other beekeepers you can join Bee Pals – the bee mentor-mentee network. You can also download resources, like inspection records, to help with your beekeeping and follow the calendar of beekeeping events worldwide. Finally, please contribute to the forum and have a look at the honey and gift store.
I hope you’ve enjoyed following the blog this year and welcome your feedback!
That’s a nice looking honey crop, and distinctive labels too. Did you print them yourself?
Thanks for your comments. I designed and printed them myself. It’s a lot cheaper than the commercial ones and has the great advantage that you can make them exactly as you want them. How was your honey crop this year?
Wow! You got honey in the first year of beekeeping! Extraordinary! I love your labels! Nicely done!
http://nycgardening.blogspot.com
Thanks for your message. It’s great eating your own honey! I saw your blog post – hope you’ve recovered from all those stings. I can’t believe I haven’t been stung yet!