I am doing a bee keeping course at the moment. It is interesting but I dont think I will keep them. I do however have some beekeeping gear. Hat, gloves, smoker, hive tools and book etc. Dunno what to do with them. x
What beekeeping related activities did you do recently?
- Thread starter slowworm
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Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
We’ve set up our first out-apiary on the edge of a field a few miles away from the house. Quite excited. South facing and lots of good forage nearby. Fenced off to dissuade stock (and hopefully the local badger population!). Now desperately refurbishing bits of hive that I didn’t get round to over winter.
Have a chat with some of the other students on the course. Perhaps someone who is just starting out will take them off your hands.
yeh. good idea. my mate just sent them me and I didnt give it a thought till i saw this thread. x
While i don't keep bees, i do plant for them and leave dandelions in flower untouched as they are often the first pollen they have access to. I also have an insect house... one of those things made with loads of short lengths of garden cane/bamboo... and for the last 3 or 4 years... we get leafcutter bees using them to see out the winter. I even let the Ivy grow up the fence next to it. Its ace to see them cutting the leaves and stuffing the ends of the canes, blocking them up for the winter. They share the insect hut with a big spider who lives in the lower left corner.
I will open the parcels and photograph the equipment. Find out what its worth and go from there. I will do it next week. x
Dandelions are a good source of nectar as well as pollen, great for all sorts of bees and insect. Loads of bumbles and solitary bees on ours, along with our honey bees. We've now got a mass of seed heads providing food for the finches and other birds as well.
Here's a blurry pic of the entrance to one of our hives, the entrance block is stained yellow by the dandelion pollen (frames also become a bright yellowy orange at this time of year).
It was quite interesting last year, opening up the hive and seeing the variety of colours in the pollen being carried around. We got lucky and placed our hive beside a wild flower meadow, so there was all sorts coming in.
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