Beekeepers
- Thread starter Barney
- Start date
There's no wax available here I'm afraid. 
It's become a commodity since Toddy gave me a recipe for beeswax lip balm.
It's become a commodity since Toddy gave me a recipe for beeswax lip balm.
There's no wax available here I'm afraid.
It's become a commodity since Toddy gave me a recipe for beeswax lip balm.
Become a seller and peddle the wares - I'd buy some
Matthew.Passmore
Settler
We lost one hive this winter and two last winter.
The mystery disease thing appears to be a myth though. The majority of experienced beekeepers seem to believe that the loss of hives is mainly due to an increase in the use of specific pesticides and the result of wet summers. The constant rain reduces the number of opportunites that the queen bee has to go on a mating flight.
The mystery disease thing appears to be a myth though. The majority of experienced beekeepers seem to believe that the loss of hives is mainly due to an increase in the use of specific pesticides and the result of wet summers. The constant rain reduces the number of opportunites that the queen bee has to go on a mating flight.
Locum 67
quick question... just how easy is it to keep bees and to harvest the honey.
I have got a 50m allotment and have been thinking about conevrting the final 5-10m into a wild flower meadow with the aim of keeping bees.
I'm concerned about the level of protection and care they will need as the location is quite open and it can quite windy. How much am i looking at towards purchasing all the necessary equipment (hives, bees, clothing etc)
The other allotment holders are fine about the idea, and see it as beneficial to them.
Where can i get more advice and 'training'?
many thanks
quick question... just how easy is it to keep bees and to harvest the honey.
I have got a 50m allotment and have been thinking about conevrting the final 5-10m into a wild flower meadow with the aim of keeping bees.
I'm concerned about the level of protection and care they will need as the location is quite open and it can quite windy. How much am i looking at towards purchasing all the necessary equipment (hives, bees, clothing etc)
The other allotment holders are fine about the idea, and see it as beneficial to them.
Where can i get more advice and 'training'?
many thanks
I seeded a large area of my allotment with wild flower seed and while quite a few of them came up I noticed they were swamped with the common plants. I then learned that a true wild flower meadow becomes so because the ground is actually poor in nutrients and so only certain species of wild flower will tolerate that environment. I think my epic fail was due to the fact that I did this in one of the chuck pens and there's nowt like chicken sh*t to fertilise the ground 
Hi Wolfman
Generally it is very easy and difficult to look after bees. they are very good at looking after themselves but the hard work is in avoiding losing them all in swarms, preventing diseases and getting the balance right between the amount of honey you harvest and what you leave for them to eat.
the hive would benefit from a bit of shelter from the prevailing wind but if there is an abundance of nectar sources near to the hive they would be okay. the closer the nectar source is the less distance they have travel (up to 4 miles) to get food and the less you have to worry about wind.
you would be able to get all the kit (hive, smoker, bee suit, hive tools etc) for about £150 new.
The best thing you could do would be to get in touch with your local beekeepers assocation. they are all generally very helpful and keen to propagate and maintain beekeeping skills. they will have courses for beginners (probably due to start soon), they will share some of the more expensive equipment such as honey extraction equipment and you might find the odd hive going free and even a free swarm or two.
you might want to check with your allotment association officially first. I think some would see the bees as livestock and therefore would not be allowed. there are some health and safety considerations as well. I have seen someone turn anaphylactic after being stung a few times and it is quite scary, such sufferers would need to be forewarned.
oxford beekeepers
regards
Rob
Just a note on wildflowers.
Matt Weir you are right. Meadows only really work in quite pore soil but you can grow some more vigorous perennial wildflowers in rich ground. Plants like Greater Knapweed, Tansy, Mints, Perennial Sweet Pea and some of the more vigorous vetches should grow in rich soil and they will be able to compete well I would have thought. They are all grate nectar sources as well.
Although maybe an old chicken run mite be pushing it even then
Matt Weir you are right. Meadows only really work in quite pore soil but you can grow some more vigorous perennial wildflowers in rich ground. Plants like Greater Knapweed, Tansy, Mints, Perennial Sweet Pea and some of the more vigorous vetches should grow in rich soil and they will be able to compete well I would have thought. They are all grate nectar sources as well.
Although maybe an old chicken run mite be pushing it even then
A short (7 mins) item on Radio 4's Today program about the falling bee population...
"Britain's bees are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. Various government bodies and research institutions have agreed to provide £8m to look into why populations are falling. Sarah Mukherjee talks to Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeepers Association. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn discusses why the government announced that £2m would be spent on looking at the problem earlier in the year."
Link here.
"Britain's bees are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. Various government bodies and research institutions have agreed to provide £8m to look into why populations are falling. Sarah Mukherjee talks to Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeepers Association. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn discusses why the government announced that £2m would be spent on looking at the problem earlier in the year."
Link here.
Thanks for the link, interesting comments.
I was actually talking to my sister about this yesterday.
She was at a conference recently where the general feeling (and evidence) suggests that build up of pesticides particularly the neo nics, and other agricultural chemicals has by far the biggest impact on bee populations (to the extent that most scientists are annoyed and frustrated that they just aren't banned straight away). Even where it doesen't kill them directly it reduces the immune systems of the bees, and lowers their productivity.
But then she is a government entomolgist can possible agree with any off that :tapedshut
I was actually talking to my sister about this yesterday.
She was at a conference recently where the general feeling (and evidence) suggests that build up of pesticides particularly the neo nics, and other agricultural chemicals has by far the biggest impact on bee populations (to the extent that most scientists are annoyed and frustrated that they just aren't banned straight away). Even where it doesen't kill them directly it reduces the immune systems of the bees, and lowers their productivity.
But then she is a government entomolgist can possible agree with any off that :tapedshut
hi chaps , re, starting to keep bees . my missus went on a introduction course at the weekend and they offer the free use of the extractor machine when she joined the club so she is now hooked. So to keep the cost down we have made some of the kit quite easily . i made her a smoker using three empty tin cans and made the bellows using vinyl from a very naf handbag bought at a car boot sale ,total cost about £2 and it works perfectly, then my wife made the suit from an old doctors coat , a large brimmed sun hat bleached white and a couple of metres of fine mesh . so far i reakon weve saved at least £100 on the cost of buying purpose made kit . Im sure that any one on this site is more than capable of doing the same with apair of tin snips ,a pop riveter and a steady hand on the sowing machine . good luck
Does anyone use any unconventional less western methods of keeping bees? We use Langstroth etc in the uk but other cultures use terracotta pots etc, just wondering if anyone had tried another way.
Reading a good book at the moment called 'Honey and Dust', haven't finished it yet but so far so good!
Book sellers synopsis:
After being seriously injured in a hit-and-run, Piers Moore Ede goes to an organic farm in Italy to recuperate. There, a beekeeper shows him the magic of the beehive and Piers, depressed since his accident, realises that honey might be his salve and salvation. This is the story of his quest to seek out the most wondrous honeys in the world, from the terracotta bee jars of the Lebanon to the clay cylinders of Syria. Slowly his personal tribulations fall into perspective against the backdrop of the dwindling traditions of the honey-farmers. Hunting wild honey from cliffs with Gurung tribesmen in Nepal, and in vast jungle trees with Veddah tribesmen in Sri Lanka, Piers draws close to the very origins of life. But honey is the real luminary of "Honey and Dust" and it is by witnessing nature's astonishing healing powers that Piers finally finds his own sense of regeneration.
Leo
Reading a good book at the moment called 'Honey and Dust', haven't finished it yet but so far so good!
Book sellers synopsis:
After being seriously injured in a hit-and-run, Piers Moore Ede goes to an organic farm in Italy to recuperate. There, a beekeeper shows him the magic of the beehive and Piers, depressed since his accident, realises that honey might be his salve and salvation. This is the story of his quest to seek out the most wondrous honeys in the world, from the terracotta bee jars of the Lebanon to the clay cylinders of Syria. Slowly his personal tribulations fall into perspective against the backdrop of the dwindling traditions of the honey-farmers. Hunting wild honey from cliffs with Gurung tribesmen in Nepal, and in vast jungle trees with Veddah tribesmen in Sri Lanka, Piers draws close to the very origins of life. But honey is the real luminary of "Honey and Dust" and it is by witnessing nature's astonishing healing powers that Piers finally finds his own sense of regeneration.
Leo
