Himalayan balsam or Impatiens glandulifera originates in the Himalayas – surprise surprise. It was introduced to Europe as a garden plant but it quickly escaped the confines of the garden and joined the ranks of ‘Invasive Pests’. Other such plant species include Japanese knotweed, Giant hogweed, Sycamore or Acer pseudoplatanus and Trifids. Continue reading Himalayan Balsam or Impatiens glandulifera→
If you’re looking at taking your honey off you’ll be looking at clearing the bees. If you’re in a hurry and you like a fight you can always shake them or brush them off the frames. Or if you are Gadget Man and don’t care about young bees being blown all over the landscape you can get yourself a bee blower. But if you favour something slower, more gentle and less brutal you’re looking at a clearer board. Continue reading Porter Bee Escape→
In this part of the world – July is the time to get the bees to the heather – if the flow is early you’ll miss it. But before you do that – have you got a heather site?
Good sections command high prices and beekeepers will tell you the reason is that they are hard got. The bees hate to work all those corners and will often swarm instead. Or the weather will turn on you and you’ll be left with a lot of waste.
There is not much you can do about the weather but here are a few things you can consider to maximise your chances. Basically:
If you use Apiguard – be sure not to leave the eke on over winter or if you do, make sure get back to it before the dandelions do!
Perhaps this is why we call it an eke – we just spell it wrong; it should be eek. But note the rich yellow colour of dandelion honey – click the photos for a better look.
When beekeepers think heather, they think weather and ‘Will it ever stop bloody raining?’
Or you might wonder – ‘IS there a flow at all?’ Because often there isn’t and you can never tell in advance if it will or if it won’t. Heather honey is the most bewitching and frustrating of all honeys; if you can get a crop of sections or cut comb honey it’s close to heaven and so costly and disappointing when it fails.
