Normally I try to do a variety of topics for my Pinterest Link-ups, but I'm trying something new here, and going with a theme this week! I found quite a few great posts on winter beekeeping, and really wanted to share them! Enjoy, my dear friends!
1. Preparing Beehives For Winter. {Courtesy of 'Runamuk Acres Farm & Apiary} - This is a detailed and informative link that gives an easy-to-understand list of what to do for your hives as winter approaches!
2. Tips For Helping Bees: Blackberry Winter {Courtesy of 'Herbal Academy of New England} - I had never heard of the term "Blackberry Winter", so I guess this counts as "my one new thing I learned today". The term refers to the awful time when we *think* winter has finally ended, and then boom! Right in the middle of March/April we get a severe cold snap again! This article has some handy tips on how to keep your bees alive and healthy if that happens.
3. Common Winter Beekeeping Problems {Courtesy of Mother Earth News} - A Mother Earth News link! I've always loved articles from here! A lot of them are on the same lines as link #1 above, but it's still a great read.
4. A Winter Beehive Candy Board {Courtesy of 'Tilly's Nest'} - This link is what got me started on the whole "winter beekeeping" theme idea! It's a total "Aha!" kind of idea! Maybe I just haven't been around the right kind of beekeepers, but I had NEVER heard of making a candy board for the bees. Shucks, this sounds so much easier than dealing with sugar water when it's 2 degrees Fahrenheit outside... I will definitely be trying this on my hives next winter!
5. Honey Bee Healthy Syrup {Courtesy of 'Eating Rules.com'} - This idea is similar to the candy board idea, but it's a liquid syrup that's stored inside the hive, and has some herbal properties added to it to maintain the bee's health. The directions aren't super detailed, but there's enough there that an experimental person could figure it out.
6. Beekeeping 101: Getting The Right Equipment {Courtesy of'The Elliot Homestead} - Okay, so this link isn't about "winter care"; it's the basic, starting out kind of stuff that every beginner needs to know. Which is why I'm sharing it! If you're thinking about getting bees when spring time rolls around, then here's a great list of what you'll need (with gorgeous pictures to further explain)!
1 comment:
Blackberry Winter was a new one to me too – we do have never ending winters but we don’t have blackberries up here just darn pesky dandelions that I am sure if you shoveled all the snow away in Feb you would find them thriving under it all in the thick of a Cdn winter – haha! There are so many interesting stories about bee byproducts. I have tried Manuka honey before that is said to have antibacterial properties. I heard of a guy who’s horse cut through it’s coronet band above the hoof and the vet did not give him much hope for the horse surviving – he used honey on it for months and the wound healed. You hear other stories about bee stings healing people of illnesses and the health properties of Propolis and Royal Jelly - all from a little bee! My neighbors started a few hives a few yrs ago that pollinate my alfalfa hay fields and I get some free honey from it too! They had some winter losses the first yr but are living and learning and are really enjoying beekeeping - do you plan to keep bees too?
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