Bee keeping

[MullersLaneFarm]

Canning will not keep honey from crystalizing, heating, (over 100 deg.) is not recommended , and sealing is not necessary. Honey will ferment if the moisture content is too high, but it will not spoil unless the moisture content is above 17%. If crystals form, heat it to 98 - 100 deg. and they will go away.

THANK YOU for stating this!

Honey is the wonderful of all foods, but pastuerization kills so much of these wonderful qualities.

In years past (we have been kept by honeybees for a decade), we've extracted honey that wasn't fully capped and have eaten fermented honey (not bad, just a slight tang) but still better than store bought, dead honey.

Eating crystalized honey is a treat all its own! Honey is water soluable, so if you are using it in a recipe where you are introducing water, there is no need to un-crystalize it.

One of the great benefits of honey, that many are not aware of, is its antibiotic capabilities. It is most wonderful on scrapes and shallow scratches, as well as burns.

I endured 3rd burns on my left arm (from wrist to elbow) last fall while pressure canning pasta sauce. Thankfully, the skin was still attached. After soaking in cold aloe vera juice & ice for 4 hours, I treated it for 2 weeks with our honey.** I have a couple of pink spots on my wrists where the sauce caught in my watch band and the skin was removed, but the rest of my arm show absolutely no difference than what it was prior to the burn.

** NOTE: I have a very good friend who is a doctor. I told her what happened, sent her pictures and told her of my treatment. She knows my capabilities of 'doctoring' and told me what to look for and approved my methods. I sent her pictures every few days so she could monitor my progress. I do NOT recommend this to anyone unless they have good doctoring skills and have a good friend who is an MD!!

 

[llandry]

Hi,
Honey should stay in Room temp and not in the frig. if your buying organic honey (not from a store) from a Farmers market or local bee keeper whom sales honey then that is the real stuff. We have been farming bees for about 10 years now and harvest honey twice a year... our honey is a blend of Avocado, citrus, sage and eucalyptus so it has a unique taste. Honey will crystallize over time and all you do is just remove the cap and set it in a pan of water up to the rim and put on a slow boil (not hot boiling water) it will come right back to normal, Honey will last for years!!
By the way if you looking to move and want land my husband and I are custom home builders as well, we have an awesome 4.2 acre gentle slope just around the corner from us here in Fallbrook, Ca check it out on the MLS# 130013198
it also has some bee hives there, we have perfect weather here and can grow anything.
Thanks,

thanks for the info.

 

[Life is Good!]

Add this family to beekeepers!
Coming in just 4days, our first 2 packages of bees. Never been a beekeeper before. Never had chickens before 2011. Never thought we'd be embarking on a self-sufficient style of life. Wow, what can change quick!

Because of shoulder injury, we're using the Top Bar Hive method. Simply cannot think of lifting even an 7 frame in an 8 box everytime we need to check the hive. Just not happening here. So, I can lift a hinged lid on a top bar hive and inspect a 8# frame!

Please keep fingers crossed that all goes well. Just learned our neighbor (who has 2 hives) is ordering 3 more! So with hers and ours, that's 7 hives in 4 acres! Yikes! I might not be able to go barefoot outside anymore this summer! Wouldn't want to step on anyone!

Weather forecast for installing package is less than idea. Rain for the next week. But, we'll find a way! (Again, please keep fingers crossed!)

 

[oakgroveacres]

Waiting on our bees.This is our first year beekeeping.Hoping to get some honey in first year ,keeping our fingers crossed.

 

[RAST]

I've kept bees for years and been around them most of my life. I got fed up with putting chemicals in my hives a couple of years ago to keep them alive and am now going to breed from what few (15 this spring) I have left. (Called the James Bond Method from "Live and Let Die"). Problem is we can't combat nicotinoids and other chemicals that are used daily in lawns, landscaping and farming. The bees bring it into the hive, the comb is like a sponge, soaks it up and holds it, transmits it to the larva and pupil which are then weakened. Op's, sorry, off the soapbox.
I love bees and will try to help any one that asks.
Kudu's to everyone else that tries to keep them. We need them.

 

[RAST]

Oh yeah, an easy way to decrystallize a jar of honey is leave it on the dash or in the back window of your car with the windows up in the summer. I tried to put one in my incubator the other day, but it wouldn't fit.

 

[RAST]

New-by and wanna bee's. Get stung a time or two to start building up a hystene immunity( if your system will). It's normal to swell and itch like crazy at first, scrape the stinger out with your hive tool, don't pick it out, this only squeezes more venom into you. Have someone near you at first, It's the 2nd or 3rd sting that will react if you are allergic to bee stings, anaphylatic shock. Windpipe will start swelling shut among other things, seek immediate medical attention. Very few have this, but best to aware.

 

[Baker Farm]

I'm thinking of building my own hive boxes and bottom board and lid. Anyone here DIY?

 

[RAST]

Bottom board and outer cover, I build myself. Boxes were cheaper to buy. Freight can be the big expense. Just 2 hives (always start with 2 hives) I would build myself using rabit joints and tightbond 3 glue.

 

[Baker Farm]

I was going to only start 1 hive due to the cost of a nuc being $185. Why do you recommend always starting 2? Thanks