What did you do in the garden today?

[pennyJo1960]

I have tires stacked three high these are all 15 inch car tires know who and what I put where but still winter here in other words they would drown before they grew

 

[MissChick@dee]

Okay today got my chives & tyme all cleaned out and rewired.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I cut back my sage. I cut a tunnel in the back for a hawk hideout. The bee’s love the sage. I learned something last year. I would cut the flowers off so it wouldn’t throw seeds...it just bloomed even more! It’s a beast lol.

 

[WthrLady]

We call that "angering" a plant. You just tick it off, so it does more of what you don't want!

I finished the hive today. (Half the bathroom floor too. Stopped that when my sinus' told me how much they hated being turned upside down.)

So here is my Top Bar hive. I reserve my bees (local) on Monday.

Two different types of comb bars. One will be filled with melted wax. The other is a wood start.

The hive without the roof, the comb starts hanging in place. The comb starts with the red dot are wax, those without are wood. Yellow bars are the followers. They are all clumped together at the moment just so I could measure. They are usually spaced along the hive to determine the bee's living locations. The blue zone is the feeding station. (My hole plugs were still up in the car during photo shoot-but they will control where the bees can enter/exit.)

The feeding zone. I built it so that it would hold a chick waterer. The dish will have pebbles in it when in use.

The hive with the roof on. Vent holes for summer. In winter it will have an alpaca fleece pillow to help with hive heat retention and moisture control. Barn square, because every other building on the ranch has one. This one is BeeHive Block.

The floor is an eco floor. 4 inches of cedar and twigs to house beneficial insects that co-exist with bees and keep mites under control.

Hope you enjoyed.
Now back to my knitting.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Very nice looking hive. Not what I had expected at all. It’s cute!
Okay stupid question
do you harvest honey? Or is it just for the bee’s and have them live in it as pollinaters for your crops. I have plants/flowers just for bee’s I believe they are so beneficial.

 

[WthrLady]

Honey. NOM NOM NOM. In this hive, the bees make their own combs. There are no frames. You pull the bar. Take the comb off and squeeze the honey out into a strainer/filter. Done. No extractors, no press.

 

[WthrLady]

I need them as pollinators too. I have a mason bee center already in the orchard.

We are a state certified pollinator habitat, so I need my bees

 

[MissChick@dee]

SOooo cool!
I have a friend who owns Blue Lizzard Farms. He sells his honey. It’s so good! I always have honey butter in my freezer.
He also grows organic baby lettuce and has a contract with a few major hotels in Las Vegas.
He grew hemp this last year in his fields and (massive) green houses. Sells of CBD oil is going threw the roof! His plan is to sell starters. Looks like he’s going to go hemp all the way.
Oh and honey

 

[WthrLady]

Hemp and Honey. Sounds like a name for something.

 

[pennyJo1960]

or laughing till one does not care