Honey farms, smallholdings and bees, bees and honey

Winter bee keeping for smallholders

2:10pm Sunday 29th August 2010

Finally with bees almost constantly in the news, it’s also time to prepare for a successful winter in the apiary which means providing enough food at the correct time, something that is more complex than it sounds. Coupled with the often challenging weather conditions, it means that bee keepers, new and old, have to be very much on the ball to ensure that their bees receive enough nutrition to get them through until the flowers are once more productive next spring. Then it’s back to the winter lectures provided by most bee keeping clubs and swopping experiences with fellow bee keepers which is a very positive help to everyone. If you have had a good honey harvest then it won’t be hard to sell it as honey is in great demand or perhaps its time to dust down the books and use it in recipes or even in cosmetics? Honey is such a versatile product with so many uses. As usual – there are never enough hours in the day for smallholders!

Bees are theme of radio play

6:40pm Tuesday 20th July 2010

Hive Mind By Simon Bovey was aired Monday on BBC Radio 4 in the Afternoon Play slot but it will be available on the Afternoon play website as listen again until the 25th May.

BBKA and New Holland launch "Course in a Case"

6:40pm Friday 16th July 2010

New Holland and the BBKA reveal the fruits of their partnership at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show The colour and spectacle of the Hampton Court Palace Flower show is legendary – and on the twentieth anniversary of the largest show of its kind in the world, there was a new addition to the colourful display: From the 6th July to the 11th July, New Holland’s powerful bright blue machines were there, amongst the blooms, to support their partners, the British Beekeepers’ Association.

Bees need water too!

10:44am Monday 12th July 2010

A plea for beekeepers and gardeners to provide some shallow water that bees can use. One beekeeper who has hives on field margins was distressed to find his bees had died, and the most likely cause was they were unable to find enough water. Bowls of water that have some clean pebbles or rocks in them to help prevent drowning, are particularly welcome and you can place them near to the hives. Gardeners too can help by doing this - not only bees but other insects and small mammals will also appreciate it.

‘Bee’ prepared for winter

8:00am Saturday 10th July 2010

Brenda Davies on how new beekeepers can give their colonies the best chance of survival

Bees, bees everywhere – but where is the honey on my smallholding?

1:40pm Saturday 5th June 2010

I’ve just read half of Bill Turbull’s book “The bad beekeepers club” in one sitting. What a fabulous, truthful book from a man who I am sure is a much better bee keeper than he claims to be. I winced as I related to his accounts of what the bad beekeeper does compared to the good beekeepers view. I, for example, have just been down to the bees and forgot my hive tool How can you forget anything so vital? Let me recap. At the weekend my friend Richard (a very good beekeeper) came over and we approached with some trepidation the hive that last winter we had fed and closed with the words, “we’ll sort it out in the spring!” It seemed such a long way off in October.

New Patron for Bees Development Trust

8:30am Monday 31st May 2010

Bees for Development Trust has announced that Sting has become a Patron of the trust.

What’s new for Beekeepers

7:30am Saturday 29th May 2010

Brenda Davies looks at some fresh ideas, interesting innovations and a beautiful film

Beekeepers fight back to ensure honey bees' survival

8:20am Tuesday 25th May 2010

The British Beekeepers’ Association announced today, 25 May, the first results from its 2009-10 winter colony survival survey* which shows that more than 80% of honey bee colonies made it through one of the harshest winters in 30 years. The survey also reveals the efforts that beekeepers are making to rebuild bee stocks with the average number of colonies per beekeeper in the survey rising from 3.7 in 2007 to 4.7 in 2009.

Orchard management and beekeeping course

7:20pm Saturday 15th May 2010

Info: a practical day with guidance on all aspects of orchard management and an introduction to beekeeping.

More Bees and Honey»