This is a super delicious apple butter that is easy to make, and you don’t have to stand over the stove and stir for hours. MAIN ARTICLE: Save Money by Canning Food at Home Honey Apple Butter Recipe 12 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples (I really like the McIntosh and Gala apples for apple […]

Download this episode (right click and save) Join beekeepers Becky Tipton, Charlotte Brunin, Robert Riley, and Steve Tipton as they discuss the best way to harvest honey from a Langstroth hive. To hear more podcasts from MOTHER EARTH NEWS and Friends, click here.

Winter is coming…   We live in Michigan and the Farmer’s Almanac says we’re in for a doozy…The signs are all there. I have a few “superstition”/“wives tale” type clues that I swear by.   The oaks are LOADED with acorns this year. We had a cool summer following a mild winter (so we’re due) […]

We all know that bees can sting. Perhaps, after making honey and pollination, stinging might be what bees are most known for. It may seem obvious that bees protect themselves by using their stinger, but in reality, the sting is a bee’s last resort.   When a bee stings, it kills the bee. The stinger […]

In my experience, most new beekeepers are worry worts. They spend a lot of energy fretting over their bees, but mostly they focus on the wrong things. Read on to find out what you can stop stressing out about! 1. Cooling the Hive  Honey bees like to keep their brood nests between 90-97F (32-25C) degrees. […]

In addition to keeping a hive of bees in my backyard and a flock of chickens, I have quite the vegetable garden, mini orchard, and space devoted to native plants. When I began planting native plants, I specifically looked for natives that were useful not only to my backyard hive but also for the plethora […]

As I write this our golden retriever is barking at a car turning around in the driveway. He’s letting me know that someone is here. I tell him “Good boy,… okay, that’s enough.” and pat his head. Still flustered and huffy, he obeys begrudgingly. He quiets down and lays in his bed, ears pricked and […]

  If you tell your friends and neighbors that you are growing a “Bee Bee” tree for your bees, they will probably think you are kidding! A magnet for pollinators of all kinds, it is a a great small tree, also known as Korean evodia (Evodia daniellii or Tetradium daniellii). Unknown outside of horticultural circles […]

I’ve written other posts that talk about plants you should add to your yard to attract and support bees, but never have I seen anything like this! We planted a sunflower field on our land this spring and opened a U-Pick section of our farm where people can come and cut a bouquet, visit with […]