I normally use an open feeder in the fall when we start to get cool weather and there is not much out there for the bees to forage on.  I’ve used liquid sugar water feeders as an open source for feeding, but with cooler temps it has to be very thick syrup or the bees can’t […]

The phrase stealing honey from the bees could not be more accurate. In addition to bees, at Iron Oak Farm we also raise chickens for eggs, and goats for dairy and fiber. With the other animals on our farm, I feel as though the relationship is a bit more balanced. We provide food, shelter and […]

There comes a time when the beekeeper has to step in and play referee.

It came earlier this month when I had to decide to squish an underperforming queen bee for the health of the hive.

Sometimes I feel as though I live in a museum, or a nature center, or petting farm. More often than not, our weekends are filled with friends and family stopping by to check out the new baby chicks, or to see the fiber goats be shorn, or to give milking a try. And to be […]

Winter is coming. Now is the time to begin preparing your beehives for a successful overwintering. During winter, instead of foraging for and storing food, the focus of the hive is to overwinter the queen. Successfully overwintering the queen ensures the hive’s survival for next spring. Honeybees during this time will cluster around the queen […]

Goldenrod provides the bee yard with a peculiar smell. It is different from the usual pleasant beehive smell. I thought my bees were dead or had some serious issues going on inside the hives!

Beeswax is an amazing product. It lends substance to homemade beauty products like deodorant, lotions and lip balm; it provides a protective layer against chapped skin, can restore and protect wood and makes amazing, long, even burning candles.

Well, NOW is the time to start preparing your bees for late fall and winter. I wanted to share some things that will help you get your bees ready in time so they can ride out the cold weather that will be here before you know it.

The Mother Earth News Fair returns to West Bend, Wisconsin July 9-10, 2016! See the speakers’ schedule and buy your tickets here. Attending the Mother Earth News Fair was an experience like none I’ve ever had. If you love to learn about homesteading, farming, natural healthcare, healthy eating, green living, raising animals, artisan crafts, and […]

One of the most important things that you can do to ensure the success of your hives as well as your successes as a beekeeper is to ensure that you place your beehives in the proper location. This is just as important as keeping bees and should be considered prior to installing your bees in […]

If you have multiple hives you want to elevate, you may want to consider a hive stand. You could easily fit four production colonies on just one hive stand, and if you’re using only nucs, you could put even more. Learn how to build the hive stand in this great video tutorial below.

Below, I show you how my friend and I cut bees out of an invading hive in order to re-home them. Follow along to learn more about the process. By the way: If you or someone you know notices an invasion of bees, the first, second, or third call you make should definitely not be to an […]

If you live in a generally warmer climate, you may run into small hive beetles.  These pests are NOT indigenous to North America or Europe, and the European honey bees have some difficulty managing to keep their numbers under control in the hive.  Hive beetles left unchecked will either cause your colony to abscond, or […]

Recently, Anand Varma was asked to photograph the life of bees for National Geographic. He found a local Berkeley beek named Alice Rosenthal who agreed to let him use her hive for the project in exchange for a warm place for her hive to recover over winter. What resulted is nothing short of spectacular. Learn […]

We picked up our bees last week. I always get a little rush of adrenaline holding a screened box of 10,000 buzzing bees. It’s not an angry buzz, just a gentle, busy buzz as they work to protect the queen. They surround her by “holding hands”. Each bee connects to the next until there is […]