What down time?

Wow if it isn't the garden, it is getting organised for the next bee season. Our honey has consistently sold out on our stall and it is obvious that I need to work towards producing even more in the next season.

The excellent thing about this is that, due to now having had 3 season under my belt, the bees have waxed out almost all the necessary frames and can now concentrate on just making honey. To continue in that vain I have been doubling my hives each year. This year I am up to 35. I was keen to go to 60 hives for next season but given that my Sjogren's is still causing issues, and due to the poor season this year, I am better to just add 10 hives. This will ensure that I can maintain bee health to a high level and still do everything else that I am interested in.

For this to happen, there needs to be 10 new hives built, painted, and have foundation put into them, and this is before the bees are added in spring. The autumn/winter season is meant to be a time to have a break from a busy year, take holidays to far off, warm countries and recharge. Given that this season was so bad, there will not be many beekeepers taking that hard earned break. For me it is a time to build boxes, fix gear, get the garden back in shape and be ready to Welcome everyone and everything in the spring.

I like to learn something new every year. This year I am concentrating on rearing queens, both cells and mated queens. It will be a huge learning curve but I can't wait. It will also provide another revenue stream and save me money on having to purchase queens during the season. Watch this space as the new season starts.