I’ve wanted bees for a long time. (If you go to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro there’s an enclosed hive that makes me drool) When we lived in Germany my 5 and 6 year old would catch bees in empty 1 liter water bottles with the other neighborhood kids and then let them go. My children never got stung and I’m not sure why catching bees in a bottle became a thing.
When my husband was in the Army, we used to move every 2 to 3 years so we had to be very careful with getting pets. It’s easy enough to find locally sourced honey so having a hive was not something I needed – I just really, really, really wanted them! *Fun Fact: bees are considered livestock-like tiny cows that buzz and possibly sting.
Oddly enough, I was scouring Facebook Mid-March looking for black market toilet paper and I found a beekeeper who no longer could physically take care of his bees. I figured destiny made our paths cross and I practically begged him to sell me his hives. Looking back, I could have gone to Tractor Supply and bought a starter beehive but I lucked out and got uncontaminated equipment and the name of a Local Expert-absolutely priceless information!
I was a bit impatient and didn’t want to wait until Mid-April to get bees locally. My beehive was EMPTY and I needed the insects NOW! So, I ordered a package from an Apiary (bee farm) in South Carolina and paid extra to ship UPS. Tuesday at 10 am or earlier, my beautiful, buzzing insects would gloriously arrive. Tuesday 10 am came and went and no bees. I called UPS, I called the apiary, I called the bee expert…no bees. In fact that package of bees is probably in bee heaven because UPS still has not found them.
So, I went to plan B – which was what the local bee expert had suggested and I found local bees. It took about an hour and I was able to pick up a NUC (a mini-established hive of bees) that has been amazingly productive (busy as bees). Also, within that hour, I had bought bees that were being trucked overnight from Georgia. This transpired on a Saturday morning. I went from 1 hive with no bees to having a full hive and another on the way. (I was bee rich and hive poor) Fortunately, the awesome William Stancil at Stancil’s Apiary in Greenville, NC, had extra equipment I could purchase. (See bee backstory)
What I’ve found out is that it’s very hard to take pictures while in a bee suit. The thick, goat skin gloves are not compatible with a smart phone camera. That, and my impatience to get it set up, left me without many pictures to show my progress.
I made several rookie mistakes with instillation of the bee package. I asked bee experts, I watched Youtube videos, and I read a TON of books. My husband and I felt that the passive method of installation was the most kind and gentle way to install my buzzy flock into their beautiful new hive. Spoiler alert: Epic Fail! The bees only sat in the package and did not try to move into their new home. I ended up shaking and scooping them with my hands to put them into their hive 24 hours later.
Second rookie mistake. I used duct tape to attach the queen in her cage to the wax foundation. The weight of the bees detached the queen from the duct tape and the entrapped queen bee fell to the bottom of the hive. I got to retrieve her from the bottom by sticking my hand into the hive, scooping bees out of the way to get her, and also got to remove dead bees from the duct tape.
Third rookie mistake (I probably made more than these, but these are glaringly wrong) I was almost letting my NUC box become too crowded. I had the equipment to expand their hive, I just had no idea they would expand so QUICKLY! I dropped a VERY full frame of bees and (once again) ended up scooping bees with my gloved hands into the hive.
Fortunately, bees are resilient despite my inept skills and scooping technique. They are thriving (not just surviving) and I am expecting my Victory Garden to benefit from all the pollinators that are busy making a home in my hives. (Gimme a virtural high-five, y’all!)
As an RN, I know the healing powers of honey and have even used wound care products that contain medical grade honey. Here are some of honey’s amazing benefits.
Amazing Benefits of Honey:
- Honey never expires- yup never! If you scoured an Egyptian tomb and found a jar of honey that is 1000 years old it’s still perfectly safe to eat it.
- Honey helps heal wounds. When I was a home health nurse, I used several products that had medical grade honey on wounds. It’s an antibiotic and you cannot build up tolerance to it.
- Honey can help with seasonal allergies. Eating a teaspoon of local honey daily will help your immune system not overreact and decrease your seasonal allergies.
- You can eat honey with the crystals if you like the crunch but if you don’t, you can melt crystallized honey in a pan of boiling water. Place the crystallized honey in a glass jar in boiling water for 15 to 30 minutes. The honey will be smooth again.
- Bees are considered livestock and you are a “farmer” if you keep bees and harvest honey.
- Honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water. It’s also the only food that contains pinocembrin, an antioxidant associated with improved brain functioning.
- Honey gets its flavor and color from the type of nectar gathered. I even have blue honey I bought from a craft fair in NC. (I asked them how it got its blue color and they said, “I don’t know.” Of course I bought it-they had me at “honey”)
- Honey has been associated with good skin- honey lessens fine lines and acne. I don’t have studies to back up this claim, but I’m going to try it! Rub honey on wrinkles and acne and then rinse after 20 minutes. If nothing else, I’ll smell sweet when I hop in bed.
- Putting honey in your drinks can help calm you down and decrease insomnia symptoms.
- Honey has as much antioxidants as oranges, spinach, and strawberries.
- Bonus- drinking honey with lemon can help with a sore throat, a cough, and weight loss.
(**It is not recommended to give honey to children under one)
If you like reading, I highly recommend The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia. I stayed up all night reading this one, it’s become one of my new favorites (I read it before I had bees – it probably added fuel to my bee desire).
I’m excited to jump into this adventure of beekeeping and increasing the pollinators in my Victory Garden. I’d love to see your Victory Garden and what you are doing to have an abundant harvest.
Take a look at my latest video.
Happy Growing,
DeeAnn
The Victory Garden Gal