Tips from My First Beekeeping Year

Mary Beth: It was a year ago that I got serious about beekeeping; I had just put in my order for a package of honeybees and I was so excited. But I really had no clue about what I was getting myself into (neither did my husband!). Sure I’d read a lot and spent countless hours learning as much as could, trying get a feel for what it was going to be like. And you newbies will do the same thing. Be forewarned though, all the research is very helpful, but beekeeping is really a hands-on kind of thing. No amount of research is going prepare you for the rush you’ll get when you see them for real in their screened box, or when you dump them in their new hive, or when they start to build the first honeycomb, or… I could go on and on.

As I went through this first year of learning to be a beekeeper, I kept reminding myself to make note of the important things I wanted to pass on to those of you who are thinking of getting your own hives — you’re going to make mistakes, you’re going to get stung, and there will be times when you’re going to feel seriously overwhelmed. But you are going to love those bees!

Here are more tips and some words of encouragement to all the newbies scrambling to get every piece of information you can before your bees arrive.

Ray building the Top Bar Hive

• Consider a Top Bar Hive, you’ll spend a lot less time and money preparing for your bees. Did I say a lot more money?!  I cringe at what I could have saved if I’d known at the beginning what I know now about the TBH.
• Have your hive set up before the bees arrive.
• The hive entrance should be facing the south to southeast if you can.
• Bees will fly into and out of the hive in the direction that the entrance is facing, so make sure the bee flight path is directed away from sidewalks, streets, etc.
• If you have to deal with close neighbors or walkways, etc., place a fence or a barrier a few feet away from the hive entrance. That will make the bees fly upwards and out of harm’s way.
• Spray the right amount sugar water on your bees before dumping them into the hive. It’s not a soaking spray, but it should be enough that they will be too busy licking themselves off to start swarming around your face and distracting you as you get them into their new hive.
• Use your protective gear. I tried not using any protective gear that first day. Although the bees weren’t aggressive — they didn’t have anything to protect yet — I got so nervous when I was dumping them into the hive that I had to stop what I was doing to run for my suit. The whole operation would have been much smoother if I hadn’t been so worried about getting stung.
• If you’re using a smoker don’t rush preparing it. It’ll take 20-30 minutes to get it going and to have a decent amount of coals to get you through your inspections. There’s nothing worse than seeing the girls lining up to take a shot at you and finding that your smoker is out.
• When it’s time to inspect the hive, think about what you’re going to be looking for BEFORE you open up the hive. Are you saying, “DUH, Mary Beth!”, right now? Well maybe, but I was often so fascinated, distracted, or rushed to get things done that I didn’t remember to check for important signs during the inspection. Write it down so you’ll remember. I stressed myself a few times, realizing after I’d closed the lid that there was something I forgot to do and you really don’t want to have to go back in again. It’s not good for you or the bees.

The most important thing to remember as you do your research is an old saying that goes, “Ask 10 beekeepers the same question and you’ll get 11 different answers.” Keep in mind that every region has different challenges be it pests, weather, nectar flow, or any number of other things. Your best bet is to absorb all the information you read and then use your best judgement and follow your gut. That’s the way to make sure you’re doing your best for the bees.

A lot of this information, plus pictures illustrating the process from building the hives to installing the bees and more, is in earlier posts on this blog, along with some great resources that I found very useful.

One thing I know for sure is that you are going to really enjoy this journey. Good luck and, please, if you have any questions, just ask. I would love to help you out.
The Hippie Shack Bee Update

I checked on the bees through the TBH window and found it was warm enough today for them to break cluster. I also noticed they still had food left. They were feeding and roaming around slowly, and a few were taking a cleansing flight. I was happy to see that there seemed to be quite a few bees in the hive. I went inside feeling very hopeful that they will survive this cold winter!

Huntington Library Botanical Gardens

The Conservatory

Barbara: This week marks the fourth week of my Master Gardener training. So far it’s been an incredible whirlwind of learning. In the last few days we’ve been privileged to hear three of the most amazing botany lectures given by two brilliant teachers; John Lenanton, a professor of Nursery Practices and Horticulture at Orange Coast College, and Dr. Jim Folsom, Director of the Huntington Botanical Gardens.

Boy, can these guys teach! The lectures were crammed full of great stuff. I’m agog with all the information. It’s coming at us like a freight train and I’m loving every minute of it. I have learned SO much  — amazing, magical things. I feel like I’ve been given the keys to the kingdom. And what’s even better, there’s more to come! I’ll be posting some of the nuggets soon.

In the meantime here are a few pictures that I took at the Gardens. For more follow this link to Flickr. And the next time you’re in Southern California make plans to spend the day at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino. They are so very beautiful.

Did Someone Order Sunlight?

Barbara: My sister and my friends are sooo tired of listening to me whine about the wimpy light in my garden. On and on I go about the shade, the eucalyptus trees surrounding my property, the plants I could grow if only, if only, I had more light.

Well, someone was listening. Powerful storms have been tearing through Southern California. It’s been an amazing week of howling winds and pounding rain. Three inches fell between Thursday and Friday morning — a lot for our part of the world.

Tuesday was the wildest day, though. Sheets of rain were blowing across the yard and the eucs were twisting in the wind. There was a groan and a thud.  A 25′ branch crashed down, glancing along the roof line and taking out a section of the gutter before landing in front of my door.

As I looked out at the mess, I heard a loud crack and a second branch smashed the fence into pieces.

I decided to retreat to the back of the house until the storm calmed down. Fortunately we’ve had only a few smaller branches fall since then. The fence has been repaired and the clean up crew will be here early next week to take away the debris.

But here’s the kicker. The sun came out for a few minutes yesterday and I have light in my garden! This changes everything.

Soon I’ll be rethinking my garden plan and moving some of the shade-loving plants. Then I’ll have to figure out what to plant in the sunny spots. But I’m NOT complaining.

It was kind of scary getting here, but this is going to be fun. As Mary Beth said, “Be careful what you wish for.” Seems I put an order in and it was filled.

Life is always so interesting.

What the Lettuce Taught Me

Barbara: Like most of you, I’ve been doing a lot of end-of-the-year/beginning-of-the-new year navel gazing, which I kind of hate, but can’t stop doing. I’ve been groping around for some profound, life-changing insight, some thought that can carry me into 2010 with energy and excitement, but which I have been having the hardest time generating given how unrelentingly crappy 2009 has been.

Of course there have been many moments, even days, filled with joy and gratitude, but like many others here in California and the rest of the country, I have been struggling to get by and I’ve been finding it harder and harder to keep my spirits up.

And then this morning I was in my garden and I saw this:

I have been walking by my little basket of lettuce for a few weeks now and it always brings a smile to my lips because I remember the story that led me to plant lettuce seedlings in a basket.

A few years ago my daughter visited her college friend, Holly, at her friend’s family’s home in Connecticut. There she observed a very quirky scene. Holly’s father craved summer-sweet tomatoes, but lacked sufficient sun in any one location. His solution was to plant his seedlings in a wagon and he “took his tomatoes for a walk” several times a day.

At the time I thought this was funny and just a teensy bit eccentric, but this summer when I was desperate to grow something, anything edible, I remembered this story and saw it for what it was, an elegant way to solve the seemingly insurmountable problem of not enough sunlight.

So I planted my seedlings and I’ve been walking them around the patio into the pools of sunlight that manage to sneak through the canopy of eucalyptus trees surrounding my property. And every time I do, it makes me chuckle a little thinking of Holly’s dad pulling his bright red tomato wagon around his yard.

This morning though, I realized that my basket of salad greens is more than a solution to not having enough sunlight. This little basket of greens represents one small victory over circumstances that I had been letting get the best of me. And there was my insight, a small glimmer of profundity, proof that creativity and persistence will overcome all obstacles. It might not be the Big Revelation, but it’ll get me where I need to go.

Happy New Year everybody! Mary Beth and I send our best wishes for a love- and light-filled 2010!

Late Season Blossoms

The lovely quince

Mary Beth: I can write this post now because the cold weather has finally come to the Island and my husband won’t blame me for “jinxing” the unusually warm weather we’ve enjoyed recently.

Every time I spoke about how wonderful it’s been and of the flowers that are still blooming around the Island and in the gardens, he shushed me and clapped his hands overs his ears. Apparently, just speaking about the warm weather will make it disappear. I guess having to work outside makes one desperately (crazily?) grasp onto these final warm days.

I’ve really enjoyed these last few weeks, discovering new blooms and admiring how beautiful they are among the fallen leaves, in low light.

As I type this, a gale is blowing and these tough as nails beauties will be swirling away in the whipping winds. Tomorrow’s garden will be a winter garden. In the meantime, here are the miracles in my garden — the last flowers of the season. In December!

Nicotiana

Heritage Rose

One of my sweet girls in lavender

Winter rain on Heritage Rose

Sweet Alyssum

William Shakespeare 2000 Rose - a last promise of spring

Wordless Wednesday — East Coast, West Coast

Tips for Gardeners and Beekeepers

Mary Beth and I were talking about a comment we ran across on a Garden Rant post wherein the commenter was critical of many garden blogs that “contain too many personal anecdotes…and not a lot of useful gardening information.”  Now, in case you didn’t notice, we love our personal anecdotes. It’s one of the reasons we do this blog and that’s not likely to change anytime soon, but we also realized that we’re probably guilty of not providing enough in the way of gardening information. And if there’s anything we have in abundance, it’s gardening information, advice, tips, etc. Whatever you want to call it, between the two of us, we have about a bajillion years worth of it. So we decided to add a new element to our blog. Starting today we’re going to do a regular post (every week or two) of gardening and beekeeping tips. We hope you find them useful.

Garden Gift Tip

In keeping with the holiday season, our very first tip is about where to find a great gift for the gardener on your list. And, you probably won’t be surprised to hear this has a little story attached to it. When I was feeling very down in the dumps (and I mean loooow down) one day last spring, the UPS truck pulled up to my house. I thought that surely the driver had the wrong address, but no that package was for me. I opened it up to find the most beautiful set of green Vermont slate garden markers for my newly planted herb garden from my very best and oldest friend, Liz. Those markers‚ and the thought behind them, really lifted my spirits and they’ll do the same for whomever you give them to.

Liz and her husband make laser-etched Vermont slate garden markers (and other useful stuff). You’ll be amazed at the finely-etched details of the herbs, vegetables and perennials on the markers — really lovely.  Aside from being beautiful, the markers are very sturdy and hold up to any kind of weather. So if you’re looking for a great gift for a gardener, or anyone else on your list, Vermont Slate Images is the ticket. Check out their website.

Beekeeping Tip

This goes under the heading of “slightly weird things you probably didn’t know, but should.” Never, and we mean NEVER, go near your beehive while eating, or just after eating a banana.

It turns out that when bees detect an intruder and sting it, they release an alarm pheromone that contains a chemical that calls other bees to the defense of the hive. This same chemical is found in bananas (and pears, too). Three guesses as to what happens to you with your banana breath!

Two tips — and that’s just the beginning. Check back in a week or so for more.

And wrapping up on yet another personal note: blogging has many rewards and one of the best so far revealed itself this week. We were thrilled to receive a comment (we love comments) on our last post from Christine. She also mentioned that, by the way, she might be our cousin and, amazingly, she is!

Not to air the family laundry, but there was a bit of some people not talking to other people going on for years and years. But now, luck and good fortune have connected us once again and we couldn’t be happier. You just never know!