In this week's Podcast: It's been a long, hard, working week. Some overnight sessions preparing colonies for the move to the borage and getting them there safely. But there's no complaints, the borage is looking great and we've had some much needed rain!Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 264 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanyJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website here Support the show

In this week's Podcast: It's been a long, hard, working week. Some overnight sessions preparing colonies for the move to the borage and getting them there safely. But there's no complaints, the borage is looking great and we've had some much needed rain! Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 264 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 264: Long Hours of Work

In this week's Podcast: As we prepare to move colonies to the Summer Borage pollination some final checks reveal a couple of hopelessly queenless colonies. Uniting these colonies with queenright colonies makes for a quick solution. Listen in for this simple technique that gives the queenless colonies a new home. Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 263 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanyJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website hereSupport the show

In this week's Podcast: As we prepare to move colonies to the Summer Borage pollination some final checks reveal a couple of hopelessly queenless colonies. Uniting these colonies with queenright colonies makes for a quick solution. Listen in for this simple technique that gives the queenless colonies a new home. Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 263 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 263: Uniting Colonies

In this week's Podcast: With the preparatory work completed and the arrival of our new queens, timing is everything, and wouldn't you just know it, this season my timing is a little bit off, listen in to here how things went!  Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 262 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanyJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website hereSupport the show

In this week's Podcast: With the preparatory work completed and the arrival of our new queens, timing is everything, and wouldn't you just know it, this season my timing is a little bit off, listen in to here how things went!   Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 262 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 262: Introducing New Queens

In this week's Podcast: At long last it appears Summer has begun. Temperatures heading up and a drier outlook makes for some urgent beekeeping work to begin in time for the main nectar flow of the season and our planned move to the Borage.Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 261 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanyJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website hereSupport the show

In this week's Podcast: At long last it appears Summer has begun. Temperatures heading up and a drier outlook makes for some urgent beekeeping work to begin in time for the main nectar flow of the season and our planned move to the Borage. Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 261 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 261: Heatwave and Splits

In this week's Podcast:  I had a really interesting but brief conversation with a beginner beekeeper this week about the morality of knocking down queen cells. All beekeepers have a dilemma to face when colonies are trying to swarm, some think deeper and longer than others, here's what we discussed and my thoughts on the topic of knocking down queen cells.Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 260 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanySpink and Edgar Wing Back ChairsJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website hereSupport the show

In this week's Podcast:  I had a really interesting but brief conversation with a beginner beekeeper this week about the morality of knocking down queen cells. All beekeepers have a dilemma to face when colonies are trying to swarm, some think deeper and longer than others, here's what we discussed and my thoughts on the topic of knocking down queen cells. Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 260 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a> <a href="https://tetrad.co.uk/products/crawford-chair" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spink and Edgar Wing Back Chairs</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 260: Killing Queens

In this week's Podcast:  Finally, it's warm and sunny, The bees are getting busy, we're queen-rearing, attempting to prevent swarms and doping a little varroa control all at the same time!Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 259 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanyJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website hereSupport the show

In this week's Podcast:  Finally, it's warm and sunny, The bees are getting busy, we're queen-rearing, attempting to prevent swarms and doping a little varroa control all at the same time! Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 259 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 259 - Sunny Spring Inspections

In this week's Podcast:  Sometimes, just sometimes, you walk into an apiary, start inspecting, and as the inspections go from one hive to the next you just keep getting luckier and luckier, stay tuned to hear exactly what I'm talking about.Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 258 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanyJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website hereSupport the show

In this week's Podcast:  Sometimes, just sometimes, you walk into an apiary, start inspecting, and as the inspections go from one hive to the next you just keep getting luckier and luckier, stay tuned to hear exactly what I'm talking about. Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 258 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 258: More Lucky Beekeeping

In this week's Podcast:  Suddenly, we find ourselves moving from chilly wet days to warm Spring conditions and for some colonies it's a sure signal to swarm, we can deal with it easily enough, if only we can find the queen. Listen in for tips for finding your queen and what to do if you can't.Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 257 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanyJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website hereSupport the show

In this week's Podcast:  Suddenly, we find ourselves moving from chilly wet days to warm Spring conditions and for some colonies it's a sure signal to swarm, we can deal with it easily enough, if only we can find the queen. Listen in for tips for finding your queen and what to do if you can't. Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 257 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 257: Opportunistic Splits

In this week's Podcast:  I spent a very pleasant day inspecting some of our honeybee colonies this week, maybe our season is about to begin, It got me thinking about smoker fuel of all things! Listen in for tips and techniques to keep your smoker alight this season.Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 256 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanyJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website hereSupport the show

In this week's Podcast:  I spent a very pleasant day inspecting some of our honeybee colonies this week, maybe our season is about to begin, It got me thinking about smoker fuel of all things! Listen in for tips and techniques to keep your smoker alight this season. Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 256 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 256: Lighting a Smoker

In this week's Podcast:  A chilly East wind continues to blow and it's disrupting my early inspections, we start, we stop, we start again, listen in to hear how this is affecting my early season. Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 255 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at The Norfolk Honey CompanyJoin Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - Access HereStewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - Click HereTwitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - Check Out Our FeedInstagram - @norfolkhoneyco - View Our Great PhotographsSign Up for my email updates by visiting my website hereSupport the show

In this week's Podcast:  A chilly East wind continues to blow and it's disrupting my early inspections, we start, we stop, we start again, listen in to hear how this is affecting my early season.  Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 255 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Contact Me at <a href="https://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Norfolk Honey Company</a>Join Our Beekeeping Community in the following ways:<ul><li>Early Release &amp; Additional Video and Podcast Content - <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Access Here</a></li><li>Stewart's Beekeeping Basics Facebook Private Group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1912166399016330" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click Here</a></li><li>Twitter - @NorfolkHoneyCo - <a href="https://twitter.com/NorfolkHoneyCo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out Our Feed</a></li><li>Instagram - @norfolkhoneyco - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/norfolkhoneyco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View Our Great Photographs</a></li><li>Sign Up for my email updates by visiting <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my website here</a></li></ul><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 255: A Cold, Start-Stop Season

A Beekeeping Podcast for the Inquisitive Beekeeper with a Short Attention Span! BeeFarmer, YouTuber (The Norfolk Honey Company, Patreon Host (www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney), Beekeeping mentor to 1000's of beekeepers worldwide via my social media channels, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

It’s turned to crap sound quality and one big commercial. Later dude

Crap sound quality

Its obvious when you hear your first podcast that he knows what he’s talking about.  I appreciate the concise message and practical information.

Very concise experienced beekeeper

A Beekeeping Podcast for the Inquisitive Beekeeper with a Short Attention Span! BeeFarmer, YouTuber (The Norfolk Honey Company, Patreon Host (<a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney</a>), Beekeeping mentor to 1000's of beekeepers worldwide via my social media channels, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Beekeeping - Short and Sweet

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 63 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. The bees have exploded into Spring and I’ve been out collecting swarms from various locations. Today I thought I’d share my memories of a very Special day back in the late 1980s when I collected my very first swarm.Check out my Patreon page for early access to all of my content including my weekly podcast: Stewarts Patreon PageHere's the picture of my very first swarm running up the board into the hive: First SwarmSwarm collections, some beekeepers love them while other beekeepers don’t want to touch them with a barge pole, and I can see both views. If you’re new to beekeeping and only have one colony, or maybe you don’t even have one colony as yet and you’re waiting to be able to collect a swarm to put into your hive, then, when the phone rings, your pulse quickens at the anticipation of heading out to collect a ready-made colony of bees nestled in a hedgerow somewhere.However, if you’ve got as many colonies as you want and are not looking for more swarm call outs, the ringing phone can be an almighty pain in the backside.Let me explain both perspectives as I’ve encountered both emotions over the years.Collecting swarms and rehousing them to start a new colony is something I think most beekeepers will experience during their beekeeping adventures.It’s a simple task that most beekeepers can tackle, you need a minimal amount of equipment, a little patience and a steady hand, and that’s it really.I’ve collected swarms from all manner of different locations over the years and each one has provided a range of challenges, laughs and frustrations.Thinking back over the years I can actually remember the very first swarm that I collected way back in the late 1980’s.At that time I only had three colonies and we had moved house from a small country mid-terraced cottage to a traditional terraced house in Norwich. We only had a small back garden, perhaps 8 metres wide by 20 metres long and the bees were on a concrete pad next to the shed at the end of the garden. I arrived home from work one afternoon to be told that the bees had swarmed and were now hanging from a cherry tree that was in full flower a couple of houses further down the road.At this time in my beekeeping career, I hadn’t actually got a great deal of beekeeping equipment. My bee suit was an old boiler suit that had previously belonged to my father, slightly comical as I’m 6’3” tall and he was 5”8”, the legs were, needless to say, a little on the short side. To this I added a wide-brimmed hat with some net curtain pulled over the top and tucked into the boiler suit collar, some washing up gloves and a pair of wellington boots. I really looked the part.Anyway, back to the swarm, They were about 8 feet high in the cherry tree and the weight of the swarm pulls the branch down to a point just out of my reach. Not to worry, I had a pair of step ladders in the shed. Now I’d never seen a swarm being collected or ever collected one myself at this point, all I knew came from reading books, no such thing as google or youtube to see what to do. It all sounded simple enough, shake the queen into a box and the rest of the bees would follow it said. So I found myself up a ladder with a cardboard box and a rather large prime swarm the size of a small torpedo hanging down nicely positioned to go into the box. I was all ready to collect them when I realised I had suddenly got myself an audience of friends and neighbours, there must have been seven or eight people standing around watching me, it suddenly felt quite intimidating.Oh well, what could possibly go wrong. The important thing is to take a deep breath and go for it I told myself, be firm and shake all the beSupport the show

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 63 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. The bees have exploded into Spring and I’ve been out collecting swarms from various locations. Today I thought I’d share my memories of a very Special day back in the late 1980s when I collected my very first swarm. Check out my Patreon page for early access to all of my content including my weekly podcast: <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stewarts Patreon Page</a>Here's the picture of my very first swarm running up the board into the hive: First SwarmSwarm collections, some beekeepers love them while other beekeepers don’t want to touch them with a barge pole, and I can see both views. If you’re new to beekeeping and only have one colony, or maybe you don’t even have one colony as yet and you’re waiting to be able to collect a swarm to put into your hive, then, when the phone rings, your pulse quickens at the anticipation of heading out to collect a ready-made colony of bees nestled in a hedgerow somewhere.However, if you’ve got as many colonies as you want and are not looking for more swarm call outs, the ringing phone can be an almighty pain in the backside.Let me explain both perspectives as I’ve encountered both emotions over the years.Collecting swarms and rehousing them to start a new colony is something I think most beekeepers will experience during their beekeeping adventures.It’s a simple task that most beekeepers can tackle, you need a minimal amount of equipment, a little patience and a steady hand, and that’s it really.I’ve collected swarms from all manner of different locations over the years and each one has provided a range of challenges, laughs and frustrations.Thinking back over the years I can actually remember the very first swarm that I collected way back in the late 1980’s.At that time I only had three colonies and we had moved house from a small country mid-terraced cottage to a traditional terraced house in Norwich. We only had a small back garden, perhaps 8 metres wide by 20 metres long and the bees were on a concrete pad next to the shed at the end of the garden. I arrived home from work one afternoon to be told that the bees had swarmed and were now hanging from a cherry tree that was in full flower a couple of houses further down the road.At this time in my beekeeping career, I hadn’t actually got a great deal of beekeeping equipment. My bee suit was an old boiler suit that had previously belonged to my father, slightly comical as I’m 6’3” tall and he was 5”8”, the legs were, needless to say, a little on the short side. To this I added a wide-brimmed hat with some net curtain pulled over the top and tucked into the boiler suit collar, some washing up gloves and a pair of wellington boots. I really looked the part.Anyway, back to the swarm, They were about 8 feet high in the cherry tree and the weight of the swarm pulls the branch down to a point just out of my reach. Not to worry, I had a pair of step ladders in the shed. Now I’d never seen a swarm being collected or ever collected one myself at this point, all I knew came from reading books, no such thing as google or youtube to see what to do. It all sounded simple enough, shake the queen into a box and the rest of the bees would follow it said. So I found myself up a ladder with a cardboard box and a rather large prime swarm the size of a small torpedo hanging down nicely positioned to go into the box. I was all ready to collect them when I realised I had suddenly got myself an audience of friends and neighbours, there must have been seven or eight people standing around watching me, it suddenly felt quite intimidating.Oh well, what could possibly go wrong. The important thing is to take a deep breath and go for it I told myself, be firm and shake all the be<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 63 My Very First Swarm

A podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a podcast, in fact, designed for a beekeeper just like me!The ProVap 220UKIn Today's Podcast, I review the latest piece of equipment I have called the ProVap220UK Oxalic Acid Sublimator/VaporiserCheck out all of the product details on our website http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/product/provap220uk/Support the show

A podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a podcast, in fact, designed for a beekeeper just like me!The ProVap 220UKIn Today's Podcast, I review the latest piece of equipment I have called the ProVap220UK Oxalic Acid Sublimator/VaporiserCheck out all of the product details on our website <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/product/provap220uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/product/provap220uk/</a><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 02 Oxalic Acid Sublimation Using The ProVap220UK

Feeding your honeybees in preparation for Autumn and Winter can be quite a traumatic time but never fear, help is at hand! In today's podcast, we follow on from last week's chat about making sure you have a queenright colony and that any treatments for varroa have been properly applied. I discuss feeding in general and more specifically how I feed my bees in preparation for the long Winter months ahead that seem to be approaching very fast indeed!Support the show

Feeding your honeybees in preparation for Autumn and Winter can be quite a traumatic time but never fear, help is at hand! In today's podcast, we follow on from last week's chat about making sure you have a queenright colony and that any treatments for varroa have been properly applied. I discuss feeding in general and more specifically how I feed my bees in preparation for the long Winter months ahead that seem to be approaching very fast indeed!<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 29: Autumn Feeding Honeybees

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 89 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. With winter upon us, it’s time to talk oxalic acid treatments. So let’s look at what it is, how it works and the options available for beekeepers to take care of their bees this Winter.Links discussed in this week's podcast:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterinary-medicines-directorateResearch Paper discussed: Towards integrated control of varroa: 2)comparing application methods and doses of oxalic acid on the mortality of phoretic Varroa destructor mites and their honey bee hosts Welcome back once more to my weekly podcast, we’re back on track now after my recent absence and we’ve lots to talk about over the coming weeks as we head into Christmas and the New Year. I reckon we’ve got about 12 weeks before we might be able to have a first sneaky peek into the hives at the start of the new season, somewhere around the middle of March. But of course that all depends on the weather, this year I was looking at giant colonies being moved onto the oilseed rape fields in the middle of March whereas in 2018 we had just seen the last of the snow melt away so if we are able to open hives it won’t be full inspections of course, just a quick look to make sure all is well and the bees have been able to see off the long winter months. I say long Winter months but the time seems to be sprinting through, here we are at the beginning of December, there’s a crisp frost outside, the skies are a pale, Wintery blue colour and for once there’s not a cloud in the sky. What’s that dead pool expression, It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas!So my last week has been a busy one, I’ve been getting a few large honey orders ready to go out but have been slowed up a little by a lack of labels. I’ve been redesigning labels and trying out a new label supplier, the first batch, a special Christmas hamper label was a great success and so I’ve decided to switch all of my labels to this printers. I’m just waiting for them to arrive and then I have several hundred jars of honey to label and deliver. I’ll probably be out delivering honey as you listen to this podcast if you’re listening to it hot off the press as it were.The rest of the week has been spent dealing with a lot of online enquiries for next year’s experience days that I run. Lots of beginner beekeepers will be getting a trip to my apiaries next season and I’m always really excited to share my beekeeping knowledge with them and help them start their beekeeping journey.On the subject of Experience Days, I have a special offer for all of my Patreon supporters.I’m going to run Experience Days specifically for patrons who have signed up to my $5 or $10 for at least six months prior to the date of the experience day which will be held in June and July.The dates, which I’ve yet to add to the diary, will be specifically designed to answer question you might have regarding your beekeeping. So depending on the topics you’d like covered we could look at queen rearing basics, more advanced queen rearing techniques, disease inspections, setting up an apiary, honey production, the list is endless really.The days will include lunch and all refreshments, all you will have to bring is a spotlessly clean bee suit and your wellies or stout boots. They are going to be held at my fishing lakes apiaries where you will be able to see how lucky I am to have such a beautiful location to keep bees.I shall restrict the number of beekeepers that can attend each day so you can get the maximum amount of time with me in front of the bees and we’ll finish the day wiSupport the show

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 89 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. With winter upon us, it’s time to talk oxalic acid treatments. So let’s look at what it is, how it works and the options available for beekeepers to take care of their bees this Winter.Links discussed in this week's podcast:<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterinary-medicines-directorate" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterinary-medicines-directorate</a>Research Paper discussed: <a href="http://www.imkerverband-sgap.ch/kalender/OxalsaeureVergleich_JApiResearch2015.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Towards integrated control of varroa: 2)comparing application methods and doses of oxalic acid on the mortality of phoretic Varroa destructor mites and their honey bee hosts</a> Welcome back once more to my weekly podcast, we’re back on track now after my recent absence and we’ve lots to talk about over the coming weeks as we head into Christmas and the New Year. I reckon we’ve got about 12 weeks before we might be able to have a first sneaky peek into the hives at the start of the new season, somewhere around the middle of March. But of course that all depends on the weather, this year I was looking at giant colonies being moved onto the oilseed rape fields in the middle of March whereas in 2018 we had just seen the last of the snow melt away so if we are able to open hives it won’t be full inspections of course, just a quick look to make sure all is well and the bees have been able to see off the long winter months. I say long Winter months but the time seems to be sprinting through, here we are at the beginning of December, there’s a crisp frost outside, the skies are a pale, Wintery blue colour and for once there’s not a cloud in the sky. What’s that dead pool expression, It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas!So my last week has been a busy one, I’ve been getting a few large honey orders ready to go out but have been slowed up a little by a lack of labels. I’ve been redesigning labels and trying out a new label supplier, the first batch, a special Christmas hamper label was a great success and so I’ve decided to switch all of my labels to this printers. I’m just waiting for them to arrive and then I have several hundred jars of honey to label and deliver. I’ll probably be out delivering honey as you listen to this podcast if you’re listening to it hot off the press as it were.The rest of the week has been spent dealing with a lot of online enquiries for next year’s experience days that I run. Lots of beginner beekeepers will be getting a trip to my apiaries next season and I’m always really excited to share my beekeeping knowledge with them and help them start their beekeeping journey.On the subject of Experience Days, I have a special offer for all of my Patreon supporters.I’m going to run Experience Days specifically for patrons who have signed up to my $5 or $10 for at least six months prior to the date of the experience day which will be held in June and July.The dates, which I’ve yet to add to the diary, will be specifically designed to answer question you might have regarding your beekeeping. So depending on the topics you’d like covered we could look at queen rearing basics, more advanced queen rearing techniques, disease inspections, setting up an apiary, honey production, the list is endless really.The days will include lunch and all refreshments, all you will have to bring is a spotlessly clean bee suit and your wellies or stout boots. They are going to be held at my fishing lakes apiaries where you will be able to see how lucky I am to have such a beautiful location to keep bees.I shall restrict the number of beekeepers that can attend each day so you can get the maximum amount of time with me in front of the bees and we’ll finish the day wi<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 89: Oxalic Acid Treatments in Winter

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 77 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.Who’d have thought we’d be extracting honey so soon, the Summer season has flown by and I’m heading into the honey room to get set up to extract the Summer supers over the weekend? Listen on for a rundown of my extraction set up and how I extract from over sixty colonies in a room that measures just 3 metres square.Check Out my Patreon Page HEREEquipment discussed in today's Podcast:Stainless Steel TablesScalesApimelterBrush UncapperExtractorDouble Strainer100kg Settling TankHoney CreamerBottling MachineBefore we head into the honey room I wanted to say a big thank you to Craig from Jedburgh, one of our Patreon supporters who very kindly drove down to Norfolk this week to spend a few days helping out and inspecting bees. Craig is new to beekeeping and has been absorbing all or my videos and podcasts on Patreon and offered to lend a hand for a few days so not wanting to turn away any help I swapped around the workload a little so we could get over to the workshop and clean up the rather large stack of frames and boxes that needed cleaning instead of extracting honey. A lot of the boxes are left over from the early season oilseed rape extraction where we had to cut out the comb and honey as it had granulated in the frames and couldn’t be extracted in the normal way. This leaves lots of frames that need to be roughly scrapped and tied into bundles before being boiled and cleaned ready to take fresh foundation in the Spring next year before going back out onto the hives. We also scrape out the supers and scorch them lightly as part of our ongoing disease management and this also entails removing frame runners and either washing them before replacing or if they’re too badly damaged we replace them. I think I might have mentioned before that I’m switching my super frames over to Manley frames, these are the straight, wide sided frames instead of the more traditional SN1’s or SN4’s, SN1’s are the narrow straight sided frames for supers and SN4’s are the Hoffman style spacing. It’s interesting that there are so many different types of frames that you could use and each beekeeper no doubt has a favourite. The same applies to the frame runners in the supers, I’ve always used castellated runners with set spacing for ten frames although I have tried eleven and nine frame runners. The point here is you start of using frames with foundation that have eleven frames meaning the frames are placed closer together and hopefully the bees draw out the foundation perfectly straight before progressing to ten frame runners and finally nine frame runners thereby getting more honey per frame which ultimately means less frames to extract.The trouble with this is if you have more than a few supers it can get a bit confusing when you think you’ve got ten frame sSupport the show

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 77 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. Who’d have thought we’d be extracting honey so soon, the Summer season has flown by and I’m heading into the honey room to get set up to extract the Summer supers over the weekend? Listen on for a rundown of my extraction set up and how I extract from over sixty colonies in a room that measures just 3 metres square. Check Out my Patreon Page <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE</a> Equipment discussed in today's Podcast: <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/kitchenware-and-knives/stainless-steel-tables/_/a33-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stainless Steel Tables</a> <a href="https://www.countyscales.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Scales</a> <a href="https://en.swienty.com/pi/Dana-api-Melter_4002412_164716.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apimelter</a> <a href="https://www.carl-fritz.de/uncapping-honeycombs/uncapping-machines/91/anp-power-uncapping-machine-single-motor-180-w/230-v" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brush Uncapper</a> <a href="https://www.carl-fritz.de/honey-extractors/radial-extractors/top-drive/609/cfm-radial-extractor-oe-69-cm-motor-110-w/230-v-with-safety-switch-for-12-deep/20-shallow-frames" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Extractor</a> <a href="https://www.giordaninox.it/en/products/1/18/177" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Double Strainer</a> <a href="https://www.giordaninox.it/en/products/1/22/207" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">100kg Settling Tank</a> <a href="https://www.carl-fritz.de/honey-processing/honey-creamers/single-walled-creamers/94/cfm-honey-creamer-100-kg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Honey Creamer</a> <a href="https://en.swienty.com/pi/DAM-1000-incl-Tablestand-and-switch_5418743_164730.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bottling Machine</a> Before we head into the honey room I wanted to say a big thank you to Craig from Jedburgh, one of our Patreon supporters who very kindly drove down to Norfolk this week to spend a few days helping out and inspecting bees. Craig is new to beekeeping and has been absorbing all or my videos and podcasts on Patreon and offered to lend a hand for a few days so not wanting to turn away any help I swapped around the workload a little so we could get over to the workshop and clean up the rather large stack of frames and boxes that needed cleaning instead of extracting honey. A lot of the boxes are left over from the early season oilseed rape extraction where we had to cut out the comb and honey as it had granulated in the frames and couldn’t be extracted in the normal way. This leaves lots of frames that need to be roughly scrapped and tied into bundles before being boiled and cleaned ready to take fresh foundation in the Spring next year before going back out onto the hives. We also scrape out the supers and scorch them lightly as part of our ongoing disease management and this also entails removing frame runners and either washing them before replacing or if they’re too badly damaged we replace them. I think I might have mentioned before that I’m switching my super frames over to Manley frames, these are the straight, wide sided frames instead of the more traditional SN1’s or SN4’s, SN1’s are the narrow straight sided frames for supers and SN4’s are the Hoffman style spacing. It’s interesting that there are so many different types of frames that you could use and each beekeeper no doubt has a favourite. The same applies to the frame runners in the supers, I’ve always used castellated runners with set spacing for ten frames although I have tried eleven and nine frame runners. The point here is you start of using frames with foundation that have eleven frames meaning the frames are placed closer together and hopefully the bees draw out the foundation perfectly straight before progressing to ten frame runners and finally nine frame runners thereby getting more honey per frame which ultimately means less frames to extract.The trouble with this is if you have more than a few supers it can get a bit confusing when you think you’ve got ten frame s<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 77 - Summer Extraction Time

Having just discovered my first overwintered queen less colony I wanted to discuss Winter losses and how to bounce back this Spring.For the very latest Podcast check out my page here www.patreon.com/norfolkhoneyYou can also sign up to my fortnightly newsletter via my website www.norfolk-honey.co.ukWell, It’s been another week for record breaking temperatures here in the UK, we’ve hit temperatures in excess of 20 degrees centigrade where the seasonal average should be more like 6 or 7 degrees.A lot has been made of the fact that last year we were in the grips of a very Icy blast from continental Europe which was named “The beast from the East” with overnight temperatures down in the negative double figures and snow and ice covering the hives, what an incredible change. It has given beekeepers a fantastic opportunity to get out and check colonies way earlier than anyone would normally suggest and this is where a dose of common sense is required. Temperatures are once again falling and the forecast is that there may even be snow next week in some parts of the UK.I grabbed for one of the beekeeping books from my shelf that has a month by month guide for beginner beekeepers, each month has jobs to do and what to look out for. In the section for February it suggests hefting to gauge the weight and making sure the entrance is not blocked by dead bees and snow.Sensibly, there is no mention of inspecting bee hives as you might expect.If you’re a beginner beekeeper and have such a book or you’re looking online at what to do each month, remember it’s just a guide, you must take in to account the local conditions that you face and not just plow on with instructions without giving it some thought.I’ve had probably the best Winter I can remember in a very long time, just one colony that appears queen less and without brood, all the rest are alive and well. Some of those colonies are a little on the small side and would possibly have succumbed in a harsher Winter but this year with the very mild weather and the addition of some fondant to help them along they have seen out February and now head into March.They are a long way from being safe, March can be such a fickle month, one day warm and inviting, the next cold and harsh, so we have to be wary and not relax our guard but for the most part they should cope. Last year I wasn’t so lucky and suffered the lose of far more colonies, and it occurred to me that this can be such a very difficult time for beekeepers regardless of the number of colonies.I’m always devastated when I lose a colony of honeybees even though I have nearly 70 and I’m sure it feels  as bad if not worse if you are a beekeeper with just one or two colonies and suffer the lose of one or both.Very often it’s not the beekeepers fault, colonies die out for a number of reasons and I’ve talked about these previously. Sometimes it is the beekeepers fault, maybe through lack of experience or bad timing but as long as it is learning experience and you’re able to take steps to try to prevent it happening again it can be viewed as a positive learning experience.So having suffered this loss what do you do. Firstly, the hive or hives need to be blocked up and moved to a position ready for cleaning, whether it be one hive or ten hives, get them away from the apiary ready fro cleaning but first remember to block up the entrance, you really don’t want other bees robbing out a dead hive, again, I’ve discussed the reasons for this in previous podcasts but disease in honeybees spreads very quickly so don’t give it a helping hand by leaving the lid off the cookie jar.Once you have the hive in a location for cleaning out the first step is to check out what was going on inside, it’s time to turn detective and try to work out what happened and why the colony failed to getSupport the show

Having just discovered my first overwintered queen less colony I wanted to discuss Winter losses and how to bounce back this Spring.For the very latest Podcast check out my page here <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney</a> You can also sign up to my fortnightly newsletter via my website <a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.norfolk-honey.co.uk</a>Well, It’s been another week for record breaking temperatures here in the UK, we’ve hit temperatures in excess of 20 degrees centigrade where the seasonal average should be more like 6 or 7 degrees.A lot has been made of the fact that last year we were in the grips of a very Icy blast from continental Europe which was named “The beast from the East” with overnight temperatures down in the negative double figures and snow and ice covering the hives, what an incredible change. It has given beekeepers a fantastic opportunity to get out and check colonies way earlier than anyone would normally suggest and this is where a dose of common sense is required. Temperatures are once again falling and the forecast is that there may even be snow next week in some parts of the UK.I grabbed for one of the beekeeping books from my shelf that has a month by month guide for beginner beekeepers, each month has jobs to do and what to look out for. In the section for February it suggests hefting to gauge the weight and making sure the entrance is not blocked by dead bees and snow.Sensibly, there is no mention of inspecting bee hives as you might expect.If you’re a beginner beekeeper and have such a book or you’re looking online at what to do each month, remember it’s just a guide, you must take in to account the local conditions that you face and not just plow on with instructions without giving it some thought.I’ve had probably the best Winter I can remember in a very long time, just one colony that appears queen less and without brood, all the rest are alive and well. Some of those colonies are a little on the small side and would possibly have succumbed in a harsher Winter but this year with the very mild weather and the addition of some fondant to help them along they have seen out February and now head into March.They are a long way from being safe, March can be such a fickle month, one day warm and inviting, the next cold and harsh, so we have to be wary and not relax our guard but for the most part they should cope. Last year I wasn’t so lucky and suffered the lose of far more colonies, and it occurred to me that this can be such a very difficult time for beekeepers regardless of the number of colonies.I’m always devastated when I lose a colony of honeybees even though I have nearly 70 and I’m sure it feels  as bad if not worse if you are a beekeeper with just one or two colonies and suffer the lose of one or both.Very often it’s not the beekeepers fault, colonies die out for a number of reasons and I’ve talked about these previously. Sometimes it is the beekeepers fault, maybe through lack of experience or bad timing but as long as it is learning experience and you’re able to take steps to try to prevent it happening again it can be viewed as a positive learning experience.So having suffered this loss what do you do. Firstly, the hive or hives need to be blocked up and moved to a position ready for cleaning, whether it be one hive or ten hives, get them away from the apiary ready fro cleaning but first remember to block up the entrance, you really don’t want other bees robbing out a dead hive, again, I’ve discussed the reasons for this in previous podcasts but disease in honeybees spreads very quickly so don’t give it a helping hand by leaving the lid off the cookie jar.Once you have the hive in a location for cleaning out the first step is to check out what was going on inside, it’s time to turn detective and try to work out what happened and why the colony failed to get<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 54: Winter Losses and How To Rebuild

As we head into the Autumn and Winter months I wanted to revisit some of the more important aspects of beekeeping. this week I wanted to talk about the two foul brood diseases, American Foul Brood and European Foul brood. A lot of the information I’m discussing in today’s podcast comes directly from the National Bee Units Foul Brood  Disease of Honey Bees Booklet that can be downloaded free of charge from the BeeBase websitehttp://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?sectionid=26Support the show

As we head into the Autumn and Winter months I wanted to revisit some of the more important aspects of beekeeping. this week I wanted to talk about the two foul brood diseases, American Foul Brood and European Foul brood.  A lot of the information I’m discussing in today’s podcast comes directly from the National Bee Units Foul Brood  Disease of Honey Bees Booklet that can be downloaded free of charge from the BeeBase website <a href="http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?sectionid=26" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?sectionid=26</a> <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 38: American Foul Brood & European Foul Brood

Daniel Bates

Welcome to Beekeeping Short and Sweet - A podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a beekeeper, in fact, just like me!In today's podcast I interview Dan Bates from BS Honey, a new beekeeping enterprise with a couple of really nice young chaps at the helm. BS Honey Bees UK was formed by business partners &amp; Bee Farmers Daniel Bates &amp; Tristan Sawczuk in Gloucester, set in the beautiful countryside of the Cotswold's.Since 2011 BS Honey Bees has strived to be the lead producer, distributor &amp; importer of high-quality bees &amp; queens. With hives based around a 15 mile radius of Brockworth, Gloucester. BS Honey Bees have a vast amount of colonies offering a huge variety of flora for the bees to forage on. Daniel &amp; Tristan are childhood friends, working together in commercial Bee Keeping operations down under &amp; in the UK. Both fully DASH accredited (Disease Accreditation Scheme for Honeybees), they began BS Honey Bees as a joint venture only aged 21 with a wealth of knowledge behind them proving that bee keeping is not just something restricted to age.If you would like more information about BS Honey check out their website at www.bshoney.co.ukFor anyone interested in joining my growing band of beekeepers on my patreon page check out the details at www.patreon.com/norfolkhoneySupport the show

Welcome to Beekeeping Short and Sweet - A podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a beekeeper, in fact, just like me! In today's podcast I interview Dan Bates from BS Honey, a new beekeeping enterprise with a couple of really nice young chaps at the helm. BS Honey Bees UK was formed by business partners &amp; Bee Farmers Daniel Bates &amp; Tristan Sawczuk in Gloucester, set in the beautiful countryside of the Cotswold's. Since 2011 BS Honey Bees has strived to be the lead producer, distributor &amp; importer of high-quality bees &amp; queens. With hives based around a 15 mile radius of Brockworth, Gloucester. BS Honey Bees have a vast amount of colonies offering a huge variety of flora for the bees to forage on. Daniel &amp; Tristan are childhood friends, working together in commercial Bee Keeping operations down under &amp; in the UK. Both fully DASH accredited (Disease Accreditation Scheme for Honeybees), they began BS Honey Bees as a joint venture only aged 21 with a wealth of knowledge behind them proving that bee keeping is not just something restricted to age. If you would like more information about BS Honey check out their website at <a href="http://www.bshoney.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.bshoney.co.uk</a> For anyone interested in joining my growing band of beekeepers on my patreon page check out the details at <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney</a><a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 12 - Interview with Daniel Bates from BS Honey

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 75 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.I’m sat in my office preparing this week’s podcast in 32 degrees heat which for us beekeepers here in Norfolk in the UK is somewhat uncomfortable but as I gradually melt my thoughts are turning to Late Summer Treatments in preparation for the coming Autumn and Winter months ahead. I’d like to share with you my plans for treating my bees against varroa and talk a little about preparing my bees for the colder months ahead.Veterinary Medicines For Honeybees can be found listed HEREThorne Beekeeping Supplies for Apivar Varroa TreatmentCheck Out my new weekly podcasts each week as they are released hereIt’s been another interesting week of beekeeping, the hottest so far this Summer and it’s seen me heading out super early to carry out inspections before dashing back to shade and shelter away from the burning sun. It’s no over-exaggeration to say it can be quite dangerous being out beekeeping in such conditions and while I understand many beekeepers tend their bees in these kinds of conditions on a regular basis when you’re not familiar with this kind of heat and humidity it can catch you out quite quickly. Dehydration being the number one problem I think, so having plenty of drinks has helped. Of course, if you only have a couple of hives to inspect you can delay inspecting until the cooler part of the late evening or perhaps get up a little earlier and get started before the sun gets too hot. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing, inspecting from 6:30 in the morning until about 10 o’clock or thereabouts. By that time the heat is really starting to hit home and I struggle to see the bees through the sweat in my eyes! Even with the 70’s style bandana, I struggle so it makes sense to just stop and go back another time.Most of my colonies will be fine if left alone, not many are attempting to swarm now so I’m happy to leave them an extra day or so.You might recall from last week’s podcast that I had to reduce a virgin queen from a queenless nuc colony that set upon her and would have surely killed her if not for my intervention, I popped her back into the hair roller cage with a plug of fondant and crossed my fingers in the hope she would be uninjured and able to be accepted, get out and mate and settle into building a colony of her own. Well, I went back at the weekend and had a look fully expecting her to be either dead or too seriously damaged to be able to mate but I was very pleasantly surprised to see that not only was she alive but she had indeed been out to mate, had successfully returned and was already laying eggs by the frame load. It must have been a very quick mating from being released from the cage, especially when compared to quite a number of queens this year who seem to have taken forever to start laying. But I’m so happy she survived and I’ll now need to move them over to a larger box so she can continue to build the colonies strength.In other news, my queen mother that was donating all of the eggs for my queen rearing program disappeared last week, she finally got the better of me and swarmed. It’s the first few weeks I’ve seen swarm cells in that colony and thought I had removed all of the swarm cells but obviously missed one. I can’t be too disappointed as she was a yellow dot queen and it was the first time this colony had tried swarming in almost three years, I guess I must have become complacent in thinking they were never going to swarm. The good news is, I’ve been able to raise several batches of queens from hSupport the show

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 75 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet.I’m sat in my office preparing this week’s podcast in 32 degrees heat which for us beekeepers here in Norfolk in the UK is somewhat uncomfortable but as I gradually melt my thoughts are turning to Late Summer Treatments in preparation for the coming Autumn and Winter months ahead. I’d like to share with you my plans for treating my bees against varroa and talk a little about preparing my bees for the colder months ahead. Veterinary Medicines For Honeybees can be found listed <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterinary-medicines-directorate" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE</a> <a href="https://www.thorne.co.uk/health-and-feeding/other-diseases/pest-and-disease-varroa/varroa-chemical?product_id=7965" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thorne Beekeeping Supplies for Apivar Varroa Treatment</a> <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Check Out my new weekly podcasts each week as they are released here</a>It’s been another interesting week of beekeeping, the hottest so far this Summer and it’s seen me heading out super early to carry out inspections before dashing back to shade and shelter away from the burning sun. It’s no over-exaggeration to say it can be quite dangerous being out beekeeping in such conditions and while I understand many beekeepers tend their bees in these kinds of conditions on a regular basis when you’re not familiar with this kind of heat and humidity it can catch you out quite quickly. Dehydration being the number one problem I think, so having plenty of drinks has helped. Of course, if you only have a couple of hives to inspect you can delay inspecting until the cooler part of the late evening or perhaps get up a little earlier and get started before the sun gets too hot. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing, inspecting from 6:30 in the morning until about 10 o’clock or thereabouts. By that time the heat is really starting to hit home and I struggle to see the bees through the sweat in my eyes! Even with the 70’s style bandana, I struggle so it makes sense to just stop and go back another time.Most of my colonies will be fine if left alone, not many are attempting to swarm now so I’m happy to leave them an extra day or so.You might recall from last week’s podcast that I had to reduce a virgin queen from a queenless nuc colony that set upon her and would have surely killed her if not for my intervention, I popped her back into the hair roller cage with a plug of fondant and crossed my fingers in the hope she would be uninjured and able to be accepted, get out and mate and settle into building a colony of her own. Well, I went back at the weekend and had a look fully expecting her to be either dead or too seriously damaged to be able to mate but I was very pleasantly surprised to see that not only was she alive but she had indeed been out to mate, had successfully returned and was already laying eggs by the frame load. It must have been a very quick mating from being released from the cage, especially when compared to quite a number of queens this year who seem to have taken forever to start laying. But I’m so happy she survived and I’ll now need to move them over to a larger box so she can continue to build the colonies strength.In other news, my queen mother that was donating all of the eggs for my queen rearing program disappeared last week, she finally got the better of me and swarmed. It’s the first few weeks I’ve seen swarm cells in that colony and thought I had removed all of the swarm cells but obviously missed one. I can’t be too disappointed as she was a yellow dot queen and it was the first time this colony had tried swarming in almost three years, I guess I must have become complacent in thinking they were never going to swarm. The good news is, I’ve been able to raise several batches of queens from h<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 75: Summer Heatwave and Varroa Treatments

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 88 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. It’s never too early to start planning for the new season so this week I’m starting to look at my plans for next year so stay tuned for some new hive plans and some thoughts on what we’ll be getting up to for 2020Welcome to another podcast, and as I prepare this week’s update I’m looking at some very dull, grey skies outside. We’ve had more rain, although today is dry and we’re settling into that familiar late Autumn, early Winter feel to conditions. Unfortunately, the forecast is for possibly more rain. It would be nice to have a prolonged spell of dry weather now, just to let the land soak up all of the surface water that we have.Spring always seems such a long way off at this point and although we’ve only just put our hive tools down it seems such a long time ago that we were inspecting bees.That’s not to say there isn’t work to be getting on with, sometimes, as a small commercial beekeeping outfit, it can seem like there is just too much to do. I find myself in the space between having enough for one person to get on with and needing further full-time support to really move the business forward. I’m sure there are many people out there running their own businesses trying to grow and finding challenges at every corner. I have to say the dreaded back problem has been a constant niggle, improving but always there to remind me not to go too fast. I think I get frustrated knowing I could do so much more but limited in the available space that we have. Time to put some major plans down on paper, and, I guess, if I share my plans and goals with you I might just have to go through with them. I’m even thinking of giving you a monthly update of each of the goals just to keep me focussed. As you are probably aware, I do get distracted quite easily and what was once the number one priority sometimes slips down the pecking order.So today’s podcast is an opportunity for me to share with you, in no particular order as yet, my thoughts on how to proceed next year to build my business and enjoy the journey at the same time.So, first up is an overhaul of the Patreon page, I need to improve the way the videos and podcasts are delivered. I think the quality of the videos is pretty good, we have some great camera gear and apart from an occasional out of focus shot, I think we get a pretty good image of what we’re trying to do. That said, I want to create a series of videos for the season, following a particular method or apiary or colony. A kind of “warts and all” reality TV series. I was thinking maybe we could set up a brand new apiary with new colonies created for the purpose, to show how someone might start with just a couple of hives and end up with an apiary of 8 to 12 hives by the end of the season.Perhaps we should concentrate on queen rearing again as I know this is an area that I get a lot of questions about. I have over the previous few seasons created a number of queen rearing videos but I don’t think we’ve created a full series showing start to finish what happens, the good bits, the bad bits and of course all of the mistakes that happen along the way.If anyone out there has any thoughts on a video series for next year please do get in touch.I also want to offer a few beekeeping days specifically for my supporters on Patreon so do look out for news about those on the Patreon website, these will be heavily discounted days for those long term supporters, a way for me to say thank you for sticking with me.I’ve mentioned before that I want to build a top bar hive, well I think I have just the material to be able to do it now, well, at least part of the material. I was given some very long pallets with some very good looking wood. The pallets are about 3 metres long so I intend carefuSupport the show

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 88 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. It’s never too early to start planning for the new season so this week I’m starting to look at my plans for next year so stay tuned for some new hive plans and some thoughts on what we’ll be getting up to for 2020 Welcome to another podcast, and as I prepare this week’s update I’m looking at some very dull, grey skies outside. We’ve had more rain, although today is dry and we’re settling into that familiar late Autumn, early Winter feel to conditions. Unfortunately, the forecast is for possibly more rain. It would be nice to have a prolonged spell of dry weather now, just to let the land soak up all of the surface water that we have.Spring always seems such a long way off at this point and although we’ve only just put our hive tools down it seems such a long time ago that we were inspecting bees.That’s not to say there isn’t work to be getting on with, sometimes, as a small commercial beekeeping outfit, it can seem like there is just too much to do. I find myself in the space between having enough for one person to get on with and needing further full-time support to really move the business forward. I’m sure there are many people out there running their own businesses trying to grow and finding challenges at every corner. I have to say the dreaded back problem has been a constant niggle, improving but always there to remind me not to go too fast. I think I get frustrated knowing I could do so much more but limited in the available space that we have. Time to put some major plans down on paper, and, I guess, if I share my plans and goals with you I might just have to go through with them. I’m even thinking of giving you a monthly update of each of the goals just to keep me focussed. As you are probably aware, I do get distracted quite easily and what was once the number one priority sometimes slips down the pecking order.So today’s podcast is an opportunity for me to share with you, in no particular order as yet, my thoughts on how to proceed next year to build my business and enjoy the journey at the same time.So, first up is an overhaul of the Patreon page, I need to improve the way the videos and podcasts are delivered. I think the quality of the videos is pretty good, we have some great camera gear and apart from an occasional out of focus shot, I think we get a pretty good image of what we’re trying to do. That said, I want to create a series of videos for the season, following a particular method or apiary or colony. A kind of “warts and all” reality TV series. I was thinking maybe we could set up a brand new apiary with new colonies created for the purpose, to show how someone might start with just a couple of hives and end up with an apiary of 8 to 12 hives by the end of the season.Perhaps we should concentrate on queen rearing again as I know this is an area that I get a lot of questions about. I have over the previous few seasons created a number of queen rearing videos but I don’t think we’ve created a full series showing start to finish what happens, the good bits, the bad bits and of course all of the mistakes that happen along the way.If anyone out there has any thoughts on a video series for next year please do get in touch.I also want to offer a few beekeeping days specifically for my supporters on Patreon so do look out for news about those on the Patreon website, these will be heavily discounted days for those long term supporters, a way for me to say thank you for sticking with me.I’ve mentioned before that I want to build a top bar hive, well I think I have just the material to be able to do it now, well, at least part of the material. I was given some very long pallets with some very good looking wood. The pallets are about 3 metres long so I intend carefu<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 88: Planning for 2020

A podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a podcast, in fact, designed for a beekeeper just like me!Nosema is a spore-forming parasitic microsporidian. There are over 200 different species of Nosema, fortunately, only two of those affect our honeybees.Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae.Each one is slightly different and develops in the honeybee slightly differently but both can devastate a honeybee colony.If you would like me to check your honeybees for Nosema check out my website:http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/product/nosema-assessment/The Scientific paper I refer to in the podcast is;"Effect of thymol and resveratrol administered with candyor syrup on the development of Nosema ceranaeand on the longevity of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)in laboratory conditions" Costa, Lodesani and Maistrello.Apidologie 41 (2010) 141–150 Available online at:c INRA/DIB-AGIB/EDP Sciences, 2009 www.apidologie.orgDOI: 10.1051/apido/2009070Support the show

A podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a podcast, in fact, designed for a beekeeper just like me!Nosema is a spore-forming parasitic microsporidian. There are over 200 different species of Nosema, fortunately, only two of those affect our honeybees.Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae.Each one is slightly different and develops in the honeybee slightly differently but both can devastate a honeybee colony.If you would like me to check your honeybees for Nosema check out my website:<a href="http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/product/nosema-assessment/The" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.norfolk-honey.co.uk/product/nosema-assessment/The</a> Scientific paper I refer to in the podcast is;"Effect of thymol and resveratrol administered with candyor syrup on the development of Nosema ceranaeand on the longevity of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)in laboratory conditions" Costa, Lodesani and Maistrello.Apidologie 41 (2010) 141–150 Available online at:c INRA/DIB-AGIB/EDP Sciences, 2009 www.apidologie.orgDOI: 10.1051/apido/2009070<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 03 Nosema - A Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Control

This week is my Questions and Answers week, for those of you listening for the first time, it’s where supporters from my Patreon page can post questions to me that they have maybe encountered and I’ll do my best to give an answer. If you’re listening via Patreon, my thanks for your continued support and for those of you listening to the later release of the podcast, don’t miss out on the latest podcast by simply signing up on my dedicate web page.Get the very latest podcast by visiting my web page HEREWell, it’s been an eventful week! I collected more swarms and promptly lost the biggest one, I posted a picture of it on Twitter and Instagram, and someone commented I would need a triple nuc to fit it all in, well, I only had a single nuc box  on board the truck so they went into that overnight and when I returned the following morning they had decided they didn’t like the new location and had disappeared. What was really sad was there was just one single drone left behind wandering around on the floor of the nuc trying to work out where the party had disappeared to. It reminded me of my teenage years, but that’s another story entirely that isn’t for this podcast!Moving on to a slightly different topic it’s been a tricky week for inspecting, cooler temperatures again and some quite rainy days, interestingly, when I have been out to check on the bees, and I have to say I’ve not looked in many colonies this week, I’ve seen quite a few queen cells torn down. I suspect this is probably down to the weather and the bees not wanting to put effort and resources into queen cells during the colder weather. But, how do they know what the long range forecast is going to be? It’s not like they have the internet or access to the met office. Maybe it’s down to air pressure or something, I really don’t know. To take my mind off such complex thoughts I’ve just spent an hour or so at the workshop making up some clearer boards with Pete, another job done so at least the time isn’t wasted.Lets get started with this weeks burning issues, first up is Paul Andrews who asks“Hi Stewart,How do you get the bees to read the books! This year has been manic, all going well until 3 weeks ago when I saw swarm preparations. I had given space and already split 2 hives, I moved the best queen cells into new nucs along with brood and left the queen behind in brood box. Phew, all done, shut up and did same in the rest of the hives. The next week all again! I cut cells out placed in mating nucs I had just bought after setting them up with bees. Then on Sunday Oh no, queens gone and no eggs, set up boxes with the best remaining cells and shut up. All hives had space in brood and in supers and queen, only a year to 2 old. Any ideas? PaulHi Paul,Your tale of swarming colonies is not a solitary incident and I’m sure many beekeepers will have experienced exactly the same issues. I like that you took action and I’m sure you’ll get some really nice queens from the splits that you’ve made so not all is lost.You questions seems to be asking having split the colony and reduced it’s size why did the queen still swarm?I think the one thing that you don’t mention and I’m making an educated guess here, is that you left the queen in the original hive with the flying bees and some brood and  that I believe is the problem.By leaving the queen with the flying bees and brood, albeit a reduced amount, you’re still giving them a chance to swarm. I would suggest if it happens again, removing the queen and leaving a single queen cell with the flying bees would be a more controlled way of splitting them. Reduce the number of queen cells to just one and the flying bees can’t swarm. You can still split nucs from the colony with queen cells if you’re looking to increase or reproduceSupport the show

This week is my Questions and Answers week, for those of you listening for the first time, it’s where supporters from my Patreon page can post questions to me that they have maybe encountered and I’ll do my best to give an answer. If you’re listening via Patreon, my thanks for your continued support and for those of you listening to the later release of the podcast, don’t miss out on the latest podcast by simply signing up on my dedicate web page. Get the very latest podcast by visiting my web page <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE</a>Well, it’s been an eventful week! I collected more swarms and promptly lost the biggest one, I posted a picture of it on Twitter and Instagram, and someone commented I would need a triple nuc to fit it all in, well, I only had a single nuc box  on board the truck so they went into that overnight and when I returned the following morning they had decided they didn’t like the new location and had disappeared. What was really sad was there was just one single drone left behind wandering around on the floor of the nuc trying to work out where the party had disappeared to. It reminded me of my teenage years, but that’s another story entirely that isn’t for this podcast!Moving on to a slightly different topic it’s been a tricky week for inspecting, cooler temperatures again and some quite rainy days, interestingly, when I have been out to check on the bees, and I have to say I’ve not looked in many colonies this week, I’ve seen quite a few queen cells torn down. I suspect this is probably down to the weather and the bees not wanting to put effort and resources into queen cells during the colder weather. But, how do they know what the long range forecast is going to be? It’s not like they have the internet or access to the met office. Maybe it’s down to air pressure or something, I really don’t know. To take my mind off such complex thoughts I’ve just spent an hour or so at the workshop making up some clearer boards with Pete, another job done so at least the time isn’t wasted.Lets get started with this weeks burning issues, first up is Paul Andrews who asks“Hi Stewart,How do you get the bees to read the books! This year has been manic, all going well until 3 weeks ago when I saw swarm preparations. I had given space and already split 2 hives, I moved the best queen cells into new nucs along with brood and left the queen behind in brood box. Phew, all done, shut up and did same in the rest of the hives. The next week all again! I cut cells out placed in mating nucs I had just bought after setting them up with bees. Then on Sunday Oh no, queens gone and no eggs, set up boxes with the best remaining cells and shut up. All hives had space in brood and in supers and queen, only a year to 2 old. Any ideas? PaulHi Paul,Your tale of swarming colonies is not a solitary incident and I’m sure many beekeepers will have experienced exactly the same issues. I like that you took action and I’m sure you’ll get some really nice queens from the splits that you’ve made so not all is lost.You questions seems to be asking having split the colony and reduced it’s size why did the queen still swarm?I think the one thing that you don’t mention and I’m making an educated guess here, is that you left the queen in the original hive with the flying bees and some brood and  that I believe is the problem.By leaving the queen with the flying bees and brood, albeit a reduced amount, you’re still giving them a chance to swarm. I would suggest if it happens again, removing the queen and leaving a single queen cell with the flying bees would be a more controlled way of splitting them. Reduce the number of queen cells to just one and the flying bees can’t swarm. You can still split nucs from the colony with queen cells if you’re looking to increase or reproduce<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 64: Questions and Answers May 2019

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 72 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. It’s July and the final month of our Summer nectar flow, the bees are busy filling Supers and we’ve been hit by another bout of CBPV. There are jobs that need attention for this month too, so keep listening for this week's updates.Welcome back to another weekly podcast and we somehow find ourselves in July and what is for me the final month of our Summer honey production. I’ve moved all of the bees back to their permanent apiary sites and were in the process now of assessing colonies in preparation for the Autumn shutdown. It might seem a little early to be thinking of the coming Autumn and Winter but believe me, it will soon be here and if you’ve not got yourself prepared those precious few weeks in the late Autumn will become a panic as you try to treat and feed bees to ensure a successful Winter period.If you're interested in submitting honey samples to the National Honey Monitoring Scheme check out their website hereThere are, of course, jobs to do this month too but they all lead to setting up colonies to survive the darker months and ensure strong colonies for next Spring.I was visited this week by a fellow beekeeper from Australia was explaining that they have active bees foraging for around 11 months of the year, imagine that! To have flying bees pretty much all year round and no really cold months seems on the face of it a perfect scenario but I’m sure it brings its own challenges. This past week has also brought some interesting beekeeping letters through the post, I recently signed up to the UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology’s National Honey Monitoring Scheme, looking at their website for some details to share I found their introduction pretty much explains exactly what they are doing. The National Honey Monitoring Scheme aims to use honeybees to monitor long-term changes in the condition and health of the UK countryside. However, we need the help of beekeepers if this scheme is to work. Initially set up in 2018, the Honey Monitoring Scheme is a long-term programme that uses advanced analytical techniques to identify the species of plant pollen present in honey samples. This will tell us what bees are feeding on in different parts of the country and at different times of year. This information will help us identify possible threats to bees linked with floral resources.The CEH website goes on to explain what the scheme will do:State-of-the-art analysis: using DNA metabarcoding and high precision mass spectrometry of honey samplesSample archive: for future research developing new analytics, such as disease detection Provide feedback to participating beekeepersGenerate robust scientific data to inform future policy decisions So I received a submissions pack which contains a couple of tubes that they need filled with honey samples and from that they can identify exactly the plants my bees have been foraging on. What’s is really exciting is that they will share this information with me onece the testing has been completed. Due to the size and complexity of the project I won’t get the results for some time but as soon as I do I will share them with you. If you’d like to take part in the National Honey Monitoring Scheme do check out their website www.ceh.ac.uk and look for the link to the relevant page, I’ll leave a link in the podcast notes to help direct you to their site.The other letter I received was from a university student called Amy who is carrying out a third year dissertation project involving Varroa mites and was a request for samples. The project is looking into genetic diversification of Varroa and haplotypes within the speciSupport the show

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 72 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. It’s July and the final month of our Summer nectar flow, the bees are busy filling Supers and we’ve been hit by another bout of CBPV. There are jobs that need attention for this month too, so keep listening for this week's updates.Welcome back to another weekly podcast and we somehow find ourselves in July and what is for me the final month of our Summer honey production. I’ve moved all of the bees back to their permanent apiary sites and were in the process now of assessing colonies in preparation for the Autumn shutdown. It might seem a little early to be thinking of the coming Autumn and Winter but believe me, it will soon be here and if you’ve not got yourself prepared those precious few weeks in the late Autumn will become a panic as you try to treat and feed bees to ensure a successful Winter period. If you're interested in submitting honey samples to the National Honey Monitoring Scheme <a href="https://honey-monitoring.ac.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">check out their website here</a>There are, of course, jobs to do this month too but they all lead to setting up colonies to survive the darker months and ensure strong colonies for next Spring.I was visited this week by a fellow beekeeper from Australia was explaining that they have active bees foraging for around 11 months of the year, imagine that! To have flying bees pretty much all year round and no really cold months seems on the face of it a perfect scenario but I’m sure it brings its own challenges. This past week has also brought some interesting beekeeping letters through the post, I recently signed up to the UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology’s National Honey Monitoring Scheme, looking at their website for some details to share I found their introduction pretty much explains exactly what they are doing. The National Honey Monitoring Scheme aims to use honeybees to monitor long-term changes in the condition and health of the UK countryside. However, we need the help of beekeepers if this scheme is to work. Initially set up in 2018, the Honey Monitoring Scheme is a long-term programme that uses advanced analytical techniques to identify the species of plant pollen present in honey samples. This will tell us what bees are feeding on in different parts of the country and at different times of year. This information will help us identify possible threats to bees linked with floral resources.The CEH website goes on to explain what the scheme will do:<ul><li>State-of-the-art analysis: using DNA metabarcoding and high precision mass spectrometry of honey samples</li><li>Sample archive: for future research developing new analytics, such as disease detection </li><li>Provide feedback to participating beekeepers</li><li>Generate robust scientific data to inform future policy decisions </li></ul> So I received a submissions pack which contains a couple of tubes that they need filled with honey samples and from that they can identify exactly the plants my bees have been foraging on. What’s is really exciting is that they will share this information with me onece the testing has been completed. Due to the size and complexity of the project I won’t get the results for some time but as soon as I do I will share them with you. If you’d like to take part in the National Honey Monitoring Scheme do check out their website <a href="http://www.ceh.ac.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.ceh.ac.uk</a> and look for the link to the relevant page, I’ll leave a link in the podcast notes to help direct you to their site.The other letter I received was from a university student called Amy who is carrying out a third year dissertation project involving Varroa mites and was a request for samples. The project is looking into genetic diversification of Varroa and haplotypes within the speci<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 72 - Another July, Another Jobs List

Our Apiary in AprilBeekeeping short and sweet, a podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a beekeeper, in fact, just like me!Welcome back and thank’s for joining me here in Norfolk in the UK where we find ourselves just easing out of a prolonged cold, late Winter and chilly early Spring. The weather has really played it’s part this year with our beekeeping routine having been delayed somewhat by the colder weather.My podcast is released on a weekly basis firstly to our Patreon page where you can catch up with all of our content, if you’re not familiar with it, my beekeeping channel on Youtube and now more generally on Patreon is funded in part by my supporters on Patreon for which I am very grateful and if you’d like to have access to all of my beekeeping videos and podcasts as soon as they are released please do take a look at my patron page www dot patreon.com/norfolk honey. It’s April and I’m still waiting to be able to open up the hives and start seeing how the colonies faired over Winter. Today I’m looking at where we need to be heading this month with things that need to be done and so much of that still depends on the weather but we are moving into a warmer Spring like period and it’s noticeable that the bees are definitely becoming more active. It’s time to make sure everything is ready for the early season plans that we have in place and a good time for you to revisit your plans and think about what needs to be done this month in the apiary.It’s very much sunshine and showers at the moment, the sun warms everything up and then the cool Spring April showers turn up and cool everything back down again so it’s a tricky time for all of us, both beekeepers and honeybees. Of course, you could well be seeing lovely warm sunshine and temperatures well into the high teens and we all need to take account of the local conditions, just because I am able to inspect doesn’t mean that my beekeeping friends in Scotland can open up their hives.When I do finally manage to get into my bees I'm looking out for some very specific things.As I open the colony, how are the bees? Are there plenty of them, how many top bars do they cover? Are they moving about nicely or are they terribly sluggish, could that be a problem or are they just cold? I encountered Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus late last year and the bees just staggered around the colony, shivering and looking very sorry for themselves. Unfortunately they didn’t see out the Winter and I’ve had to clean out the hive and prepare it for reuse.Removing frames I’m looking not just at how much stores they have left but I’m also looking at the condition of the stores, is it still ok for the bees or has there been a problem with mould or fermentation, basically can the bees still use it?I’ve had some pollen supplement on my bees for a couple of weeks and I’m now looking to replace it with an early Spring feed of syrup. But don’t be in too great a hurry to start feeding your bees syrup, know why you’re feeding them, is it because they are running low? Are you aiming for an early crop such as Oil Seed Rape, also called Canola.Perhaps you're looking to expand the number of colonies you have or want plenty of bees for early queen rearing, just be sure you know why you’re feeding your bees. Once it’s warmed up a little I feed one to one sugar syrup in a contact feeder, it’s a system that works best for me.You might find your colonies have expanded incredibly quickly, this can seem like a really good start but be careful they have enough space, I’ve seen colonies swarming in early April because they haven’t enough space so be mindful that they may need additional room.This could be another brood box, ideal if you’re looking to split the colony or you may simply add a queen excluder and super, I like to make the first super I add one that has already been drawn with comb, I always think tryiSupport the show

Our Apiary in AprilBeekeeping short and sweet, a podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a beekeeper, in fact, just like me!Welcome back and thank’s for joining me here in Norfolk in the UK where we find ourselves just easing out of a prolonged cold, late Winter and chilly early Spring. The weather has really played it’s part this year with our beekeeping routine having been delayed somewhat by the colder <a href="http://weather.My" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">weather.My</a> podcast is released on a weekly basis firstly to our Patreon page where you can catch up with all of our content, if you’re not familiar with it, my beekeeping channel on Youtube and now more generally on Patreon is funded in part by my supporters on Patreon for which I am very grateful and if you’d like to have access to all of my beekeeping videos and podcasts as soon as they are released please do take a look at my patron page www dot <a href="http://patreon.com/norfolk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">patreon.com/norfolk</a> honey. It’s April and I’m still waiting to be able to open up the hives and start seeing how the colonies faired over Winter. Today I’m looking at where we need to be heading this month with things that need to be done and so much of that still depends on the weather but we are moving into a warmer Spring like period and it’s noticeable that the bees are definitely becoming more active. It’s time to make sure everything is ready for the early season plans that we have in place and a good time for you to revisit your plans and think about what needs to be done this month in the <a href="http://apiary.It" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">apiary.It</a>’s very much sunshine and showers at the moment, the sun warms everything up and then the cool Spring April showers turn up and cool everything back down again so it’s a tricky time for all of us, both beekeepers and honeybees. Of course, you could well be seeing lovely warm sunshine and temperatures well into the high teens and we all need to take account of the local conditions, just because I am able to inspect doesn’t mean that my beekeeping friends in Scotland can open up their hives.When I do finally manage to get into my bees I'm looking out for some very specific <a href="http://things.As" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">things.As</a> I open the colony, how are the bees? Are there plenty of them, how many top bars do they cover? Are they moving about nicely or are they terribly sluggish, could that be a problem or are they just cold? I encountered Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus late last year and the bees just staggered around the colony, shivering and looking very sorry for themselves. Unfortunately they didn’t see out the Winter and I’ve had to clean out the hive and prepare it for reuse.Removing frames I’m looking not just at how much stores they have left but I’m also looking at the condition of the stores, is it still ok for the bees or has there been a problem with mould or fermentation, basically can the bees still use it?I’ve had some pollen supplement on my bees for a couple of weeks and I’m now looking to replace it with an early Spring feed of syrup. But don’t be in too great a hurry to start feeding your bees syrup, know why you’re feeding them, is it because they are running low? Are you aiming for an early crop such as Oil Seed Rape, also called Canola.Perhaps you're looking to expand the number of colonies you have or want plenty of bees for early queen rearing, just be sure you know why you’re feeding your bees. Once it’s warmed up a little I feed one to one sugar syrup in a contact feeder, it’s a system that works best for me.You might find your colonies have expanded incredibly quickly, this can seem like a really good start but be careful they have enough space, I’ve seen colonies swarming in early April because they haven’t enough space so be mindful that they may need additional room.This could be another brood box, ideal if you’re looking to split the colony or you may simply add a queen excluder and super, I like to make the first super I add one that has already been drawn with comb, I always think tryi<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 09 - Monthly Preview: April

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 86 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. This week I’m taking a look back at how this season’s beekeeping has been for me personally and sharing my plans for next year as we head into the long Winter haul.Firstly, this week, I wanted to send my best wishes to all of the beekeepers around the globe currently dealing with the most unexpected and shocking losses of honeybee colonies through flood and wildfires. It’s easy to get caught up with our own struggles in beekeeping and forget that there is usually someone out there having a more difficult time. This month it’s really hit home here in the UK as quite a number of beekeeper have been hit with flooding in their apiaries and have seen colonies swept away in flash floods. Those lucky enough to escape seeing colonies destroyed are looking at apiary sites completely cut off and unable to get to hives. Luckily, it is a quieter time for us and the bees can, for the most part, be left to their own devices, for now, hopefully, the water will drain away quickly and the apiaries will dry out.Worse still are those beekeepers currently facing wildfires around the world, I don’t know of any specific beekeepers that have suffered losses but imagine having an apiary site in the path of one of those terrible fires. It can only end in the utter destruction of colonies and hives and it must be heartbreaking. If you’re one of those beekeepers out there who has suffered due to these sudden catastrophic losses, our thoughts are with you and if you’d like to chat about your experiences on my podcast please do get in touch.Here in Norwich, things are very much quieter, we have had long periods of rain but also some sunny intervals, I think there is more rain on the way but I’m fortunate to have my apiary sites in fairly risk-free locations. It’s the time in the beekeeping calendar where not much is happening to be honest. The bees are settled in their hives, still getting out and foraging the very late Ivy and fetching water, perhaps going out on cleansing flights, but other than that the frantic rush of the Spring and Summer are long gone.For the most part, drones will have been kicked out of the colonies, newcomers to beekeeping won’t mind being reminded I’m sure that the drones are the male honeybees. They really only serve one major purpose and that’s mating with the virgin queens, however, they are needed within a colony generally, it seems they keep the atmosphere mellow and without them a colony can get quite fractious. I’m not sure if there are any scientific studies out there showing other important roles that drones play but their main task is an obvious one.Thinking about why they would be kicked out through the Winter, I think most beekeepers here in the UK understand that whilst honeybees don’t hibernate in the Winter, like the bumblebees and wasps, they do reduce their activity dramatically, and with the obvious absence of food availability it makes sense for honeybee colonies not to waste their time and resources in trying to produce virgin queens and therefore need drones for them to mate with.Add to this the demand on food stores and you can see what many colonies kick out their drones in the late Autumn and wait until Spring to produce more.I’ve mentioned previously that I’ve seen drones in colonies through the Winter months so I think that while the majority of drones get the cold shoulder, there are some that manage to stick around. Of course, I’m not including any colony that has become a Winter, drone laying queen Colony.So most of the colonies now will be settled down, food stores set aside and we don’t have much to worry about, at least not for a few weeks.That got me thinking about how quickly the seasons seem to come round and once again I’m thinking about whatSupport the show

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 86 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. This week I’m taking a look back at how this season’s beekeeping has been for me personally and sharing my plans for next year as we head into the long Winter haul. Firstly, this week, I wanted to send my best wishes to all of the beekeepers around the globe currently dealing with the most unexpected and shocking losses of honeybee colonies through flood and wildfires. It’s easy to get caught up with our own struggles in beekeeping and forget that there is usually someone out there having a more difficult time. This month it’s really hit home here in the UK as quite a number of beekeeper have been hit with flooding in their apiaries and have seen colonies swept away in flash floods. Those lucky enough to escape seeing colonies destroyed are looking at apiary sites completely cut off and unable to get to hives. Luckily, it is a quieter time for us and the bees can, for the most part, be left to their own devices, for now, hopefully, the water will drain away quickly and the apiaries will dry out.Worse still are those beekeepers currently facing wildfires around the world, I don’t know of any specific beekeepers that have suffered losses but imagine having an apiary site in the path of one of those terrible fires. It can only end in the utter destruction of colonies and hives and it must be heartbreaking. If you’re one of those beekeepers out there who has suffered due to these sudden catastrophic losses, our thoughts are with you and if you’d like to chat about your experiences on my podcast please do get in touch.Here in Norwich, things are very much quieter, we have had long periods of rain but also some sunny intervals, I think there is more rain on the way but I’m fortunate to have my apiary sites in fairly risk-free locations. It’s the time in the beekeeping calendar where not much is happening to be honest. The bees are settled in their hives, still getting out and foraging the very late Ivy and fetching water, perhaps going out on cleansing flights, but other than that the frantic rush of the Spring and Summer are long gone.For the most part, drones will have been kicked out of the colonies, newcomers to beekeeping won’t mind being reminded I’m sure that the drones are the male honeybees. They really only serve one major purpose and that’s mating with the virgin queens, however, they are needed within a colony generally, it seems they keep the atmosphere mellow and without them a colony can get quite fractious. I’m not sure if there are any scientific studies out there showing other important roles that drones play but their main task is an obvious one.Thinking about why they would be kicked out through the Winter, I think most beekeepers here in the UK understand that whilst honeybees don’t hibernate in the Winter, like the bumblebees and wasps, they do reduce their activity dramatically, and with the obvious absence of food availability it makes sense for honeybee colonies not to waste their time and resources in trying to produce virgin queens and therefore need drones for them to mate with.Add to this the demand on food stores and you can see what many colonies kick out their drones in the late Autumn and wait until Spring to produce more.I’ve mentioned previously that I’ve seen drones in colonies through the Winter months so I think that while the majority of drones get the cold shoulder, there are some that manage to stick around. Of course, I’m not including any colony that has become a Winter, drone laying queen Colony.So most of the colonies now will be settled down, food stores set aside and we don’t have much to worry about, at least not for a few weeks.That got me thinking about how quickly the seasons seem to come round and once again I’m thinking about what<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 87: Our Beekeeping Season 2019

Hi I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to episode 56 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. The start of the new beekeeping season is almost upon us and last weekend I travelled out of the County to the first major Trade show of the season, BeeTradex.Links for this week's podcast mentions;http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoneyhttp://www.modernbeekeeping.co.ukhttp://www.bees-online.co.ukhttps://www.thorne.co.ukhttps://www.carl-fritz.dehttps://en.swienty.comhttp://beefarmers.co.ukhttp://www.northernbeebooks.co.ukhttps://www.bee-craft.com/So, last weekend was the first of the major beekeeping trade shows here in the UK, BeeTradex, it’s held at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire here in the UK, although it’s becoming much more than that with various lectures, AGM’s and business meetings also being held at the venue. The weather was much warmer this year and this resulted in a huge turnout of beekeepers and the show hall was constantly busy. The really nice thing was that the hall was large enough to accommodate everyone with room to move about and around displays without constantly bumping in to each other.The weather was a bit bright and breezy, heavy rain showers blew across the event fair frequently so it was great that everything was under one roof. Those people who were smart had bought advanced tickets as the queue for buying tickets at one point must have been 100 beekeepers long if not more. The main hall was bright and roomy as I said and apart from wanting to chat to equipment suppliers and manufacturers I was also there for the Bee Farmers Meetings which were being held from midday so my morning was a little bit of a whirlwind.It was great to stop and chat with a few beekeepers who had seen my videos, particularly those who are supporters on my Patreon page, particularly Gregg and Jackie Palmer who were lovely. It was nice to hear Gregg’s plans for the coming season and chat about how he was enjoying his beekeeping.I was funny to hear how many people were really surprised that I was so tall, I’m 6’3” but I assume you don’t get to see that on the videos, for those of you who did stop to say hello, now you know why I have back problems!The actual trade show itself was well attended by suppliers, there must have been 50 or 60 stands and i would think there were well over two thousand beekeepers passing through the main doors. Add to this the lectures that were available it all added up to a great day out for everyone.Some of the highlights for me on the day were actually meeting some old friends  as well as making new friends as I wandered around the stands. I have to wish good luck to my very dear friend Sandra Gray who has just taken up the post of National Bee Inspector for the National Bee Unit. Sandra and I used to work together as seasonal Bee Inspectors and she is not only a fantastic beekeeper and inspector but a great administrator too so I’m sure she will do a fantastic job and with the ongoing challenge of the Asian Hornet incursion I’m sure she will have her hands full.I also stopped at the Modern Beekeeping trade stand to chat with Paul Beardmore. Paul supplies the Honey Paw hives and the Zukan Apipasta that I’ve been using with very good results. It looks like he is expanding and has taken on the Modern Beekeeping business who sell the Paradise Honey Poly Hives and this will compliment his Honey Paw Langstroth hives as well as the various Zukan feed products and other bits of kit.I tried to get a moment with the very nice people at Maisemore Apiaries, you’ll possibly remember they applied me with their own Commercial Poly Hives to try out in 2017. Those hives are doing great so far and the bees in them have come through the Winter strongly. I say I tried to chat with them because they were so busy I just couldn’t get Support the show

Hi I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to episode 56 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet. The start of the new beekeeping season is almost upon us and last weekend I travelled out of the County to the first major Trade show of the season, BeeTradex.Links for this week's podcast mentions; <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney</a> <a href="http://www.modernbeekeeping.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.modernbeekeeping.co.uk</a> <a href="http://www.bees-online.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.bees-online.co.uk</a> <a href="https://www.thorne.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.thorne.co.uk</a> <a href="https://www.carl-fritz.de" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.carl-fritz.de</a> <a href="https://en.swienty.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.swienty.com</a> <a href="http://beefarmers.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://beefarmers.co.uk</a> <a href="http://www.northernbeebooks.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.northernbeebooks.co.uk</a> <a href="https://www.bee-craft.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.bee-craft.com/</a>So, last weekend was the first of the major beekeeping trade shows here in the UK, BeeTradex, it’s held at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire here in the UK, although it’s becoming much more than that with various lectures, AGM’s and business meetings also being held at the venue. The weather was much warmer this year and this resulted in a huge turnout of beekeepers and the show hall was constantly busy. The really nice thing was that the hall was large enough to accommodate everyone with room to move about and around displays without constantly bumping in to each other.The weather was a bit bright and breezy, heavy rain showers blew across the event fair frequently so it was great that everything was under one roof. Those people who were smart had bought advanced tickets as the queue for buying tickets at one point must have been 100 beekeepers long if not more. The main hall was bright and roomy as I said and apart from wanting to chat to equipment suppliers and manufacturers I was also there for the Bee Farmers Meetings which were being held from midday so my morning was a little bit of a whirlwind.It was great to stop and chat with a few beekeepers who had seen my videos, particularly those who are supporters on my Patreon page, particularly Gregg and Jackie Palmer who were lovely. It was nice to hear Gregg’s plans for the coming season and chat about how he was enjoying his beekeeping.I was funny to hear how many people were really surprised that I was so tall, I’m 6’3” but I assume you don’t get to see that on the videos, for those of you who did stop to say hello, now you know why I have back problems!The actual trade show itself was well attended by suppliers, there must have been 50 or 60 stands and i would think there were well over two thousand beekeepers passing through the main doors. Add to this the lectures that were available it all added up to a great day out for everyone.Some of the highlights for me on the day were actually meeting some old friends  as well as making new friends as I wandered around the stands. I have to wish good luck to my very dear friend Sandra Gray who has just taken up the post of National Bee Inspector for the National Bee Unit. Sandra and I used to work together as seasonal Bee Inspectors and she is not only a fantastic beekeeper and inspector but a great administrator too so I’m sure she will do a fantastic job and with the ongoing challenge of the Asian Hornet incursion I’m sure she will have her hands full.I also stopped at the Modern Beekeeping trade stand to chat with Paul Beardmore. Paul supplies the Honey Paw hives and the Zukan Apipasta that I’ve been using with very good results. It looks like he is expanding and has taken on the Modern Beekeeping business who sell the Paradise Honey Poly Hives and this will compliment his Honey Paw Langstroth hives as well as the various Zukan feed products and other bits of kit.I tried to get a moment with the very nice people at Maisemore Apiaries, you’ll possibly remember they applied me with their own Commercial Poly Hives to try out in 2017. Those hives are doing great so far and the bees in them have come through the Winter strongly. I say I tried to chat with them because they were so busy I just couldn’t get <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 56 - BeeTradex 2019 Visit

Jobs around the apiary for September include the important job of uniting weaker colonies, today I discuss this and some other important jobs to carry out this month. Don't forget you can catch up with the very latest podcast release on my patreon page www.patreon.com/norfolkhoneyhere you can not only listen to the latest podcast but watch all of my beekeeping videos and at the same time support my project to bring more beekeeping content to all beekeepers around the world.Support the show

Jobs around the apiary for September include the important job of uniting weaker colonies, today I discuss this and some other important jobs to carry out this month. Don't forget you can catch up with the very latest podcast release on my patreon page <a href="http://www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.patreon.com/norfolkhoney</a> here you can not only listen to the latest podcast but watch all of my beekeeping videos and at the same time support my project to bring more beekeeping content to all beekeepers around the world.<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 31: Uniting Weak Colonies in September

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 86 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet, The bees are settling down for the long Autumn and Winter haul but here at Beekeeping HQ there’s seems to be more than ever to sort. Stay tuned for the latest update on my beekeeping journey including Trucks, Trailers and Treatments.Finally, I’m back on my feet and moving around with some degree of ease, this recent bout of back pain and particularly Sciatica has been quite troublesome and I really feel for anyone out there who suffers from back problems on a regular basis. I’m lucky in that it seems to be every couple of years or so and at the moment it seems to hit during the quieter period of beekeeping over the Autumn and Winter months. There’s still lots to do but the timetable isn’t quite so rigid and I have been able to delay a number of jobs until I’m back on my feet. I do still have to be cautious and I get a strange numb feeling in my right foot, it’s a bit like the after-effects of being caught by stoning nettles, once the pain of the sting has gone you’re left with a tingling sensation, well that’s exactly how it feels. It’s so much better than before though so I am very grateful to be back in front of the computer and able to get back to work.I woke to a crisp frost this morning, it was one of those misty, almost foggy mornings, a real sense of the colder days to come, which I really enjoy, we are very lucky here in the UK to still enjoy a seasonal climate, Warm Autumnal days drift into the colder conditions of Winter and through into the rush of life in Spring and on to the heat of Summer and so it goes round. We love talking about the weather, it is, of course, a national pastime but for beekeepers, it’s so much more than just another rainy day. We worry about the last time we inspected and what should happen if we miss an inspection or we sit and watch the cold, apparently lifeless hive in the middle of Winter hoping we’ve done enough to see the colonies through to Spring. I remember that sense of relief, as several bees flew out of my first few hives on cleansing flights on days when a little warm winter sunshine allows them to fly. It’s at this time of year I question if I’ve done all I can to see my colonies through Winter and into next season. The mental checklist of all the various jobs that needed to be done in order to give them the best chance possible.This year has been somewhat challenging and I will have to adapt my routine a little but I’m sure we will get through ok. Preparations for Winter started in August. First up was the treatments for the Varroa mite. This year you will recall I used Apivar, the thin strips placed two per hive, hanging between the frames near the brood nest. The Amitraz active ingredient can give rise to the development of resistance in the Varroa so it’s important that it’s removed at the appropriate time. This happened to fall a week or so ago and I was so happy to have the help of Steph and Pete to travel around with me and clean out all of the strips. It’s not a difficult job, just remove the roof and crown board, ease the strips away from the frames, of course, they’ve been well and truly stuck down with wax and propolis but a quick flick with the hive tool releases them easily enough. Gently pull the strips out so as not to damage any bees that may be in the general area and particularly the queen because if she is damaged now there is little hope for that colony and they must be united with another. Removing the treatment strips also gives a chance to look down on the bees within and judge the size of the colonies. As ever, we have a large variation of colony sizes. I wondered how Pete actually managed to get the crown board back on with some of them such was their enormous size yet others seemed to have reduced in size to just a few seams of bees and I’m left wondering Support the show

Hi, I’m Stewart Spinks and welcome to Episode 86 of my podcast, Beekeeping Short and Sweet, The bees are settling down for the long Autumn and Winter haul but here at Beekeeping HQ there’s seems to be more than ever to sort. Stay tuned for the latest update on my beekeeping journey including Trucks, Trailers and Treatments.Finally, I’m back on my feet and moving around with some degree of ease, this recent bout of back pain and particularly Sciatica has been quite troublesome and I really feel for anyone out there who suffers from back problems on a regular basis. I’m lucky in that it seems to be every couple of years or so and at the moment it seems to hit during the quieter period of beekeeping over the Autumn and Winter months. There’s still lots to do but the timetable isn’t quite so rigid and I have been able to delay a number of jobs until I’m back on my feet. I do still have to be cautious and I get a strange numb feeling in my right foot, it’s a bit like the after-effects of being caught by stoning nettles, once the pain of the sting has gone you’re left with a tingling sensation, well that’s exactly how it feels. It’s so much better than before though so I am very grateful to be back in front of the computer and able to get back to work.I woke to a crisp frost this morning, it was one of those misty, almost foggy mornings, a real sense of the colder days to come, which I really enjoy, we are very lucky here in the UK to still enjoy a seasonal climate, Warm Autumnal days drift into the colder conditions of Winter and through into the rush of life in Spring and on to the heat of Summer and so it goes round. We love talking about the weather, it is, of course, a national pastime but for beekeepers, it’s so much more than just another rainy day. We worry about the last time we inspected and what should happen if we miss an inspection or we sit and watch the cold, apparently lifeless hive in the middle of Winter hoping we’ve done enough to see the colonies through to Spring. I remember that sense of relief, as several bees flew out of my first few hives on cleansing flights on days when a little warm winter sunshine allows them to fly. It’s at this time of year I question if I’ve done all I can to see my colonies through Winter and into next season. The mental checklist of all the various jobs that needed to be done in order to give them the best chance possible.This year has been somewhat challenging and I will have to adapt my routine a little but I’m sure we will get through ok. Preparations for Winter started in August. First up was the treatments for the Varroa mite. This year you will recall I used Apivar, the thin strips placed two per hive, hanging between the frames near the brood nest. The Amitraz active ingredient can give rise to the development of resistance in the Varroa so it’s important that it’s removed at the appropriate time. This happened to fall a week or so ago and I was so happy to have the help of Steph and Pete to travel around with me and clean out all of the strips. It’s not a difficult job, just remove the roof and crown board, ease the strips away from the frames, of course, they’ve been well and truly stuck down with wax and propolis but a quick flick with the hive tool releases them easily enough. Gently pull the strips out so as not to damage any bees that may be in the general area and particularly the queen because if she is damaged now there is little hope for that colony and they must be united with another. Removing the treatment strips also gives a chance to look down on the bees within and judge the size of the colonies. As ever, we have a large variation of colony sizes. I wondered how Pete actually managed to get the crown board back on with some of them such was their enormous size yet others seemed to have reduced in size to just a few seams of bees and I’m left wondering <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 86: Treatments, Trucks and Trailers

Well, I don’t know about you guys but for me, As the season progresses we seem to be constantly accumulating beeswax in a range of different guises, brace comb, burr comb, frames that have become too old and need replacing, frames that have been drawn out just the ways the bees want it but completely at odds with how we would like it. The best way to deal with it is to render it down and save it for reuse with another project or take it to a show for wax exchange.Support the show

Well, I don’t know about you guys but for me, As the season progresses we seem to be constantly accumulating beeswax in a range of different guises, brace comb, burr comb, frames that have become too old and need replacing, frames that have been drawn out just the ways the bees want it but completely at odds with how we would like it.  The best way to deal with it is to render it down and save it for reuse with another project or take it to a show for wax exchange.<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 41: Rendering Beeswax

Beekeeping short and sweet - A Beekeeping podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a beekeeper, in fact, just like me!In this week's podcast, I'm talking about Pollen Substitute, why you might use it, how to mix it up and how to use it.Unless you've been keeping honeybees for a prolonged period of time it can seem that at every turn there's yet another difficult choice to make. Here's my take on one of those choices, whether to feed your honeybees pollen substitute and if so, how to feed it to them.Following a long, drawn out Winter our honeybees sometimes struggle in the first few weeks of Spring, variable weather, certainly something we get all too often here in the UK, can see the bees explode from the hive en masse foraging for pollen and nectar on one day only to be huddled back up in a cluster the next.I suspect most beekeepers will have considered feeding some fondant to their bees at some point over the Winter months, maybe your bees seem to just munch through all the food stores you give them as quickly as possible (another reason for considering near-native or native bees as they tend to be more frugal) or perhaps you just got caught out with the amount of food or the length of  Winter the bees have had.Either way, adding fondant is a simple process of mostly lifting the lid and adding a block of soft sugar fondant to the bees and replacing the roof.But what about Pollen Substitute? Why feed it, when should you feed it, what does it do and should you bother?Why Pollen Substitute at all?Stepping back to basics for a brief moment, most beekeepers know that honeybees collect nectar as a carbohydrate and pollen as a protein and it is this protein early in the season that helps the colony launch itself out of Winter and into that very important growth phase through Spring.In order to produce eggs the queen is going to need protein and for the workers to produce brood food for the ever-expanding number of larvae they also need protein, but that doesn't mean you should rush out and buy a sack of pollen substitute or start mixing your own concoction, it just might not be necessary.I've often explained to beginner beekeepers who contact me or attend my courses, with all things that you do in beekeeping there should be a reason, don't just launch into doing something because you read about someone (like me!) doing it or some old timer in the bee club was talking about what he was doing. Think through your beekeeping plans and have a plan of action to follow, have a purpose for everything you do in beekeepingSo, back to the Pollen Substitute, during early Winter you will see you bees out foraging perhaps on ivy, grabbing as much pollen as possible, storing this pollen gives the bees much needed protein for the long Winter period but also for the late Winter and early Spring period as they gradually start to build up again. If you're lucky you will have early Spring flowering plants and trees that will provide a source of pollen for them. I am very fortunate that here in Norfolk, UK we have at most of our apiaries a range of plants such as snowdrops, crocus, hellebores and many others that provide a much-needed injection of pollen. Everything really starts to kick in around early to mid-March when the Willow starts to flower and this is the main source of pollen that our bees have to forage.When to Feed Pollen SubstituteWhere I have chosen colonies that I want to be roaring away as early as possible I will give a light syrup stimulatory feed in early March and then, having encouraged the queen to increase her egg laying the bees are going to want more pollen and so I follow this light feed with the pollen Substitute. Timing will vary depending on where you are and how your season is unfolding but don't be tempted to feed syrup too early, it will simply act as a heat sink and draw away warmth from the brood nest.Here thSupport the show

Beekeeping short and sweet - A Beekeeping podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a beekeeper, in fact, just like me!In this week's podcast, I'm talking about Pollen Substitute, why you might use it, how to mix it up and how to use it.Unless you've been keeping honeybees for a prolonged period of time it can seem that at every turn there's yet another difficult choice to make. Here's my take on one of those choices, whether to feed your honeybees pollen substitute and if so, how to feed it to them.Following a long, drawn out Winter our honeybees sometimes struggle in the first few weeks of Spring, variable weather, certainly something we get all too often here in the UK, can see the bees explode from the hive en masse foraging for pollen and nectar on one day only to be huddled back up in a cluster the next.I suspect most beekeepers will have considered feeding some fondant to their bees at some point over the Winter months, maybe your bees seem to just munch through all the food stores you give them as quickly as possible (another reason for considering near-native or native bees as they tend to be more frugal) or perhaps you just got caught out with the amount of food or the length of Winter the bees have had.Either way, adding fondant is a simple process of mostly lifting the lid and adding a block of soft sugar fondant to the bees and replacing the roof.But what about Pollen Substitute? Why feed it, when should you feed it, what does it do and should you bother?Why Pollen Substitute at all?Stepping back to basics for a brief moment, most beekeepers know that honeybees collect nectar as a carbohydrate and pollen as a protein and it is this protein early in the season that helps the colony launch itself out of Winter and into that very important growth phase through <a href="http://Spring.In" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spring.In</a> order to produce eggs the queen is going to need protein and for the workers to produce brood food for the ever-expanding number of larvae they also need protein, but that doesn't mean you should rush out and buy a sack of pollen substitute or start mixing your own concoction, it just might not be necessary.I've often explained to beginner beekeepers who contact me or attend my courses, with all things that you do in beekeeping there should be a reason, don't just launch into doing something because you read about someone (like me!) doing it or some old timer in the bee club was talking about what he was doing. Think through your beekeeping plans and have a plan of action to follow, have a purpose for everything you do in beekeepingSo, back to the Pollen Substitute, during early Winter you will see you bees out foraging perhaps on ivy, grabbing as much pollen as possible, storing this pollen gives the bees much needed protein for the long Winter period but also for the late Winter and early Spring period as they gradually start to build up again. If you're lucky you will have early Spring flowering plants and trees that will provide a source of pollen for them. I am very fortunate that here in Norfolk, UK we have at most of our apiaries a range of plants such as snowdrops, crocus, hellebores and many others that provide a much-needed injection of pollen. Everything really starts to kick in around early to mid-March when the Willow starts to flower and this is the main source of pollen that our bees have to forage.When to Feed Pollen SubstituteWhere I have chosen colonies that I want to be roaring away as early as possible I will give a light syrup stimulatory feed in early March and then, having encouraged the queen to increase her egg laying the bees are going to want more pollen and so I follow this light feed with the pollen Substitute. Timing will vary depending on where you are and how your season is unfolding but don't be tempted to feed syrup too early, it will simply act as a heat sink and draw away warmth from the brood nest.Here th<a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/157475/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>

Episode 08 Pollen Substitute

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