I’m into my fourth year of beekeeping and while I still consider myself a newbie, I do feel I’ve come a long way. For one—and an important one at that—I can now find the queen. Finding the queen—or queenspotting, as they say—is huge in beekeeping. There are books on the subject, like this cool Where’s […]
beekeeping
Beekeeping and My Season of Growth
So my tenure as beekeeper has come to an end. Rather abruptly, I might add. Last weekend bald-faced hornets invaded my hive and even though my guard bees fought valiently—there was a massive swarm of agitation happening at the entrance of the hive—it appears the hornets have won. This week most of my bees are gone. So are about six frames of […]
Wednesday Webs: Things Keeping My Interest This Summer
So this has been my summer of beekeeping. Since I know absolutely nada of these honeys, I’m learning things as I go. For example, I now know the cone shape in the center above is a queen cell and since I already have one queen, another could be problematic. I should get rid of this cell. Or not. […]
Celebrating Possibilities on National Ag Day
Today is National Ag Day and we celebrate our abundance of food, thanks to American agriculture. Think about it, where else can we enjoy such epicureous quantity, quality and diversity? I was recently discussing my design project for this autumn’s Fermentation Fest, a convergence of agriculture, art and fermented foods. October seems so far away but as event co-founder Donna Neuwirth […]
Wednesday Webs 2-15-12
This past weekend we went to the Wisconsin Garden Expo and bought our starter seeds. Here in our 4-5 hardiness zone, plants like tomatoes and peppers need an indoor boost, starting about now. I can’t wait to begin planting these precious little gems! 7 reasons why you too should start planning your garden Organic gardening […]