It is barely spring here in the Creston Valley, and we’re just gearing up to go into pollination in the cherry orchards for which this place is famous. As I’d previously reported, we bought Swan Valley Honey last July and made the consequential leap of moving from the Vancouver area to Creston. As we wait […]
Tag Archives | Frames
Lessons learned from our first bee swarm of the season
We caught our first swarm last week in Vancouver, under circumstances that, like everything in beekeeping, delivered us a wealth of information. With the strong warm weather of May and June and the lack of rain, most hives in the Metro area grew like stink. The week of rain in late June not only shortened […]
Our first honey production day, stings and all
We took our honey supers off Amanda’s hive on the weekend and learned some quick – and painful – lessons. The first one was: use bee escapes. Those are the simple little gadgets that you use when you want to clear a super of bees before removing it from the hive. I actually had bought […]
On high honey yields and B.C. Sugar’s sweet spot
Our post about high honey yields experienced by Tim Monaghan and John Mei prompted some questions about how others are doing right now. This morning I spoke to Paul van Westendorp, the provincial apiculturalist, who said some beekeepers are getting astonishing returns despite the so-so spring weather. He told me of a pair of newbies […]
Vancouver beekeepers record 250-pound honey hives
When we first started thinking about keeping bees, someone told a fantastical tale about hives in our neighborhood producing upwards of 200 lbs of honey. Two hundred pounds! Wow, what would we do with all that liquid gold? That figure seemed way out of line with recent B.C. government honey production estimates, which basically show […]
How to start keeping bees, sort of
Starting with bees is surprisingly easy. Technically, all you need is a box in which to keep them. But society, science and common sense have all worked together to bring in some basic rules that, when followed, will ensure your bees have the best chance of producing honey and you get along with your neighbours. […]
Honey Super Sunday, a milestone for Honey Bee Zen
Sunday was a big day for me. Since putting the nucleus colony of four frames into my hive on May 21st, I have watched as my bees have drawn out comb. The queen has been busy laying eggs and building a colony. In late June I added a second brood chamber, and watched as the […]
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Picking Blueberries With Sandhill Cranes: A Summer Event
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Canada’s ban on honey bee imports is folly, says B.C.’s biggest beekeeper
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Treating bees with oxalic acid; a late-winter mite-killing exercise
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Battling honey bee chalkbrood an expensive, maddening affair
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Four apiary sites in B.C.’s Fraser Valley found with small hive beetles
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Painting New Honey Supers For The Coming Season
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World Supplier of Nosema Medication Fumagilin-B Shuts Down
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Alberta Small Hive Beetle find means trouble for B.C. beekeepers
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New honey in our Swan Valley operations in Creston!
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New adventures for Honey Bee Zen Apiaries and Swan Valley Honey
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Sean Clancy: Have you tried HiveAlive yet? The published data o...
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Kyle Wayne: I'm glad you mentioned how the best time to remov...
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Gary Thompson: Congratulations on another successful year in the ...
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Tom Hardern: Just found you today by accident... The name caugh...
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Jeff: They are open from early morning to dusk; they use...
