Permaculture in Action

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Bee Abundance

Mark has  worked really hard over spring and summer with the bees. They've been given two new ''houses''... to give them shelter during the heat. These now also have shade cloth attached. this and the other one are at the back of our mandala garden on the south side of our irrigation ponds. This allows for their flight path to be uninterrupted by people working by.


During spring we had four swarms which Mark was able to catch and rehome. This one landed in our mulberry tree, and Mark cut  the branch they were attached to and they dropped into the hive.



Here's a closer look at a swarm that flew into a shrub in our market garden. They were also successfully rehomed.

A lovely full frame ready to spin...


There's enough for us and some to sell on our market stall at the Maitland Harvest Markets..


And now we have ventured into making Mead. Yum! a beautiful refreshing drink for these long hot summer days.

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7 comments:

  1. DaniFebruary 12, 2015 at 4:53 PM

    Aha! Mead!!

    Can you tell me what part of the honey you use to make mead? I've read it is the cappings, but what is the capping and how does one separate it?

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    1. purplepearFebruary 13, 2015 at 6:43 PM

      Not sure about that Dani. We keep the honey from the cappings (the wax that is removed from the frames so that the honey can be spun out) to feed swarms. The honey seperates from the wax when it's melted down. The wax is kept to make candles. We make the mead from honey.

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  2. KimFebruary 12, 2015 at 7:18 PM

    Are you going to sell the mead at the market, Kate?

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    Replies
    1. purplepearFebruary 13, 2015 at 10:42 AM

      Hi Kim, No we won't be selling mead. It's alcoholic, so just for our own consumption.

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  3. KathyFebruary 12, 2015 at 8:38 PM

    One word....YUM. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane

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  4. Fiona from Arbordale FarmFebruary 12, 2015 at 10:18 PM

    Well done with the bees they must be very happy and healthy to have swarmed so many times in one season. I have never made mead but it sounds amazing.

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  5. LindaFebruary 14, 2015 at 9:14 AM

    I've always wanted to make mead! Sounds so romantic.... Can't wait to hear how it goes. Doesn't it take a year or so?

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