Well it’s almost the end of March already! Another week and a  it… ok no rushing it as there a ton of things to do!

here’s some of what is on our list

1/ making up pollen patties for the Simcoe apiary. These will be put on Sat March 29, and will also be our fist peek into the hive since last October. a month ago the bees were still buzzing away inside and we also have fondant inside each hive to help them out just in case. here is one recipe found on the web with proportions used by a Canadian company out west (from what I can gather)

3.8L 2:1 sugar syrup

1.2L table sugar

2.5L qt soy flour

2.5L qt brewers yeast

0.4L pollen

or may try recipe from http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/info/info/pollen/pollen-substitutes-and-su.shtml

there are a few various recipes out there. we will be adding local pollen to our batch.

Here is one last recipe:

Makes a 1.5 pound patty
Dry Part
1.5 cups (8oz.) fat-free soy flour
.5 cup (1oz.) Brewer’s yeast
Sugar Syrup
1.5 cups (12oz.) granulated sugar
.75 cup (6oz.) Hot water

2/ we’ll be trying a recipe for “homemade Honey-B-Healthy” style of feeding. What this basically is, is an essential oil syrup mixture that we will add to the 1;1 spring syrup feed this year.

5 cups water
2 ½ pounds of sugar
1/8 teaspoon lecithin granules (used as an emulsifier)
15 drops spearmint oil
15 drops lemongrass oil

Bring the water to a boil and integrate the sugar until dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved remove the mixture from the heat and quickly add the lecithin and the essential oils. Stir until everything is evenly distributed. This solution should have a strong scent and not be left open around bees. Cool before using. Use 2-Tbsp per gallon of syrup

3/ Build the new hives!

4/ There has been some interested expressed in us supplying Top Bar Hives to local interests. We’ve come up with a basic pricing that will go into more detail on the main website. But here it is as follows.

36″ Kenyan Topbar hive, unfinished boards – $150

36″ KTBH finished pine – $175

36″ KTBH finished pine with observation window – $200

5/ the plan with the new hives come May is to feed them 1:1 syrup and pollen patties to help them get established faster.

more to follow…..