In addition to keeping a hive of bees in my backyard and a flock of chickens, I have quite the vegetable garden, mini orchard, and space devoted to native plants. When I began planting native plants, I specifically looked for natives that were useful not only to my backyard hive but also for the plethora […]

  If you tell your friends and neighbors that you are growing a “Bee Bee” tree for your bees, they will probably think you are kidding! A magnet for pollinators of all kinds, it is a a great small tree, also known as Korean evodia (Evodia daniellii or Tetradium daniellii). Unknown outside of horticultural circles […]

Moving from Beetle Blasters to Beetle Jails: Small Hive Beetle Management Small hive beetles are a pest and a terrible nuisance, but as we learned oh so painfully, they can destroy a weakened hive if they become established and do as they are wont to do:  reproduce prolifically.  I’ve never had a sadder (or more disgusting) […]

What is robbing? When I wrote this in July, my area’s (southeast Georgia) nectar flow has stopped and all that is available to the bees is some pollen. With foragers going out and returning empty handed, or finding nectar that is sub-par, I find that my hives get a little hot this time of year. When […]

I love the fact that bee keeping supplies are becoming mainstream in most local feed stores. When we first started beekeeping we’d either have to trek a 2 hour trip to the nearest hive supply company or order things online with often hefty shipping costs.   We pretty much have everything we need for our […]

Installing a Hive Top Feeder Sponsored By: Brushy Mountain Bee Farm Hive Top Feeders are a great resource to help feed your bees, even during the start of the winter months. Learn how easy it is to set up and utilize.

Household Uses for Honey Shared from MOTHER EARTH LIVING The sweet nectar of honey is a treasured food for many. And while it tastes great, many also know that it has a seemingly endless list of medicinal benefits, including relieving coughs, soothing burns, treating cuts and much more. Use this wonderful tool to effectively heal […]

Catching a Swarm Sponsored By: Brushy Mountain Bee Farm Shane Gebauer, president of Brushy Mountain Bee Farm, demonstrates how to capture a bee swarm with the Hipps Swarm Retriever and install it in a super. Knowing how to catch a swarm is important both for capturing new swarms you want to add to your beekeeping […]

Moving colonies successfully and gently from one hive to another takes planning and good bee math.

This is my first summer keeping bees in straw hives called “skeps.” Come follow my journey!

On a very frigid winter day a couple of months ago, I bundled up in my down parka and went to the bee yard to do my daily “Clear Away.” Two of my Top Bar hives came with bottom entrances—those long slits that run across the bottom of the hive face. Taking a thin stick […]

Swarm season!! It will be here before you know it and are you ready? It is still winter and you aren’t doing a lot in the bee yard. But there are things that you can do to get ready for swarm season in the spring. If you keep bees, you more than likely will have […]

Have you often thought about keeping bees but were discouraged by the high set-up costs? Frugal beekeeping is possible if you cut some corners. The price tag can cause sticker shock to anyone who looks into buying equipment and bees, keeping many potential beekeepers from jumping into this highly rewarding hobby/small business. Most people are […]

You really don’t need to know a lot to bring home your first bees. Just take care of some important basics, and learn as you go.

Feeding Weaker Hives If you have several colonies of bees in your yard, feeding a weaker hive during a dearth can set off robbing – which can totally wipe out weaker hives. One solution is to use an “open feeder”. This is a super easy DIY project and all you need is a plastic pail […]