The Garden is Buzzing Again

We tried beekeeping back in 2012, I think our hive lasted almost a year, and then we were not able to keep it queen right and it died.  So, this spring we decided to try again.  This time with two hives (which is suggested by beekeepers).  Once again we got our bee supplies such as hive bodies and frames from Full Moon Apiary  that has a shop at Tupelo's Bakery in Monticello.

We ordered to NUCS (nucleus colonies) from Bobbee's Honey and Pollination Services.  The owner is an old friend of my husband.

 

When our bees were ready my husband went and got them and we installed them in our hives.

We had a chance to educate the neighbor about bees while we did so.  Fortunately he is cool with us keeping bees between our two houses.

Find the queen!  This years queens are marked with a green dot (if your order them marked).  They can be hard to spot when they are not marked, but after some practice you should be able to spot an unmarked queen as well.

At the suggestion of some beekeepers with the Apalachee Beekeeping Association (I suggest that you check them out if you want to keep bees in the Tallahassee area) I got free paint from the Swap Shop at the Solid Waste Authority.  Beehives don't have to be boring old white.

 

I make my husband do a lot of the beekeeping stuff, poor guy.

 

I have to admit, the bees are really fun to watch.

 

The bees seem to be doing ok, we just put a super on the purple hive.  I don't know if we will get honey this year.  Beekeeping is not easy.  Fortunately we have a number of farms that sell locally produced honey.  I am listing a few of them below, I suggest you check them out!

Full Moon Apiary

Orchard Pond Organics

Turkey Hill Farm

 

The Fun of Picking Your Own

When I was a child some of my best memories were going to the apple farm to buy apples.  It was even better when it was a pick your own place.  So when I had my own kids I decided to take advantage of the wide range of pick your own places here in the Tallahassee area.  Last month I was really excited to see that Orchard Pond Organics was hosting a pick your own strawberry event at their farm.  We finally made it out there this first weekend in may.

 

Our eight year old had a great time and asked me why these strawberries had white flowers (we had visited a local school garden for Spiral Scouts where they had pink flowers last week).  That gave me a chance to talk about the different varieties of strawberries and how you want different ones for cross pollination and a better crop.  We have plans to plant strawberries in our own garden when the next season comes around.

 

Our three year old was able to follow directions with proper guidance and just pick the ripe berries.

 

Now what are we going to do with four pounds of strawberries? 

Time to pull out the jam recipe!

 

Orchard pond organics also had their farm stand open so we bought some kale, potatoes, carrots and beef as well.  We are planning a tasty local meal for tonight!