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Post by DiggingDogFarm on Jul 13, 2011 23:28:32 GMT -5
;D Well...Keep in mind that if he has 400+ colonies of bees, they're not all in one location, but spread around. Planting for bees in that situation isn't feasible (feasible?...it's impossible!!!!!) because most beekeeper's have colonies on a small bit of 'leased' or 'rented' land...with any number of types of agreements....and never any direct control over what's planted. When we had 900+ colonies...they were divided among 35-40 locations within a 30 mile radius of home. Dearths of available nectar suck, but you don't just fire-up a big "coal-burning" tractor and plant 200 acres of buckwheat on short notice.......ain't gonna happen!!!! Just trying to put things in to perspective..... ~Dig  |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jul 14, 2011 0:34:17 GMT -5
I don't think it would make economic sense to have bees use sugarwater to make honey, if they would. Sugar = $0.60 per pound.... Honey = $8.00 per pound.... Makes good economic sense to feed sugar water to the bees. |
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Post by steev on Jul 14, 2011 1:21:11 GMT -5
OK. Those observations make sense. If honey's going for $8/pound, that would explain why I see it imported from India.
I still think the local beekeeper isn't sugaring his bees to make honey, but just to feed them when nectar is lacking, though. On the farm in mid-Winter, I've seen honeybees going for sap from firewood. I figured it was for immediate food, not honey production.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Jul 14, 2011 5:14:29 GMT -5
There is a big difference between providing SOME sugar water as a supplement to the nectar when it's low for whatever reasons and feeding sugar water exclusively.
The issues entailed are beyond just the artificial input. It's the last vestige of "normal" the "kept" bees have. If they become dependent on an artificial food source out of season, then start physically adapting to the false season, they won't be able to survive if the artificial food source fails. They develop a weakness.
However, if there is an attempt made to make a normal food available, even if in limited quantities, then their natural survival abilities have a better chance of compensating for a season of shortfall. As a guess, I can't prove this of course, but wouldn't the quality of the honey be better?
I realize that just planting acres of bee food would be impractical at best, probably impossible. But surely a few feet of margin could be planted with mustards, ditches could be planted with sunflowers, unused fields with clovers and buckwheat. Not to be gathered, but simply sown and left to reseed on their own without any human intervention. Isn't this possible even on a large scale farm?
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Post by DiggingDogFarm on Jul 14, 2011 8:32:13 GMT -5
still think the local beekeeper isn't sugaring his bees to make honey, but just to feed them when nectar is lacking, though. Yes! Exactly! ~Dig |
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Post by DiggingDogFarm on Jul 14, 2011 8:37:03 GMT -5
Sugar = $0.60 per pound.... Honey = $8.00 per pound.... Makes good economic sense to feed sugar water to the bees. Nectar is 'free' when available, it makes no sense to buy sugar unless there's a serious dearth. ~Dig |
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Post by seedywen on Jul 14, 2011 17:32:27 GMT -5
My bee guy mentor has me, giving the new hive, a Mason jar 3/4 sugar and water every three or four days until mid July.
He's coming over tomorrow, to see how the hive is establishing.
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Post by steev on Jul 14, 2011 19:46:07 GMT -5
Given that one is dealing with one or few hives, what would be the downside of giving the bees watered honey, aside from more expense ( unless one had surplus honey stored )?
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Post by DiggingDogFarm on Jul 14, 2011 20:18:26 GMT -5
Given that one is dealing with one or few hives, what would be the downside of giving the bees watered honey, aside from more expense ( unless one had surplus honey stored )? Disease if the honey isn't pasteurized. DDF |
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Post by steev on Jul 14, 2011 23:48:50 GMT -5
Even if it's from the same hives earlier? I thought bugs couldn't grow in honey.
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Post by DiggingDogFarm on Jul 15, 2011 0:23:21 GMT -5
Even if it's from the same hives earlier? I thought bugs couldn't grow in honey. If you know your hives are 'disease-free', it's a somewhat (?) acceptable thing to do. Many times I've grabbed a frame of honey from a stronger colony and gave it to a weaker one. There are diseases that can be spread, especially from 'unknown' raw 'bulk' honey. American Foulbrood usually being the most dreaded. Having said all that...it is still generally considered unwise to swap frames (even though that was an important part of my bee management strategy for several years) because things like American Foulbrood can 'pop-up' unexpectedly at any time. Marty |
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Post by steev on Jul 15, 2011 10:41:15 GMT -5
Better safe than sorry, no doubt. What's your opinion on fruit juice as feeding supplement?
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Post by seedywen on Jul 15, 2011 14:29:50 GMT -5
Here's another interplanting idea that am trying for the first time this year.
Planted the garlic last October and mulched with a thick layer of maple leaves which the garlic had no trouble poking through. However understood that the leaves would be pretty disintegrated by spring, losing that smothering weed effect. How to avoid have to weed all spring given no extra mulch to spare for the garlic?
Other years have tried interplanting lettuce, spinach but they got shaded by the garlic early in the spring. So this year, sowed Shirley Poppies between the rows, in hopes that the poppies would grow fast to keep up with the garlic and smother the weeds.
Two weeks ago, thought my experiment a bit of a bust. Yes the poppies smothered the other weeds quite effectively but they were almost hidden by the garlic. Just about was ready to knock them down with my boots, when I noticed a few with buds. Got busy with some other part of the garden and didn't get back to the garlic for another week.
In a week, hundreds of mostly red poppies had spurted up, towering a few inches about the garlic which was 3 feet tall, and blooming like crazy.
Looking like a piece of Flanders Field, with interplanted garlic:)
Beauty.
Now the question is, will the poppies set seed before the garlic gets pulled next month? Maybe asking too much for that to happen!
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Post by ianpearson on Jul 19, 2011 10:53:01 GMT -5
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Post by seedywen on Jul 19, 2011 16:28:20 GMT -5
Thanks Ian for the link to your blog photos. Interesting interplantings in your garden for sure. I may try your idea of interplanting pole beans between garlic next year.
In your photos is the garlic nearly ready to pull around the time, the pole beans are starting to climb above them?
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