On Saturday three of us from North London Beekeepers went to a course on Food Hygiene run by Barnet Beekeepers. It is important that any honey sold should be safe to eat so no chemicals, bits of dead bee or any other horrors. At the end of the day we took the level 2 qualification and I will post the outcome when I know. I haven't poisoned anyone yet but there are a few people I might want to ...................
As the weather was awful I wrote up my notes on safe and healthy beekeeping and honey bottling which I sent to my colleagues for comment. It is always good to write up notes immediately after a training event as one either fails to get round to it, or when you do the original scribbles do not make any sense. I doubt that my bees will give me enough honey to sell this year but I might as well train myself in best practice before bad habits creep in.
I also used rainy days to put together a 'swarm kit' with essential equipment and a step by step guide of what to do. If you have a swarm there is no time to go shopping or start Googling! I thus have a new Apidea (mating hive) from Thornes, water spray, white sheet and cardboard box. Lets hope I don't need them anytime soon. Probably the best bit of swarm kit is the 'phone number of an experienced beekeeper.
I went to the Kenwood Apiary today and my little hive looks fine with busy bees. I couldn't find the queen but as there is brood in all stages of development and the workers were not agitated I think that things are probably fine, but I would like to see her next week. We then had the excitement of a swarm from the apiary high up in an elderflower tree which resulted in ladders, boxes, secateurs and eventually the swarm captured and put into a new hive. Definitely not a job to do on your own even if you know what you are doing.
As the weather was awful I wrote up my notes on safe and healthy beekeeping and honey bottling which I sent to my colleagues for comment. It is always good to write up notes immediately after a training event as one either fails to get round to it, or when you do the original scribbles do not make any sense. I doubt that my bees will give me enough honey to sell this year but I might as well train myself in best practice before bad habits creep in.
I also used rainy days to put together a 'swarm kit' with essential equipment and a step by step guide of what to do. If you have a swarm there is no time to go shopping or start Googling! I thus have a new Apidea (mating hive) from Thornes, water spray, white sheet and cardboard box. Lets hope I don't need them anytime soon. Probably the best bit of swarm kit is the 'phone number of an experienced beekeeper.
I went to the Kenwood Apiary today and my little hive looks fine with busy bees. I couldn't find the queen but as there is brood in all stages of development and the workers were not agitated I think that things are probably fine, but I would like to see her next week. We then had the excitement of a swarm from the apiary high up in an elderflower tree which resulted in ladders, boxes, secateurs and eventually the swarm captured and put into a new hive. Definitely not a job to do on your own even if you know what you are doing.