Well my bees and I had a good first year. I have learned a huge amount but there is so much more to learn and put into practice. I have made some good beekeeping friends and that has been an additional joy. I have put together a review of the year's achievements and some thoughts about the next season. As ever with bees my plans may need modifying!
ACHIEVEMENTS OF FIRST SOLO BEEKEEPING YEAR 2014/15
TARGETS FOR 2015/16
- Tended one colony successfully for twelve months
- Monitored my colony for varroa, treated as necessary and maintained accurate records
- Made two batches of honey soap using hive and garden ingredients
- Won first prize in North London Beekeepers Association Honey Cake competition
- Created a new front garden to provide forage throughout the season
- Created and regularly updated a website with basic information on bees and gardens
- Recorded experiences and progress of my first year of solo beekeeping on a blog
- Refined wax from honey comb and made beeswax candles
- Successfully completed L2 Food Hygiene course and co-wrote notes to help other beekeepers
- Designed labels for honey and candles that comply with legal requirements
- Harvested 28lbs of honey
- Sold £73.40 of hive products
- Contributed to the national Great Bee Count 2014
- Volunteered at two public events and informed the public about honey and bees
- Built a second national hive from a kit
- Attended Kenwood Apiary regularly throughout the beekeeping season and contributed to care of NLBA colonies
- Learnt how to make a bee skep
- Improved knowledge of beekeeping and disease control through reading, attending lectures and demonstrations
- Devised and year plan for caring for my bees and up-dated inspection paperwork
TARGETS FOR 2015/16
- Maintain healthy bee colonies for another twelve months
- Carry out monthly disease checks in addition to varroa mite checks
- Develop honey soap making to include flowers and other natural ingredients (own use)
- Produce high quality wax candles – and not get disqualified for ‘failure to re-light’!
- Bottle jars of chunk honey through controlled wild comb production
- Revise honey jar labels to be more attractive and garden themed
- Harvest and bottle a good quantity of honey
- Sell £100 worth of hive products
- Contribute to Great Bee Count 2015
- Contribute to more educational events on bees and beekeeping
- Continue to improve website e.g. photographs, news section
- Publish monthly blog with more photographs
- Split colony into two without losing the honey crop
- Attend Kenwood regularly and support at least three other beekeepers in their learning
- Successfully achieve the BBKA Basic Assessment in July
RSS Feed
