07 June 2022

June In the Apiary

If you made some nuclei, do keep an eye on them. Small colonies can quickly run out of space, in which case remove a full frame and replace it with one of foundation. Also, if there is no forage or bad weather, they can starve. Beekeeping books often tell of ‘the June gap’. This is the period when the spring flowers are over, and the summer ones have not started flowering en-masse. For the last two years, we have not had that gap here in the east. As soon as the oilseed rape (OSR) supers were extracted and returned for the bees to clean out, they began re-filling. I think the crop was from hawthorn, and not long after that, the brambles began. Sweet chestnut can also be a good crop. We have none close by, so in past years we have moved colonies to them. When preparing honey for sale, a 30lb bucket of OSR with a 10lb bucket of a mix of sweet chestnut and bramble makes an excellent honey. Vintners and tea tasters mix for a better taste and so do I. I must admit though, I a...

from British Beekeepers Association https://ift.tt/GX18k5q
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