What Should I Be Doing With My Bees This Month?

Monday, August 8, 2016

Volunteer at the fair

Beekeeper Steve Buck talks to a civilian about bees. That is the best part. Even a first year beekeeper knows more than the general public about bees. Don't be hesitant, it is fun.

Please consider volunteering at the MN State Fair. This is the Minnesota Beekeepers crown jewel. Beekeepers can show off their industry. The large number of fair goers coming through the Bee display is astounding. Positive public awareness leads to public support for protecting all pollinators. The fair staff can really use some help on setup and bee interpreters. I can't state enough how positive this experience this is. Wendy and I have volunteered at the fair for over twenty years. It is something we look forward to and it is always a great time.
On the sign up page on the link below, click the link. Click on the sign up box in the date and time slot you want and the box will have a green check mark in the box. At the bottom of the page there is a black box that says submit and sign up. Click that and that takes you to the sign up page. Fill out the highlighted boxes. Under comments I just wrote our names. It is required to write something, some folks wrote their initials. Dave needs your address, if you sign up before the 15th he will send you a free ticket to get into the fair. Wendy and I signed up twice so Dave is sending us to the fair for free.

From Dave Schaaf MN State Fair Bee Exhibit Supervisor:
The Minnesota State Fair is just over two weeks away. We're looking forward to sharing the fascinating world of honey bees with 1.8 million fair-goers

If you're still considering volunteering at the Bee & Honey Show, please check your calendar and sign up soon. A couple things to point out...

* Volunteers especially needed Labor Day weekend, Sept 2 - 5. This are the busiest days of fair, with more people looking at our exhibits and asking questions than any other time. It's your last chance to have this much fun until 2017!

* Lots of help still needed pre-fair, as we're getting everything ready for opening day. We're having a cleaning party this Saturday, Aug 13, from 9am until 1pm. Also need many helpers Aug 22 - 24, the last three days before the fair opens.

* If you'd like to get a State Fair admission ticket in the mail, you need to register by Monday Aug 15. That's when I print the list and assemble volunteer packets. You can still sign up after that date, but I won't be able to mail you a ticket.

Signup pages:

     Pre-fair Bee & Honey Show preparation http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0544aaa92aa2ff2-prefair

     Exhibit hall interpreters during the fair http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0544aaa92aa2ff2-beehoney

Thank you for supporting the Bee & Honey Show. See you at the fair!

-David Schaaf
Bee & Honey Dept.

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Extracting Workshop

We will be having our annual extracting workshop again this year. It is limited to 40 beekeepers. If you have been to this workshop before no repeats. Please give a newbee a chance.

Uncapping and extracting honey

Master Beekeeper Bob Sitko explains how to pull honey

When: Sunday August 14, 1 pm - 3 pm Cost: Free
Where: Nature's Nectar LLC Honey House
What: We will be demonstrating how to pull honey, methods of extracting honey, bottling honey, how to winter your bees. This is a hands on work shop. You are expected to get a little sticky.
Please RSVP by phone or email. Limited to 40 beekeepers. Please no small children.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

3 frame extractors

This is a video of three frame extractors, hand crank or motorized.
Nature's Nectar LLC sells these extractors. We do rent the hand crank three frame for $30.00 a day.

9 - 18 extractor

This is a video of a 9 - 18 frame radial extractor.
This is one of the style extractors that Nature's Nectar LLC sells.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

The MN State Fair

Honey on display at the MN State Fair. The black honey is Buckwheat honey and is considered Amber in color, The reddish colored honey is Light Amber in color. The lighter colored honey in the rest of the photo is considered White honey.

The great Minnesota get together is coming in a few weeks. Beekeepers have a wonderful opportunity to show your honey to the state of Minnesota.
Entering honey in the fair competition is fun and all your fiends and family will go to the honey display to look at your honey.
There are two classes to enter in many honey categories novice and open class.
The honey booth is a huge draw for the general public and beekeepers can promote the beekeeping industry by participating by entering some honey.
MN State Fair Competition Page
Download the Premium Book Ag-Hort-Bee Premium Book
Read the Premium book about the different classes to enter. If you have never won a ribbon you can enter the novice class. If you have won a ribbon, the open class is for you. Follow the directions in the class you are entering.
You need to register by 4:30 pm August 15th.
It is best to have your honey bottled several days before the entry is to be delivered to the fair. Nature's Nectar LLC carries all the bottles for the fair and can offer tips on how your entry should look.
Did I mention that you can win some prize money?
If you win a ribbon, you can say that your award winning honey is the best in the State of MN.

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Where we are at in the nectar flow

The nectar flow has been decreasing in intensity. Many summer flower are going away. New late summer flowers are coming online. Goldenrod, Purple Loosestrife, Joe Pye weed, Sunflower, and Alfalfa will start blooming again. At this stage of the nectar flow I usually look at my supers and I hold off on putting more supers on. Letting the bees fill up partially filled supers before adding more supers. If the supers are 3/4 full, I will add one super at that time.