It's wintertime here at Honey Rustlin' Farms. Although outsiders may think this is a time for beekeepers to relax, it's actually a pretty busy, critical time of preparation for the upcoming season. This is when we build our beehive equipment, purchase beekeeping supplies, clean up the honey house, and plan for the upcoming spring. To not prepare now can be very detrimental later.
The same applies to other beekeepers. If you are a new beekeeper who has not yet purchased your first bee hive, winter is the time to place a down payment on your first bees. But many new beekeepers do not know how to go about doing this. Here's some pointers to help you out:
If at all possible, try to purchase bees from a local beekeeper in your state. This is important, since local bees will be acclimated to your weather conditions and there's less chance of bringing in outside diseases and pests. Plus, you'll have someone nearby to call on if you need assistance.
Learn all you can now, before making your first purchase. There's good information for new beekeepers online and at bookstores.
Consider purchasing your bee hive equipment in the winter, before you buy your bees. This allows you to set up the beekeeping equipment and learn all about the different components in the hive you purchase. Find a reputable beekeeping equipment business to purchase from, preferably someone who is a beekeeper himself.
Avoid bee packages. Packaging bees is stressful for the bees and the queens. Most businesses that package bees throw bees together from many different hives and an outside queen is introduced.
We recommend purchasing a Nuc hive. A Nuc is a small scale version of a regular hive. The bees are split off from the same larger hive and usually 5 frames of honey, brood, and pollen are included. This gives them a big boost in the spring, since they don't need to go out immediately and find a food source. Bees from bee packages, on the other hand, are forced to fly out, find nectar, and reproduce as soon as possible in order to survive.
Place a down payment on your bees in the winter, long before the spring season begins. Bees sell out fast in our area, so If you wait too long, you may not be able to get them!
Good luck to all those starting in beekeeping this year. With proper preparation, you will have a successful start to your new hobby. If all goes well, you may even get some honey this summer!
Eileen Ranck, and her husband, Nevin, own Honey Rustlin' Farms, a Virginia apiary that sells beekeeping equipment, bee hives, nucs, and bee supplies. They are located 45 minutes north of the North Carolina line in central, south Virginia. You can purchase your bees and beekeeping equipment from them by visiting their website at http://www.honeyrustler.com or calling them at (toll free) 866-587-3362.
They also own a fence construction business at http://www.qualityhorsefence.com
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11 Most Unbelievable Honey Benefits That Many People Don't Know
Here are eleven most incredible benefits of honey that many people don't know. Check how many of them you actually know.
1. Honey is the only sweetener that isn't man-made and has healing effects.
2. With about 18% water and a pH of 3-4, honey is very stable and can last for literally centuries when stored properly.
3. While empty calories from refined sugar contribute health issues and obesity, honey reduces fatty accumulations in our cardiovascular system.
4. Unlike refined table sugar or sucrose, honey does not ferment in our stomach to pose any danger of bacterial invasion.
5. Honey is a monosaccharide, the simplest form of sugar that cannot be further broken down, passing directly from the small intestine into the blood stream without causing any irritancy to our digestive system as sucrose does.
6. The most ideal fuel for burning our body fat stores during sleep due to its 1:1 ratio of fructose and glucose.
7. As the most superior burn treatment, honey relieves pain effectively and heals wound faster with minimal scarring.
8. Honey contains vitamins and antioxidants; in fact one unique antioxidant called "pinocembrin" is only found in honey.
9. According to researchers, honey is a more effective and safer remedy for children's coughs than over-the-counter medicines.
10. Doctor D.C. Jarvis, author of "Folk Medicine" advised that mixing the apple cider vinegar with honey would enhance the healing power of the vinegar.
11. Anabolic honey, a concentrated source of fructose, glucose, is a preferred sweetener choice for athletes.
Eat honey, a good old-fashioned food designed by nature for us human beings!
Ruth Tan runs the popular website Benefits of Honey which is an immensely rich, quality resource on honey and its benefits, and a plethora of health-related issues. Discover the amazing health benefits and all the positive spin-offs super-food honey can bring to your life and the lives of your loved ones at http://www.benefits-of-honey.com |
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Cooking With Honey-Useful Facts And Tips
Cooking with honey gives you a never-ending list of possibilities and recipes due to the many practical functions honey could serve. Here I list you seven:
Honey
1) enhances browning and crisp -- great for glazing roasted and baked foods to promote surface browning.
2) is a flavour enhancer -- an always welcomed natural sweetener for hot teas and cold beverages.
3) provides texture and feel -- an excellent addition in pastries and cakes making.
4) prolongs shelf-life -- a natural preservative for pickles and sauces.
5) retains moisture -- an essential ingredient for providing the moisture in rich cakes and prolonging the moisture retention.
6) is binding due to its viscosity -- a brilliant ingredient that aids shaping of desserts such as pastries, puddings, and cakes.
7) adds colour -- contributes a delightful golden hue to sauces, dressings, jellies, and frozen desserts.
And there are several tips on cooking with honey which I believe you will find very useful:
1. As a general guide, when using honey recipes, use less of honey because it is almost twice as sweet as sugar. Replace one cup of sugar for half a cup of honey, and because honey is hygroscopic (meaning it attracts water) , reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey added.
2. Give longer time for beating and more vigorous beating compared to sugar recipes, and when baking with honey.
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used. This will neutralize honey's acidity and help the food rise.
4. Reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Honey batter becomes crisp and browns faster than sugar batter.
5. When using honey in jams, jellies, or candies, increase the cooking temperature just a bit to allow the extra liquid to evaporate.
6. The floral variety of the honey should be considered when cooking with honey since honey will impart some of its flavour.
Source: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/cooking-with-honey.html
Honeyed Yogurt Cereal Topping
Try this for a change on hot cereal or granola.
8fl oz (220 ml) Plain low-fat yoghurt
1 Tablepoonful of your honey
half a Ripe Banana
half teaspoonful vanilla extract
Pinch of nutmeg
Blend together all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Cooking with Honey
The most important thing to remember when using honey in cookery is that it has a high liquid content, and compensation must be made by slightly reducing the other liquids in the recipe. Also it is best, when possible, to add honey towards the end of the cooking to avoid altering its flavours.
One cupful (10 fluid ounces) of honey weighs 15 ounces.
To Substitute honey for sugar in a given recipe, reduce the amount of sweetener called for by a least one-fourth (up to a half, according to your taste), and reduce the liquid in the recipe by one-eighth.
Most cakes, with the exception of spice breads and some dense honey cakes, do not adapt well to honey. It is too heavy, and your cakes will be dense, with no fine crumb. It does, however, give breads a good texture and a longer shelf life. When baking with honey, be careful not to overheat your oven – Gas Mark 6 to Gas mark 7 – because honey will darken and caramelize quickly.
Honey foams dramatically when it reaches boiling point, so use a large saucepan for syrups.
To facilitate measuring, oil or butter measuring spoons and cups (this way it won’t stick), and heat solid honey gently in a bain marie.
Honey is at its peak flavour when freshly harvested, so the autumn is the best time to sample and purchase it.
Storing Honey
Honey will keep in a well-sealed jar for up to two years if stored in a cool, dark place. Once opened it is best to consume it fairly quickly, although it still has a long life. Do not refrigerate, and do not keep in a warm cupboard. If the honey develops a foamy surface it has turned, and should be thrown out.
Honey-Poached Pears
¾ pint dry white wine (preferably Chablis or Chardonnay)
4 fl oz (110ml) honey
1 teaspoonful vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla pod
2 tablespoonfuls lemon juice
4 firm ripe pears
1 tablespoonful chopped fresh mint
Combine the white wine, honey, vanilla and lemon juice in a non-aluminium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and maintain at a simmer.
Peel, quarter and core the pears and drop immediately into the simmering wine. Simmer 15 minutes. Drain and pour the liquid back into the saucepan.
Boil down the wine for about 10 minutes, or until you have about a cupful, and it is thick and amber coloured.
Place the pears in a serving bowl and pour in the wine. Serve warm or chilled, garnished with mint. These can be refrigerated overnight.
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Basic Beekeeping Tools - What Do You Really Need?
When you first start a beekeeping business you may feel overwhelmed with the huge amount of choices you have when it comes to beekeeping equipment. There are a lot of beekeeping product suppliers, and unless you are familiar with the basic equipment you will need, you won't know what basic beekeeping tools you will need, and which you won't. In this article, we will go over the basic equipment you need, and what you absolutely must have, and what you can do without.
-The Most Important Equipment is the Hive-
First you need to think about the hives you get. The hive is the absolute most important piece of equipment you have, and you need to take the time to educate yourself and find the right hive for your needs, the type of beekeeping you want and the area you are in.
When you choose your bee hive you can't let the cost affect your decision. You need to choose a hive that is well constructed, made of quality wood. If you can find red cedar, all the better. You see, cedar smells good and is also very attractive. Pine is also used for hives but it isn't as stable as other types of wood. Hives that are made of cedar will not warp and the oils keep the wood very stable.
Once you have looked at different types of hives and asked other local beekeepers what the best hive is for your area, and have chosen the one you want, then its time to go on and look for other equipment.
-The Bees Themselves-
At this point you will need to decide on whether or not you plan on buying a bee colony, or whether you plan on harvesting a swarm. It is easier to buy them, and less dangerous and risky than harvesting them, although it is a little more expensive too.
-The Smoker-
Your next essential item is the "smoker." This item is what allows you to check the hive without being stung. A puff or two of smoke calms the bees down and lets you check the hive while they are disoriented. The smoker allows you to manage the hives safely. When you don't use one, you need to have a top-bar hive, or you risk the chance of being stung.
-Protective Apparel-
You should also get some protective clothing like a bee suit so that you protect yourself from being stung, while you work on the hives. The protective clothing also keeps the honey bees from getting into your clothing. Not only that, but a bee suit will also keep you cooler when you work in the sun.
-Hive Tools and Gloves-
You need to use hive tools to extract the honey and the wax from the hive, you also need the tools to open the hive up. Hive tools come in handy for everything you need that relates to hives.
Gloves are also an item that you might consider getting. Gloves will keep bees from stinging your hands and wrists. They will also help you keep bees from going up into your skin, and stinging you.
Other smaller items you will need are bee feed and honey comb supplies, which the supplier can help you acquire. Essentially that is all the equipment you will need to start your beekeeping business. As you can see, for a business, the investment is minimal. This is good news if you are looking for a home based business that will bring in that extra income you need.
-The Most Important Equipment is the Hive-
First you need to think about the hives you get. The hive is the absolute most important piece of equipment you have, and you need to take the time to educate yourself and find the right hive for your needs, the type of beekeeping you want and the area you are in.
When you choose your bee hive you can't let the cost affect your decision. You need to choose a hive that is well constructed, made of quality wood. If you can find red cedar, all the better. You see, cedar smells good and is also very attractive. Pine is also used for hives but it isn't as stable as other types of wood. Hives that are made of cedar will not warp and the oils keep the wood very stable.
Once you have looked at different types of hives and asked other local beekeepers what the best hive is for your area, and have chosen the one you want, then its time to go on and look for other equipment.
-The Bees Themselves-
At this point you will need to decide on whether or not you plan on buying a bee colony, or whether you plan on harvesting a swarm. It is easier to buy them, and less dangerous and risky than harvesting them, although it is a little more expensive too.
-The Smoker-
Your next essential item is the "smoker." This item is what allows you to check the hive without being stung. A puff or two of smoke calms the bees down and lets you check the hive while they are disoriented. The smoker allows you to manage the hives safely. When you don't use one, you need to have a top-bar hive, or you risk the chance of being stung.
-Protective Apparel-
You should also get some protective clothing like a bee suit so that you protect yourself from being stung, while you work on the hives. The protective clothing also keeps the honey bees from getting into your clothing. Not only that, but a bee suit will also keep you cooler when you work in the sun.
-Hive Tools and Gloves-
You need to use hive tools to extract the honey and the wax from the hive, you also need the tools to open the hive up. Hive tools come in handy for everything you need that relates to hives.
Gloves are also an item that you might consider getting. Gloves will keep bees from stinging your hands and wrists. They will also help you keep bees from going up into your skin, and stinging you.
Other smaller items you will need are bee feed and honey comb supplies, which the supplier can help you acquire. Essentially that is all the equipment you will need to start your beekeeping business. As you can see, for a business, the investment is minimal. This is good news if you are looking for a home based business that will bring in that extra income you need.
The Buzz on Making Bees Wax!
From all of us at http://www.kissmybees.com/ we welcome you to another bee article! Many people who use our candles and lip balms occasionally ask us "Where Do You Get Your Bees Wax From?" and also "How Does Bees Wax Get Made?". Well we are here to answer those questions today.
Our Bees Wax candles are made out of 100% pure beeswax with no additives. We get our beeswax mostly from local Florida bee-keepers. The beekeepers are the ones who house and support the bee colonies and as a result produce honey and bee wax. Below is a perfect description from our friends at The Bees Wax Co. on the formation of beeswax by honey bees.
It all begins on a flower in the field. Bees collect nectar from the flowers and bring it to the hive where it becomes either beeswax or honey. A bee's diet consists primarily of honey, and any honey not consumed by the bees or in the raising of brood is stored as surplus and is ultimately consumed in the winter months when no flowers are available. It is the other use of honey that is of interest to us here: the conversion into beeswax.
The production of beeswax is essential to the bee colony. It is used to construct the combs in which the bees raise their brood and into which they store pollen and surplus honey for the winter.
Worker bees, which live only around 35 days in the summer, develop special wax-producing glands on their abdomens (inner sides of the sternites of abdominal segments 4 to 7) and are most efficient at wax production during the 10th through the 16th days of their lives. From about day 18 until the end of its life, a bee's wax glands steadily decline. The bees consume honey (6-8 pound of honey are need to produce a pound of wax) causing the special wax-producing glands to covert the sugar into wax which is extruded through small pores. The wax appears as small flakes on the bees' abdomen. At this point the flakes are essentially transparent and only become white after being chewed. It is in the mastication process that salivary secretions are added to the wax to help soften it. This also accounts for its change in color.
The exact process of how a bee transfers the wax scales from its abdomen to its mandibles was a mystery for years. It's now known to be done in either of two ways. Most of the activities in the hive are cooperative so it should be no surprise that other worker bees are willing to oblige and remove the wax scales from their neighbors and then chew them. The other method is for the same bee extruding the wax to process her own wax scales. This is done using one hind leg to move a wax scale to the first pair of legs (forelegs). A foreleg then makes the final transfer to the mandibles where it is masticated and then applied to the comb being constructed or repaired.
Beeswax becomes soft and very pliable if the temperature is too high (it actually melts at 149 F). Likewise, it becomes brittle and difficult to manage if the temperature is too low. However, honeybees maintain their hive at a temperature of around 95 degreesFahrenheit which is just perfect for the manipulation of beeswax: not to hot to be at the point of dripping and not to cold to so as to be brittle.
A honeycomb constructed from beeswax is nothing short of a triumph of engineering. It consists of hexagon shaped cylinders (six-sided) that fit naturally side-by-side. It has been definitively proven by mathematicians that by making the cells into hexagons, it is the very most efficient: the smallest possible amount of wax is used for the volume of honey it contains. It has also been shown to be one of the strongest possible shapes while using the least amount of material.
The color of beeswax comprising a comb is at first white and then darkens with age and use. This is especially true if it is used to raise brood. Pigmentation in the wax can result in colors ranging from white, through shades of yellow, orange, and red all the way to brown. The color has no significance as to the quality of the wax (other than its aesthetic appeal).
Try one of our famous Florida Bees Wax Lip Balms or one of our hand-poured beeswax candles for a true treat any time! Shop onlineat http://www.floridaherbhouse.com/, or http://www.sharpweblabs.com/! We welcome your questions always! :-)