Backyard Beekeeping

This weekend's workshop here at Little City Farm was an introductory session on "backyard beekeeping".  We had a local 5th generation beekeeper come to facilitate, discussing the various aspects of beekeeping - getting started (equipment, space, sourcing bees, setting up the bee boxes); trouble shooting (identifying queen cells, watching for swarms, moisture issues, treating for mites, natural approaches to bee health, winter care); harvesting honey (when to remove frames, using extractors, when to use a smoker, what to wear when working with bees)...there is so so much to learn, many more questions to ask, and all seems quite daunting to get started.  However, the world of bees is also entirely fascinating - how each bee has it's valuable role, how organized and efficient and hardworking they are, how tidy in repairing their comb and keeping the hive clean, how well they can communicate with each other, and then how this gorgeous amazing honey is created. During this workshop we all built a frame to practice at least one "hands-on" part of the process, and of course enjoyed tasting delicious honeycomb and goldenrod honey!

A Little Bird Told Me Craft Sale Vendor Profile: Laura's Honey

Over the weeks leading upto our annual handmade holiday craft sale, "A Little Bird Told Me", on Sat, Dec 10, we are highlighting each one of the participating vendors.  Here is a short interview with Laura Stirling, 4th generation beekeeper, of Laura's Honey.

Little City Farm: Describe the products you will have at the Little Bird Sale:

Laura: I will offer gift sized jars of pure raw honey as well as beautiful sections of natural comb, presented in a small decorative container.  There will also be rolled, tapered beeswax candles as well as the "pillar" variety.

Little City Farm: How did you learn this art/craft?

Laura: I am blessed to be the fourth generation of a family of beekeepers.  My great grandfather, Hubert Burke began keeping bees as a profession in the early 1900s.  His son, Douglas Burke continued the tradition, expanding the buisness and managing a large apiary.  My father Randy Burke, began his own apiary in Manitoba and as a little girl I helped my father in his many bee yards.  It was there I learned that bees are a facinating insect, readily approachable and certianly nothing to be afraid of.  I enjoyed watching my father work, helping by smoking the bees, as well as stealing pollen from easily accessable pollen traps!  I recently decided to invest in my own hive and had a profitable first year.  Next year I hope to expand by purchasing additional hives for my bee yard.

Little City Farm: What inspires your art/craft?

Laura: My deep love of the natural world continually inspires my desire to keep bees.  It is very satisfying to open a hive and see freshly drawn out comb, filled with honey produced by the bee who harvests nectar from nearby flowers.  Not to mention pollination, which allows each of us the priviledge of enjoying fresh fruit and vegetables every year.  I love being a part of this natural process.

Little City Farm: Describe how your art/craft is eco-friendly.

Laura: The beekeeper not only harvests the honey, but also concerns themselves with the honey bee's health and well being.  I monitor the health of the brood (young) and regularly check for and if need be, treat for disease.  This promotes the continued health of the honey bee, which as I am sure some of you know, is under some strain right now due to climate change.  Beekeepers are also actively concerned about the use of new genetically modified seed, as some of these seeds are engineered to destroy insects when the fruit is ingested.  Bees consume the pollen of these plants and it is unknown whether they are able to tolerate it.  In addition to this, over the years beekeepers have been an active voice against the use of pesticides, as any pesticide will kill the honey bee. 

Little City Farm: Do you have favorite music to listen to while you work?

Laura: The sounds of the world around me while I work - wind, bees humming and birds!

Find Laura and her beautiful honey and beeswax products at the A Little Bird Told Me Sale, Saturday December 10 at Little City Farm (508 Duke St W, Kitchener). 

We love local honey

A friend and third generation beekeeper called this week to see if we wanted to try some of her newly harvested honey.  She came by with samples of honeycomb that tasted of sweet spring meadows, and two large jars of the most delicate lavender-scented clover honey - and, best of all, she was interested in bartering her delicious honey for our handmade soap and preserves.   She also sells her honey at the Mill-Courtland Community Centre neighbourhood market each week.

Local fresh raw honey arrives!

Last year around this time we hosted a beekeeping workshop led by a beekeeper from the University of Guelph beekeeping lab. Of the 20 or so participants, several went on to do a more intensive full weekend workshop in the spring, and there are now 5-6 new beekeepers in the community. Two of them brought us a jar of their first honey harvest (we felt honoured) - it looks gorgeous - and they said the extraction went off without a hitch. This lovely jar of wild raw honey is almost too beautiful to eat, but we're looking forward to savouring it. The label adds a unique touch, with an artist friend designing it for them (featuring their cat "the discerning dandy" wearing a dandy kind of hat and lounging near some bees)...

Beekeeping co-op locally

Last fall we hosted a beekeeping workshop here at Little City Farm. We had a speaker from the University of Guelph beekeeping lab come to present information on basic beekeeping, demonstrate the various tools, discuss bee care and honey harvest, and ended with a "honey tasting" to sample an array of local honey.

Various workshop participants became inspired and took this very seriously! Several expressed interest in taking the more extensive beekeeping course offered every spring by the Ontario Beekeeping Association, joining a local beekeeping group, and even forming a beekeepers co-op. The beekeepers co-op could share the hive management, costs, tools, bee care, honey harvest, and share knowledge, etc. We've now heard of at least five participants from our fall workshop who have now taken the plunge and ordered bees for this season. The bees arrive in mid June, ordered from a nearby farm, and the rest of the beekeeping supplies can be found at a store in Cambridge (or possibly used through the beekeeping association). We hope to volunteer with one friend, and continue to research the feasibility of keeping bees on our property in the city. Very exciting! Congratulations to the newest K-W beekeepers!

If others locally are interested in more information on this beekeeping co-op, or have beekeepers information to share, contact us at info@littlecityfarm.ca