Introduction to Beekeeping - course dates 2014

Hands up, who wants to take up beekeeping in 2014? We thought you might like to hear about the experience of one of our 2013 students, Simon. (See below...)

Let us know via email if you would like to come and join in - we offer beginner one day taster courses from £95 pp (Max group size 4) and can also provide one-to-one training, set-up and ongoing support - which is what Simon went for.

Available dates for our taster courses are May 24th and July 12th  - cardonaandson@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

Andre and Jane
                           

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As an interested but completely un-initiated wannabee (geddit?), I was slightly downhearted about the traditional path to beekeepery that suggested I would have to spend many hours.. a scarce resource in my life, over many weeks learning about the intricacies of the hive before I could embark on my own apirarism.

Fascinated by the little blighters, It had long been a habit of mine to approach bees - particularly bumble bees - and stroke their enticing hairy backs.. a child brought up with animals and - yes, an apiary run by my late grandfather I was always content to stare at the comings and goings of hive bees from a couple of feet away, safe in the knowledge that they wouldn’t bother me if I didn’t bother them and that I was unlikely to be interrupted by anyone (especially my family who considered the next door garden to be a little/a lot close for comfort).

So, it was certainly on my bucket list but not on my short-term radar as us denizens of office based employment are won’t to describe it.  Imagine my joy then to be recommended to a gentle giant of a man who would teach me what I needed to know to get started and set me up with the wherewithal.  "A neat thought”, I thought.. but how good can this be?  Surely, too to be true!  However, on the recommendation of a friend who had taken the plunge, I picked up the phone on a what-the-hell basis and have never looked back.

Andre Cardona took me gently by my metaphorical hand and led me through the simile of the tangled undergrowth that is the care and husbandry of the (literal) colony.  His knowledge and skill, evident from the start, were both comforting and reassuring.  After a session or two following him around and getting real hands-on experience of hive inspections, queen identification, marking etc. etc. we spent a number of what seemed fleet hours discussing the finer points and preparing for the arrival of my own first hive.  Illustrated with his own pictures, Andre’s explanations of the complexities of hive life and the various basic points were joyful and thankfully not complex.. As well as his excellent company (a man you’ll never forget once met), he prepared me well for the day when, bumping and grinding down my road in his trusty Volvo, he appeared complete with my first hive and colony, my hive tool, bee book and super frames.  Enrolling me in the BBKA - a great move, was the icing on the cake and I really have never looked back.  Although still a beginner (i think you always are), I have kept my bees in good condition and happy - as far as I can tell.  Supported always by Andre’s friendly voice on hand to answer any tricky ones, I have had the most joyous time with my bees (I’m still trying to find names for them all) and relish in the thought that I am helping to support such a vital and charming animal in its sometimes perilous existence in modern Britain.

Go on.. you know you want to! 

SD

Bumper Honey Crop....

After what could only be described as a pretty dire lead up to this Summer for our bees -  a rainy end to the season in 2012, bitterly cold Winter and snowy April -  we have been pleasantly suprised by our best honey harvest yet this season.

Many hours have been spent filling jars full of lovely honey and it seems that all the hard work has finally paid off. (clever bees too obviously...)

As has been widely reported in the press, the prolonged and coldest Winter for over 50 years brought with it big losses of bee colonies. We've thankfully managed to replenish the colonies we lost over the Winter and feel positive about the year ahead.

On another brighter note, more and more of you are taking up beekeeping! We've been busy over the last couple of months training up families and businesses to keep their own hives and have enjoyed hearing about their own first harvests and successes. 

If anyone would like more info on learning more about beekeeping - please get in touch with Andre on 07958 655962 or cardonaandson@gmail.co.uk

Hope you're all enjoying this lovely Summer,

Jane x

Easter....

Just a quick post to say we hope everyone had a fantastic Easter... Ours was spent at home keeping warm! Oh and cooking of course...

Andre managed to check on our bees while the sun was shining (despite the cold they were out foraging!) - its been a hard and long Winter for them but thankfully most have made it through and will be anxious to start getting out there into the Spring flowers. We topped up their feed with some fondant which should set them right until the weather warms up a bit.

Santi kept busy painting some colourful bird boxes which we've started to put up outside - hopefully we'll have a garden full of sunshine and birds and bees very soon... (All fingers crossed!) 

Piglets for sale!

We've got 11 lovely Saddleback piglets for sale from our prize winning sow 'Scoops' a mix of female and male - already chubby and 10 weeks old - Saddlebacks are great porkers and make excellent meat. If you're new to rearing pigs we can help with lots of advice too...

Piglets can be sold with or without Pedigree papers - we can arrange delivery for a small fee too.

Give Andre a call on 07958 655962 to discuss...

Hope all your Chrissie preparations are going well - Don't forget to order your Christmas hams soon! (Not many left now)

Jane and Andre x

Bee Update... 2012 Season

We've had an interesting year with the bees - well that is a slight understatement! As was widely reported amongst bee circles all over the UK it was the worst Summer for over 100 years. Some would argue it wasn't really a Summer at all - and I think the bees would agree!

Because of all the rain it made it nigh on impossible for our bees to forage as they normally would - they ended up being stuck in their hives alot of the time - The little honey they did bring in they had to use for food, we had to keep a very close eye on them to make sure they had enough food and didn't end up starving. One week I would check up and see some full frames of honey, then the next it would be all gone! It was certainly up and down like this all Summer.

We managed two harvests from all the hives during the season regardless, but the yeild was much, much lower than usual. Funnily enough it seems like over the last month the bees have brought more honey into their hives than during the whole Summer put together!

I was still busy collecting swarms (some even out of chimneys!) - but they didn't tend to fare so well once I'd settled them into their new hives - either losing the Queen (lost on her mating flight) or she wasn't able to mate for one reason or another. That was really disappointing as I really try my hardest to look after all the girls.

Now is the time to settle the bees in for the Winter - They've all been fed with sugar fondant to keep their stores up, I've put mouse guards on and reduced the size of the entrance to stop any little creatures robbing the hives. I've also added weights to the rooves to stop the Winter wind blowing them over. I'll be checking them once a month during the Winter to make sure they're OK - fingers crossed they'll all be safe and sound and we'll have a better season next year!

Venison, Apples and Pie!

Some more of what we've been up to recently.... 

We were very lucky to be given some venison - which begged the question 'What to cook?' Well, sausages of course! We made a mixture of Pork and Venison - one batch with a little white wine and paprika and the other batch plain - so we could get a good meaty taste. Both were delicious!

 Here's our Venison - all ready for mincing...

 Venison, Pork and some fat minced ready for the sausage mix...

 These were the paprika ones which had a lovely dark reddish colour

 And finally, separating into sausages... Still haven't mastered the art of stringing them together to hang.. Need some lessons on that front.

We're also lucky enough to live opposite some very old orchards which are part of Fairfield Park - There are so many trees which are always laden with fruit. The boys headed over with the wheelbarrow to collect some. Most of these were juiced and made into cider for Christmas - but we kept some aside so I could try out a simple Apple Pie recipe I saw on the telly recently...

 This was the finished product and they didn't last long! Apples were chopped up and stewed with some cinnamon and brown sugar - recipe says to add lemon zest and ground ginger too. Then left to cool before adding to squares of puff pastry and baked in an oven for 20 mins. They were crunchy and buttery and smelt amazing - I highly recommend it, so easy :-)