BY JONATHAN AXE Beekeeping is seasonal so the time needed and activities required vary over the year. The busiest time is the early summer when each hive should be checked weekly to control swarming and ensure bees have enough space to store honey. In the middle of winter there is not much to do, except to check for physical damage or snow blocking the entrances. Throughout the year it is best practice to keep records of each hive so that you can plan effectively and make rational decisions.
BY VAL VIVIAN-GRIFFTHS Beekeeping is a very skilful art and has to be learnt by experience. I am not going to try and tell anyone what to do but hope that the following will help. I make mistakes every season but I’m sure I make a lot fewer now than when I first took up beekeeping.
BY VAL VIVIAN GRIFFITHS It all started at the 2004 Dean Forest AGM. Two thirds of the committee, the secretary, and the chairman, resigned at the meeting leaving only the treasurer who was Jim Vivian-Griffiths. Now who was going to replace these long serving personnel, there were only 19 members after all, and some had not come to the meeting. The result was Marie Toman and I were catapulted into the posts of secretary and chairman.
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October 2017
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