This week we shift from our winter schedule to start weekly deliveries again. We’ve been planting like crazy in the dry times and enjoying the last down times of the season when the rain keeps us out of the fields. Thank you for letting us grow your vegetables again this year!
Those of you who’ve been with us for awhile know that for several years our Lewis Road neighbor Keith Kimes has kept honey bees on our two farm locations. There have been some difficult times for the bees in recent yearsso it is nice to get this positive report from Keith about the bee hives this year. (There is still some honey from the fall “harvest” available in the web store.)
Beekeeper’s Report
Keith Kimes, Kimes Apiary
Our bees are doing the best they have in years. It is actually a little bit scary that the hives are so strong for this time of year. The unusually warm February caused the hives to grow much earlier than normal and they are about a month ahead of what I expect. Thanks to the cover crop that Steve planted last fall and early bloom of mustard and other wild flowers, I looking toward a honey harvest in early April or late March.
In good years, when resources are abundant, I harvest pollen. Unfortunately the past two drought years prevented any pollen harvest and a number of customers have been very disappointed. This year early resources are abundant and the hives are so strong that I started harvesting pollen March 1, a full month ahead of normal. Few beekeepers collect pollen because the hives should be checked daily and fresh, moist pollen is difficult to process. Though 2/3 of my hives are on the Harkins Slough farm, I only harvest pollen from the Lewis Road hives because they are within walking distance of my home.
Early strong hives can actually be a problem for beekeepers. Part of the honeybees’ reproductive drive is to increase the population of a hive as fast as resources allow. When the hive becomes strong enough and crowded, they raise new queens and cast swarms to create new hives. One of the beekeeper’s efforts is to allow the hive to grow very strong but at the same time prevent them from swarming. A strong hive means a lot of field bees to collect nectar and it is likely that there will be excess honey for the beekeeper. A hive that swarms loses 1/2 or more of its bees to the swarms. Fewer bees make it less likely that there will be any excess of honey for the beekeeper. This year will be very problematic with swarming, but with care, should be very productive. If we continue to get abnormally warm days, I expect the resources to dwindle earlier than “normal” as the ground dries out, but since they started so much earlier than “normal,” it will be a good year. Maybe this will be the beginning of a new “normal.”
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