Getting Ready for the Season
May is here and the hives are building fast. A look at what goes into preparing a healthy apiary for the summer ahead.
May is one of the busiest months on the farm. The colonies that made it through winter are building up fast, and there is a lot of work to do to make sure everything is set up for a strong honey season.
Hive Inspections
The first inspections of the season are always exciting. We check each hive for a laying queen, healthy brood patterns, and enough food stores to get the colony through any cold snaps that might still come. This time of year the difference between a strong hive and a struggling one becomes very clear.
Splitting and Expanding
Strong overwintered colonies are great candidates for splits. We use these to make new nucleus colonies — the same nucs we sell to local beekeepers each spring. It keeps our numbers up and gives new beekeepers a head start with bees that are already adapted to the local climate.
Looking Ahead
The canola will be blooming before we know it, and that is when the real honey work begins. For now we are focused on building strong, healthy colonies that are ready to take full advantage of the season when it arrives.
It is a lot of work in a short window, but this is what beekeeping in the Swan River Valley is all about.