Organic Beekeeping Course Practical

Bee hives were being introduced to the local agricultural college with the objective being that they are good environmental scensors. I am a little concerned for them having been told by the tutor that the college still uses the chemical that has been banned from France due to colony collapse mentioned in my previous beekeeping post. The tutors at the college are trying to get the powers that be to change to organic methods but they are encountering some resistance. It is through supporting courses such as this organic beekeeping course that may persuade them to change. Let's hope so.
The session started with a novel way of fitting the wax sheets into the frames using a 2 Euro section of wire attached to the car battery. This was then attached to the metal threads running through the wax which expanded as it was heated fitting it snuggly in place. Biodynamic beekeepers prefer to let the bees make their own wax rather than buy in foundation, which seems to make sense to me and what I would like to give them a chance to do
in the future as it seems a natural part of their process.



Here a practical solution for the lone beekeeper is being demonstrated as the Supers can get heavy. To be honest it seemed to be a bit too much hastle for my liking.

Here you can see frames being transfered from the nucleus (a small colony of bees divided this year) to a full sized hive.

This frame is loaded with honey stores - just the thing to get the bees through winter.

Here you can see a frame with brood on being held up to the sunlight. We were not fortunate enought to spot the queen despite several experienced beekeepers being with us. I had failed to spot my own a couple of days before so didn't feel such a novice.

One colony of bees happily marched up into their new hive which was probably an indication that they could sense that the queen was already in their. The other colonly had to be persuaded to get going with a little bit of smoke.

The course has been really useful to link up with other organic beekeepers some with many years of experience who have already invited me to go and visit their apiaries and use their extractors when I need to. I have learnt beekeeping vocabulary in Gallego and Spanish and more importantly I have learnt how crucial it is to go organic and give bees a chance to build up a natural resistance rather than bombard them with antibiotics and chemicals at the first sign of trouble.

Young Beekeeper, masonry stoves and Transition Totnes

Can you spot the young beekeeper? Having looked on the Internet to find that beekeeper suits for youngsters cost £40 + we improvised. Not practical but for observing the bees coming and going it was perfect. While we sat watching the bees do their stuff we saw one of them throwing out a coddling moth grub - at least I think it was. No sooner had it been thrown out than a wasp desended upon it and seemed to make a meal of it.

My copy of the Permaculture magazine arrived today and it makes great reading. We have been looking at masonry stoves as an ecological option to heat our home but the costs have placed them out of our reach so to see a home build example in the magazine was perfect timing. If your're interested then look at http://www.envisioneer.net/ is the website of the reader who sent it in.

It was also great to read about the progress of Totnes as a Transition Town and all the positive things that are happening there particularly the beginnings of their own local currency. Wouldn't it be great if each town had its own currency! More local buying - more local enterprise - more people looking at living sustainably? To know more take a look at

www.transitionculture.org

Polytunnels and potatoes!

I gave a friend some chilli pepper plants back in Spring. She is fortunate enough to have a large polytunnel and I couldn't believe the difference in growth between her plants and mine so I decided to do a mini polytunnel using what I could find. The big one comes later! I am the least practical person known to my friends who are a little suprised at what I'm doing. I picked up a piece of tubing and a metal pipe. Cut the metal pipe in four and the tubing in two and together with an old plastic sheet had the makings of a polytunnel. Can you use a hacksaw to cut metal? Is that what they are for? It worked. Ok so it sags a little in the middle but it does the job.

Slight back ache yesterday after recovering from helping my neighbour get his potatoes in. I never imagined there were so many in his little plot. The so called small ones that we separated out for his pigs would have been sold as good new potatoes back home. He kindly gave me two large sacks of potatoes that will see us through winter and beyond and I was then fed the usual galician empanada (meat pie), roast lamb, salad and organic red wine. I then had to attend my organic beekeeping course which was in Gallego and for some strange reason (the wine?) I understood perfectly!

Busy Bees

I attended a free course at the local agricultural school. It was all in Gallego and not Spanish so it was fortunate that I had some knowledge of what they were talking about having done a beekeeping course at Derby Agricultural college. It was about organic beekeeping and I have registered to become part of the organic beekeepers of Spain. I was interested to know how they treat Varoa and Foul Brood diseases using organic methods. In Derbyshire there was a great deal of worry about the spread of the Foul Brood diseases which had hit neighbouring Leicestershire before I left so they were waiting for the first signs of it. In the UK the procedure if you felt there was something of these diseases in your hive is to notify the man from the ministry of agriculture who was assigned specifically for beekeepers. If the worst fears were confirmed then the hive and equipment would be burnt. Here the only person you inform is the vet who will give you a prescription for penicillin. Apparently it is not a cheap treatment and any honey that comes off such a hive would be sold as Galician honey rather than as organic because it would have been treated with antibiotics etc. The disease spreads via spores which can remain active for decades. What they have said is that we will experience this disease here as it is now endemic and although people are supposed to report that they have it not everyone does. Because of the threat of forest fires any equipment that is disposed of is buried in the ground. They also recommended the open floors for the hives in deterring the varoa mite which is what Steve Rose of the Derbyshire Beekeepers has been doing for some time now. Interestingly varoa originated in the forests of Asia where they have not been treated for it and where the bee colonies have not been wiped out. The view of the agricultural technician leading the course is we need to help bees build up a resistance through good practise and selective breeding and not through the use of chemicals and medicines. To be an organic beekeeper you have to be at least 3km away from any form of intensive farming. I wonder how easy this would be in the UK? It seems to have a lot in common with biodynamic beekeeping which I'm also looking at.

Today, as I went to empty the compost bucket on the compost heap I heard a tremendous buzzing. I looked up to see the ivy that covers the wall in flower and a swarm of bees enjoying this late and important provider of nectar.


I was about to start feeding my bees to build them up for winter but they said no sugar syrup is allowed. If you must feed them it must be organic honey. It does make sense but as the colonies are new and I've yet to take honey off them I will have to see if I can find some honey.

The different diseases/illnesses etc that the bees could go down with was quite depressing. I think the most disturbing and one which shows just how sensitive bees are to man's meddling with nature is Colony Collapse Disorder. Please view the following link for this very worrying sign of something being very wrong! http://www.bbka.org.uk/articles/imidacloprid.php Also check out the following link of this very interesting organisation http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/info/info/enviro/the-need-for-organic-beek.shtml A recent article in the Times on line also asks people to wake up http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/ben_macintyre/article2231321.ece This is a very good reason to make sure we get our plant seeds from organic sources and not just off the shelf from any outlet. It has certainly made me think about some sunflowers I planted from a pack that I picked up and I certainly won't be doing so again. I usually stick to HDRA seeds where possible.

I do worry that I will miss the signs of one of these illnesses as I am relatively new to the world of beekeeping but I've been told that as long as I check the hives regularly I should begin to notice if things go array.

Apparently Germany are the leaders in honey production and investigation. It was their analysis of honey that led to Chinese honey being banned for two years from the EU due to high traces of antibiotics along with honey from other countries. Please buy organic or biodynamic honey wherever you can. I am convinced having attended this course that it is the only way we can help the bees to survive these diseases and enable them to build up some kind of resistance.

Rudolf Steiner gave eight lectures about bees, which he considered to be more important to agriculture than any of the domesticated species because of their vital work in pollinating crops. Albert Einstein considered them so vital that he predicted an early end to human life on earth should the honey bee become extinct.

Blackberry jam and Apple Pectin

There is no artificial pectin here to make the jam set so I collected up a bag of windfall apples which I had been feeding to the neighbours sheep and set about trying to make my own pectin. It took a long time to cook them down to an apple sauce like structure and then not having any muslin to strain it through over night I had to sacrifice a white T shirt.

The jam still came out a little bit on the runny side after using the pectin but I think that is more to do with my impatience with the boiling process. Next is cider making. Most apples are left on the trees to drop as people seem to want to buy shiny, waxy, tastless varieties from the shops than pick their own. My uncle has a simple yet effective cider recipe so get ready for some explosions!

An Inconvenient Truth

I was given a copy of the Al Gore documentary on climate change - I know it's been around a while but I've only just got to watch it now. It's something you want everyone to watch. An image I couldn't get out of my mind after the film is that of the polar bears they have found drowned because they are having to swim further and further to find ice to land on. If you haven't yet seen it (or was I the only one?) then make an effort to get hold of a copy.

I have introduced the 'Piss Bucket' in the bathroom which means we don't need to pull the chain on the toilet anymore which requires the electricity to power the water pump to refill the toilet. Instead we use the bucket and empty the contents on the compost heap - anything else we still use the toilet for until we build our own dry composting toilet. I'm looking forward to reading my next copy of Permaculture Works as there is an article on what to do with our urine.

Monday 10 September

I've just been up to the bees to treat them for varoa - a little mite that has wiped out most of the bees in Europe. The idea is that if they are treated now in the Autumn they stand a better chance of getting through the winter. The varoa strips were different here. Whereas in the UK they are flexible and can be bent over the frame to hold them here they were completely rigid so just the comb was supporting them. The idea is that the bees will become treated as they walk over the strips and the mites will drop off. Maybe the strips are slightly different here as well because I had read that the mite had become resistant to some treatments. I have to remove the strips after so many weeks which is what a lot of people have not done hence they have built up a resistance.

The experiment with no wheat and no tea has been failing. I enjoy making bread and enjoy eating it even more but at least I'm making my own - now don't be rude, yest that is a loaf of bread in the picture. I managed to cut out the tea but find by mid-morning I'm looking for an excuse to have a large milky coffee! What I have stuck to has been going raw up to midday thanks mainly to the variety of fruit and juices and milkshakes.

In the garden the pumkins are coming in. I chose a variety from HDRA for their flavour rather than size but I've yet to taste them. I've got potatoes coming out of my ears from all my neighbours and my neighbours who come to stay here in the village where they grew up have been visiting for the fiestas and have given me a basket of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes. Have to find time to do something with it all!

Talking of fiestas there was a big one this weekend at a place called Cadeiras. Now Cadeiras is a beauty spot on a hill with picnic tables a church and a bar. It is usually deserted but this weekend it was packed. I went along with some English friends but we decided we need a lot more practise with the whole food thing. We did a typical picnic thing but we were very out done by the Spanish who had taken large tables, chairs, tents, lamb, pies, salads, lots and lots of wine, cakes etc. By the time they had decided where to put their tables we had already finished eating. Next year 'must do better'. Having said that we were the only ones walking up the hill to the event. There was not one other pedestrian or cyclist and we had three kids between us - mad English! This fiesta lasted three days with lots of food and various bands. It was lovely to see huge tables surrounded by families and friends from all over the Sober region. There are yet more fiestas to come. What great traditions and a great way of promoting the culture of the region through food, music and coming together.

Thursday 6 September

I have decided to get on my bike so twice a week I cycle my little girl to nursery. It has been great. The other day I rode on from the nursery to visit a friend who is trying to start a small organic agricultural business. I've offered to help her as a volunteer for half a day a week and to my surprise she's reciprocated the offer - an extra pair of hands and a bit of motivation from another person will be great. During the ride I thought how lucky I was to cycle through such beautiful countryside with mountains, forests and farms. It wasn't too hot as autumn is here and the leaves are starting to change colour. Today this impression was topped by a wonderful sight of a field of people digging up potatoes following the harrow pulled by two docile cows. What a good feeling this sight gave me. I'm so grateful that I've taken the time out to saviour all this. Of course I had to peddle all the way back again with a fair few up-hill gradients on the way and I really must try and get a softer saddle! Unfortunately I had no camera on me to capture this work of art so instead I am including my neighbours sheep who are escape artists.

1 september 2007

Gingo Biloba or the Maidenhair Tree is listed as one of the
Top 20 Plants by Plants for a Future http://www.pfaf.org/ who claim that it is one of the most exciting plants they are growing. I don't know if we have a female or male plant but the branches are horizontal like which apparently is an indication that it is female. Uses include food crop which are the seeds that are said to taste like a cross between chestnuts and potatoes. Other medicinal uses are sited particularly in chinese medicine. A good thing for me is that the leaves are supposed to be good for memory loss! Anyway we were determined to give this youngster a good start in life as the first addition to our forest garden. All being well it will grow up to 30 metres with a spread of 9 but it can take up to 35 years for them to be productive. Let's get planting these trees now for future generations.

The soil is quite compacted having not been cultivated for many years. It is well drained and appears to be loamy/sandy just what they like. There were quite a few stones unearthed in the digging process and it was a hot day!

We mixed some good top soil from 'the mountain' with a bit of donated chicken compost. Fitted a watering pipe and stake. We gave it a good watering and piled on the mulch which in this case is bracken as there is lots of it around here.
We placed a fence of three more posts and chicken wire around it to deter deer and boar. It was a lot of work for one tree so let's hope it grows even if it is just around 30cm a year!

I have my bees - I've had them for about three weeks now. I got a phone call one Saturday morning from 'Antonio de las abejas' only I heard 'Antonio de las ovejas' bees and sheep sound very similar the way some people say it. I soon cottoned on that we were talking bees and literally half an hour later Antonio and his wife turned up with two big colonies of bees. He helped me set up the hives in a suitable place and in the blistering heat I donned my bee suit and we transferred the angry bees into their new homes. I was very glad to be in charge of the smoker as they were not happy to have been shut in for so long. All is quiet around the hives now as they have settled in and gone about their business of making stores for winter. I have bought some strips to treat them for varoa which I will be inserting soon and some feeders to give them a bit extra before winter. Photographs to follow soon.