Apiary Meeting 7th September

Posted on by September 26, 2024

Our last apiary meeting of the season will be at our Palmsted Wood, on Saturday September 7th after lunch. We need a team to help clear brushwood – for those of you who can give up some time to help maintain the apiary, please bring some gardening gloves, and may be secateurs. If you can help with this work, please email me at chairman@canterburybeekeepers.org.uk so I know who can help. If half a dozen people can make it for 1pm, then we’ll be able to clear the track to the apiary, and have room for everyone to park.

The beekeeping part of the meeting will start at about 2.15pm. We plan to set the hives for winter, apply varroa treatments, and unite any weak or grumpy hives. If you need to borrow PPE, please let us know ahead of time, so that we can make sure to have spares available.

As usual, to avoid transmission of bee diseases, please bring clean suits, and gloves that are easily washed – marigolds or surgeons’ gloves are fine, but please no leather gloves.

There will be plenty of time for chat about the season you’ve had, honey crops, state of your hives, and winter preparations

July meeting – peak bees!

Posted on by September 26, 2024

Our next apiary meeting will be at our Palmsted Wood apiary on Saturday July 1st between 2-4pm.

Many colonies will reach their maximum size around the summer solstice, so we’ll be looking at uniting smaller colonies to make a big colony for honey production, doing a comb change procedure on weak and strong colonies (to reduce the burden of infective diseases and varroa), and possibly requeening. We’ll also discuss care of colonies started from swarms.

For any newbees, we will show you the principles of opening a beehive, and looking for signs of health, and any swarming preparations.  If you don’t have a suit, we have a small selection from which you can borrow for the afternoon.  We don’t like leather gloves, but kitchen marigolds are fine, as are hospital/surgeons’ gloves.  Wear wellie boots (to keep the bees from your ankles), and preferably avoid woollen/hairy clothing, as bees can get caught up in the fibres. 

As usual, please come with clean suits and gloves. Per Kent BKA requirements, we will ask folks to sign a disclaimer form, acknowledging the (small) risks inherent in beekeeping. Any questions about visiting the apiary, just drop a line to Adrian at chairman@canterburybeekeepers.org.uk

Here are a few different ways to locate the apiary entrance – it’s a shared driveway, and you should enter the wood using the left-hand gate. People should already be present when you arrive – expect to drive down about 100 yards and we will indicate where to park.

(redacted)

If you find yourself at Highfield nursing home, you are close! The apiary entrance is the other side of the road, approximately 50m towards the woods

Bee Safari, 1st June 1-5pm

Posted on by September 26, 2024

On this occasion we will be doing a “Bee Safari”, wherein we visit 4 different apiaries in the company of our excellent Seasonal Bee Inspector, Lisa Jenkins. We will start at 1300 in St Nicholas-at-Wade, where Bob Heddle has 5 hives, including a Zest hive. Then we will move onto our Bekesbourne apiary (approx start 1415), where Lisa will show us the sugar roll technique, which is great for detecting exotic species such as Tropilaelaps, and also counting varroa. Next stop will be Bridge at ~1505, in a typical home-based apiary with 2 colonies. Our last stop will be in Chartham Hatch, at 1540, where there will be double brood hives, and refreshments.

Full joining instructions will be found in a recent email, including the important w3w locations, and parking instructions.

April 2024 apiary meeting

Posted on by September 26, 2024

Just to confirm that we will have our first apiary meeting of the season on Saturday 20th April, 2-4pm, at our Palmsted Wood apiary.  Hopefully you have already seen the date on our website, or on our Facebook page.

As well as early season inspections of a few weak colonies, we will be demonstrating some or all of the following colony management techniques

  • shook swarm or drone brood culling, on a colony that seems badly infested with varroa
  • a colony split of a large colony, using the nucleus method
  • uniting of two colonies, where one has a poorly laying queen

As usual, please come with clean suits and gloves. Continuing Kent BKA’s policy from 2023, we will ask folks to sign a disclaimer form, acknowledging the (small) risks inherent in beekeeping.

For any newbees, we will show you the principles of opening a beehive, and looking for signs of health, and any swarming preparations.  If you don’t have a suit, we have a small selection from which you can borrow for the afternoon.  We don’t like leather gloves, but kitchen marigolds are fine, as are hospital/surgeons’ gloves.  Wear wellie boots (to keep the bees from your ankles), and preferably avoid woollen/hairy clothing, as bees can get caught up in the fibres. 

Any questions about visiting the apiary, just drop a line to Adrian at chairman@canterburybeekeepers.org.uk