Bees

And the hits just keep on coming. More on our pollenating friend.

Hard winter for honeybees Local beekeepers attribute unusual loss of hives to strange disorder, many other factors

formatting link

Reply to
Billy
Loading thread data ...

formatting link
you'd be interested.

Reply to
phorbin

I am. Thanks. When I'm out, orchestrating my garden, I know that I have very little idea as to what is actually going on.

When I see bees in the garden, I start to relax because I know mother nature will take it from there.

So it appears that bee keepers don't have just Colony Collapse Disorder to worry about but a myriad of other nagging problems as well. Problems that are possible but not predictable.

I am curious, though, in producing organic honey, how do you get a bee to go just to organic flowers?

Reply to
Billy

Billy expounded:

You can manage your bees organically, but you really can't claim to provide organic honey. Unless you're in the middle of 8,000 square acres.

Reply to
Ann

phorbin expounded:

Reply to
Ann

What then does organic bee keeping mean, if the product isn't organic? Is 8,000 acres a legal definition or hyperbole?

Reply to
Billy

That was my thought.

My wife (organic gardener and activist) was, if I recall correctly pointed to the site by the Canadian Green Party Agriculture Critic, who is an organic beekeeper.

Do you keep bees?

Reply to
phorbin

It starts with not forcing the bees to grow unnaturally large. The rest amounts to philosophy of maintenance and the substances used for maintenance.

It's not hyperbole. Bees will travel substantial distances.

Reply to
phorbin

What is unnaturally large and what is the philosophy? Why do you respond to a question that you do not answer?

What, you nitwit, is substantial? Do you mean 10,534.75 feet? I asked a specific question. Do you have a specific answer? Next time get your caca together before you respond, or don't respond if you don't know what the freak you're talking about. We are supposed to be adults here. I'm not your babysitter.

Oh, I know you tried, now be quiet and try to look presentable.

Reply to
Billy

Billy expounded:

No, it's not hyperbole, Billy. That's the radius a honeybee will forage within.

Organic beekeeping means putting nothing in the hive but the honeybee and comb and managing all of the pests/problems organically.

Reply to
Ann

phorbin expounded:

Yes, we do. We have three apiaries and right now have ten hives, but that will grow this season. We're 'backyard beekeepers', we do it for the enjoyment of it, we do sell honey, but it isn't a major portion of our income - heck, it'll take us years to pay back the investment in equipment! But it's lots of fun, and the learning is amazing.

Reply to
Ann

My memory was prompting 4 miles or more for long-range foraging (as the bee flies) depending on the investment-return to the hive. It was late in my day and I was fading quickly.

Relevant numbers are published on the net within easy reach. Imperial metric converters are all over the place.

So FWIW

formatting link
and if you don't like my answers, or you don't like my on-line persona your killfile is a button away. And to not put too fine a point on it, so's mine.

We are as you say, "supposed to be adults here." Adults are polite.

Reply to
phorbin

I asked for specific information, not the way you felt about it or excuses. What was the question anyway? Do you remember or don't you read so good? Is 8,000 acres a legal definition (for the production of organic honey) or hyperbole?

Did I ask about metric conversion? Do you have any idea what 10,534.75 feet represents? Try 3.22 km. Still nothing?

product isn't organic? Helloooo.

Oh, you felt I was disappointed with your your response? You are absolutely clairvoyant.

Lastly, that was a persona?

Adults, Pollyanna, know when to talk and when to keep their mouths shut. Engage mind before letting the clutch out on your mouth. You didn't bring humor to the table. You didn't bring information to the table. You didn't address the questions that were asked.

Oh, I know you tried, now be quiet and try to look presentable.

Reply to
Billy

OK. I'll google my questions.

Reply to
Billy

Billy expounded:

Hoping to find something to disprove me? Knock yourself out.

I wonder if your googling will lead you here?

formatting link
again, I suppose that's totally discredited because I posted it.

Reply to
Ann

phorbin expounded:

Not nice, just polite. That way he can call you anything he likes, as long as he couches it in 'polite' terms.

Reply to
Ann

I understand that there is a whole "freak" of paranoids out lookin' for you. Good luck with that.

Meantime I came up with:

formatting link
Makes Honey Organic?

At the Bee Yard:

Organic honey must come from organic bees. Hives that have existing honey in them are forbidden to become organic. Organic honey must be produced from naturally foraging bee colonies that are located at least

2 miles (straight-line flight) from any source that could cause the honey to contain pesticides or herbicides. Within this 2 mile radius no pesticides or herbicides may be used, and must not have had any chemical application in the previous 3 years. Feeding of bees is prohibited. If feeding is necessary to prevent starvation, the honey produced is not organic.

(Note: A circle with an area of 8,000 acres [square or not] has a radius, to two places, of 3.2 km or 10,534.75 feet. Yeah, yeah, I know, the last four digits are noise and the 5 in the third place should have be rounded up. I'm off the clock, OK?)

Hives need to have all of their parts (supers, queen excluders, etc.) numbered to prevent accidental use in non organic hives. All hive parts must be made of wood. Comb foundations must be made from organic beeswax.

The extraction facility must be certified organic.

All organic honey must be certified by an approved organic certifying agency. The USDA's NOP program (National Organic Program) certifies the agencies. Dutch Gold and McLure's are certified by PCO (Pennsylvania Certified Organic) who inspects our facilities on behalf of the USDA. Dutch Gold only accepts honey from areas that are certified organic by an NOP approved certifier; furthermore the certifier must have physically visited the organic producing area.

formatting link
to USDA regulations, honey cannot be labeled certified organic if its production uses even traces of prohibited chemicals, drugs or antibiotics. Non-organic beekeepers routinely use sulfa compounds and antibiotics to control bee diseases, carbolic acid to remove honey from the hive and calcium cyanide to kill colonies before extracting the honey?, and of course conventional honeybees gather nectar from plants that have been sprayed with pesticides. The Lancet, a prestigious international medical journal, reported in 1993 that conventionally produced honey may contain residues of these chemicals and should be used with caution?, which is one of the reasons many of us jump for joy when we find a reliable source of certified organic honey.

formatting link
Organic bee colonies are not maintained with the use of any chemicals!

Terramycin for treating foulbrood disease,

Apistan for Verroa mites,

GardStar for treating small hive beetles, nor

Bee Go to chase bees instead of using a smoker.

We meet all the standards of Organic Certification including: GMO Free, Land Certification, Beehives Certification, Producer Certification, Processor Certification.

--------

I gave a cursory look at the site you posted Ann (still with us?)

formatting link
and it looks like the site I was looking for. Thanks. (Now try and figure out what I meant by that.)

Another case solved Kato, my little friend. To all of our readers, I want to wish you 'appiness;-)

Reply to
Billy

With your attitude, you're not worth time or trouble.

Killfiled as a Troll.

Reply to
phorbin

Billy expounded:

Never with you, buddy.

Reply to
Ann

That's one nasty 'tude you got on you girl.

Reply to
Billy

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.