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You've spent lots of money on your woodenware and you want it to look good, last many years, and be safe for your the honey bees and the environment. What are your options? In today's episode, Jeff Ott (from ) …
It’s early March, bees are flying every few days, early maples are blooming. Are you asking yourself, “Are my bees ready for the nectar flow?” On today’s episode, Kim and Jim look at what’s going on in their hives now …
The more colonies you have, the more you will notice differences between them throughout the year. On today's episode, Kim and Jim talk about what do you do when you open one of your colonies and it seems 'smaller' than …
There’s lots of places you can keep bees that aren’t the typical backyard. Today Kim and Jim take a look at a couple of these places. The first is in an unused single car garage. The hive boxes sit on …
It happens to most beekeepers are one point, where you have to find someplace else to keep your bees. A new, different beeyard. Where do you start? Whether you have too many in your backyard and need to put more …
There are a lot of good reasons to start a new colony in your beeyard using a nucleus (nuc) colony, consisting of a mated queen, brood and drawn comb rather than buying a package of bees. But there are some …
It’s going to be 50 degrees tomorrow. Kim and Jim are going to have to check their bees for the first time this very early spring. So what do they do, how do they examine a colony this time of …
The queens that come with packages today seem to be different that those we could get five or ten years ago and we think that points to some changes need to be made regarding a simple concept – Patience. It …
This is the time of year to think seriously about the queens you have in your colonies, or the queens you had in your colonies last season. If replacement is on the table, what should you be looking for? The …
American Foulbrood is in the news lately… and for a good, positive reason. But what does it mean if you determine or a state apiarist determines you have a case or two or more of AFB in your bee yard? …
It’s the beginning of a new year and Jim and Kim are thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. Almost everybody makes a few Resolutions every January – even beekeepers, but many times resolutions are made and never achieved. Kim wants to …
What would you do if you received a call from a neighbor saying that your bee equipment was scattered across multiple yards? What would be YOUR first thought? In today’s episode, Jim invites Beekeeping Today Podcast’s Jeff Ott to the …
Not a lot of people start keeping bees without some outside influence. A relative, neighbor, college class, or getting a job in bees. Jim started out with a college class, to fill electives. Kim got a job working for the …
Knowing what you did or saw, added or removed from a colony is useful. Whether that happened earlier in the day or the prior season. Keeping track of what, how why and when you did something in the bee yard, …
What beekeeper hasn't nailed together a hive body and thought, "Heck, I can cut these boards myself and it'd be cheaper!" Especially if they already have a wood shop with a table saw and a few other tools. But is …
It’s winter time and sure as the sky is blue (or grey – as the case may be), there will be many dead colonies out there next spring. If not in as early as in the few weeks. Winter kills …
On today’s show, Kim and Jim discuss the most common ‘complaint’ a beekeeper who sells honey encounters. This is true whether you are selling from the back of your truck, at a roadside stand or even a local farmer’s market. …
Honey Bee Obscura celebrates its 100th episode with this release! Jim Tew and Kim Flottum invite, Beekeeping Today Podcast’s Jeff Ott to join them to take a look at 5,000 years of beekeeping history, sorting out some of the highlights, …
Winter tends to have a bit more time inside than outside and one way to spend that time inside is to catch up on your reading. Jim and Kim talk a bit about the books they read, the authors and …
Why on earth would honey bee foragers go out on a freezing day in winter to collect water? Ice and snow everywhere, but there they are, trying to get a drink and bring some home for their sisters. Why? Kim …
Without a doubt, some of the most peaceful places on Earth are bee yards. Tranquil, serene and quiet with only the soft hum of the bees fanning the air through their hives floating on top the silence… Peaceful, except when …
When you’ve been keeping bees for decades, sometimes you do things because that’s the way you’ve always done them, right? But the world continues to change. It has to keep up with whatever is going on wherever it’s happening. And …
Does your state Agriculture Department have a bulletin they share with everybody on the phenology, or bloom dates, of the wild flowers, trees and shrubs that grow in your state? Today Kim and Jim discuss the chart used by Ohio …