Gardening Group Buzz!

Gardening Group September Meeting
At our September meeting a packed room welcomed Val Simons who described herself as a hobbyist beekeeper. When her husband first wanted to keep bees she immediately said no. But after attending a “find out about bees” session she was hooked!

She started small then built up the number of hives she had. Local societies gave advice, support and lent equipment. She informed us about the life cycle of bees and what is needed to keep the hive healthy and productive. Regular inspections of the hives ensure that any disease is caught early, the queens are identified, sufficient food is in the hive to last the bees through the winter, there is enough space for the honey to be stored and that all bees are doing what they should be doing at any time of year.
Val brought a hive built by her husband to show the different parts and what they are used for. Her talk was full of information and interesting facts – a bee can carry half its own weight in nectar, it can travel up to 3 miles from the hive, the queen bee grows quickly and only takes 16 days to mature from egg to adult as opposed to 21 days for worker bees.
A lot of interest was generated in the goods that Val brought for members to try. These included both runny and set honey, face and lip creams, polishes and beeswax candles.
The fact that there were few questions showed that everyone was gripped by a fantastic, informative, interesting and absorbing presentation. And quite a few jars of delicious honey went to new homes!