Nelson County Fair Edition October 2018
Nelson County Beekeepers
What’s The Buzz
Volume 4, Issue 8
Meeting
MEETING October 18, 2018 @ 6:30 pm
Officers President-Steve Hutchins Vice President-Ricky Humphrey Secretary-Bennie Hite Treasurer & Editor-Susan Zhunga Hospitality-Monthly Volunteer Newsletter Publisher– Georganne Collins
We will be hosting Kevin Hale from Hale's Honey Farms. Kevin will share with us his ideas for over wintering hives. He will also demonstrate how to make the “Sugar Bricks” for winter feeding. POT – LUCK
Inside this issue: Meeting Minutes
2
Financial Report
2
Autumn Bee Inspection
4
How to Prevent Pesticide Poisoning
5
Blueberry Breakfast Bake
7
Pot luck will be served. Ham will be the meat course. Please be sure and bring sides and desserts to share.
Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture
Page 2 MEETING MINUTES September 20th, 2018 Meeting Steering Committee Meeting Attending: Ricky Humphrey, Steve Hutchins, Pat Swartz, Henry Wilkerson and Susan Zhunga Discussed: Preparing for the upcoming Art and Crafts Fair. Nominations for the next year offices will be opened soon. Ricky will take place on Saturday October 20th. We will meet at the Extensions Office at 8:30 am. Bee Meeting: Ricky and Pat will be taking care of the Arts and Crafts October 14th and 15th and a work sheet was passed around to sign volunteers to help out. A video was shown on OTS Queen Rearing. OTS – On The Spot. Video was not very good as far as was promised. I suggest you look for other videos or You-Tube instructions. There is also a book available for sale the the OTS website. There were 31 people in attendance, with the welcoming of three new memebers. Mike Bishop of Coxs Creek, Janice Yates of Bardstown, and John Shrewsbury of Bardstown. New member John Shrewsbury was the winner of the door prize. Benny Joe Hite Secretary FINANCIAL REPORT FOR September 30, 2018
January 1, 2018
Starting Balance
$2,448.20
Net Expense
($1774.12)
Gross Income
$1123.00
Bank Balance
$1797.08
Page 3 SWAP MEET – YARD SALE @ Every Meeting If any member has beekeeping items for sale, list them in the newsletter and/or bring them to the meeting. We can do some bartering after the regular meetings are over. Be sure and bring items in good clean condition. Make sure they are priced and have your name. We will set up special tables for your items. Mike Johnson – Will make wooden ware to order. Boxes, frames and wax dipping. Contact Mike for information and pricing @ 502249-2007. The Club - has NCB T - Shirts Prices are: $8.00 for children $10.00 for Adults and $12.00 for Adults 2x & 3x.
From the American Bee Federation (ABF) There are over 300 unique varieties of honey in the United States, each originating from a different floral source. To substitute honey for granulated sugar, begin by substituting honey for up to half the sugar in the recipe. Measure honey easily by coating cups or spoons with oil or non-stick spray. For baked goods, reduce the oven temperature by 25ºF to prevent overbrowning; reduce any liquid by ¼ cup for each cup honey used; and add ½ teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used. All honey will naturally crystalize. Store honey at room temperature. If it becomes crystalized, place the jar in a warm water bath and stir until the crystals dissolve. You may also microwave in a microwave-safe container with the lid off, stirring every 30 seconds until the crystals dissolve. Be careful not to boil or scorch the honey. Honey should not be fed to babies under one year of age. Honey is a safe and wholesome food for older children and adults.
Page 4 AUTUMN BEEKEEPING INSPECTION Bee Keeping for Dummies The beekeeping cycle slows in the autumn. To prepare your bee colony for the cold winter weather in your area, do these things in your autumn beehive inspection:
Smoke the hive at the entrance and under the cover as usual.
Open the hive for inspection.
Confirm that you have a queen. Either find her, or look for eggs. If you are 100% certain you have no queen, consider ordering a new queen from your bee supplier. Does the colony have enough honey for its use during the winter? Bees
in cold northern states need eight to ten frames of capped honey (less for bees in warm southern states).
Feed bees syrup.
Provide adequate ventilation. Install a metal mouse guard at the hive’s entrance.
Wrap hive in black tarpaper (if you are a cold climate).
Clean, repair and store surplus equipment.
If you plan to store any comb that had brood reared in it, fumigate the comb with paradichlorobenzene (PDB) (Paramoth) crystals or place the combs in the deep freeze to kill wax moths before putting them in storage.
Fund raiser road clean-up is on Saturday morning October 20, 2018. Meet Ricky at the extension office at 8:30am. Ricky Humphrey will be heading up the road clean-up.
Page 5 HOW TO PREVENT PESTICIDE POISONING OF YOUR BEES Info from Beekeeping for Dummies If you ever see a huge pile of dead bees in front of your hive, you can be pretty sure that your girls were the victims of pesticide poisoning. Here are a few things you can do to avoid such a tragedy: Let your neighbors know that you are keeping bees. Make sure they know how beneficial pollinating bees are to the community and ecology. Explain to them the devastating effect that pesticide spraying can have on a colony. They may think twice about doing it at all. If they must spray, urge them to do so at dawn or dusk, when the bees are not foraging. Encourage your neighbors to call you the day before they
plan to spray. With advance warning, you can protect your bees. On the day your neighbors plan to spray, place a towel that has been saturated with water on top of the outer cover. This will be a water source for the colony. Then cover the entire hive with a bedsheet that you have saturated with water to give it some weight. Let it drape to the ground. The sheet will minimize the number of bees that fly that day. Remove the sheet and towel the following morning after the danger has passed. Alternatively, you can screen the entrance the night before the spraying and keep the girls at home the entire day. Remove the screen and let them fly the next day.
DON’T FORGET TO JOIN US ON FACE BOOK!!
Page 6 ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR MEMEBERS ONLY
Test kits for American Foul Brood (AFB) and European Foul Brood (EFB) are available for purchase from Extension Office for $14.00 each. Please call me (Susan 507-8789) for availability. ATTENTION ATTENTION
There are 2 extractors complete with all that you need to extract honey. It comes with a refractometer to test you honey. $10.00 for usage, with a 2 day maximum.
Oxalic Acid Vapor Treatment If you are interested in having your hives treated but don’t want to invest in a vaporizer, power source and required safety equipment, I can come treat your hives for a fee. I use the professional vaporizer that heats the acid outside the hive then blows it into the hive. Just give me a call or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks Gene Englert 502-409-0989 All members are encouraged to join us on Facebook. Ask questions, show your progress, and share your pictures. “Nelson County Beekeepers”. We would love to hear from you.
Page 7 Blueberry Breakfast Bake Editor's Note: Honey has been substituted for maple syrup in this recipe as it appears on the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council Web site. Ingredients: 1 loaf (14 ounces) sliced, firm textured white bread, crusts removed, divided 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, divided 4 ounces light cream cheese (from an 8ounce package), cut in 1/4-inch cubes
8 eggs, beaten 1-1/2 cups lowfat milk 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup melted butter Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove crusts from bread; cut in 1inch cubes (makes about 10 cups). Cut cream cheese in small cubes (makes about 1 cup). Grease 9-x-9-2-inch baking dish. Place half of the bread cubes in the dish. Scatter cream cheese cubes and 1 cup of blueberries over the bread. Top with remaining bread cubes and blueberries. In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, honey and butter. Carefully pour over bread mixture. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour, covering with aluminum foil if edges brown too much. To serve, cut in squares. Accompany with additional honey, if desired.
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Bardstown KY 40004
317 S Third St
Nelson County