Newsletter August 2022
My prayers for rain may at last be heard, the
countryside has been transformed into a parched brown landscape, alien to what we
think of as high summer. Bees have coped well if water is available, just the
persistent wasps attacking small or weak colonies. I have lost a colony & a
nuc to wasps, both trying to requeen.
By now most of you will have completed your honey harvest or be just
getting there. Reports seem good in terms of quantity.
Time to move to anti-varroa treatments. There
are many on the market; this year DDBKA have bought Apiguard in bulk, orders
were placed at the July meeting & some members have made contact to place
requests. So it will be available at this month’s meeting, priority given to
those pre-orders.
DDBKA APIGUARD PRICE
£2.15 per tray, each colony requires 2 trays over a period
of 6 weeks, so £4.30 per colony, cash fine.
EXAM SUCCESSES
I am delighted to record that our 3 candidates for the
Basic Assessment all passed, Allen Head well, Ros White & Julie Scott with
credits. Lewis Head, Allen’s son, achieved the Junior Beekeeping Certificate -
Julie Coleman our assessor was most complimentary about him. Congratulations to
them all!
Something for all members to think on, if you haven’t taken the Basic
yet; it’s all practical & conversation to discover what you know about bees
& how to handle them.
Chris Farrell was
very successful too, at the Kent Show where she won 3 First prizes with her
lovely detailed photographs of honeybees in action. Many
were taken before she chose the eventual prize-winners, a perfectionist indeed!
If you had applied for a free
ticket for the Festival of Bees in Chatham in early September, you’ll know by
now that it has all fallen through & been cancelled.
There is a promise of something next year, but the feeling of disappointment
is great. No reason
given either. Ho hum.
HONEY
JARS
Now at Unit 12, AB
Crush panel beaters, opposite the Shepherdswell turning on the A2 to
Five Oaks, Geddinge CT4 6RY. The procedure remains the same, order to me,
payment to Philip, collection on a Friday from 11 to 12, it is a
really busy site with vehicles, deliveries etc.
PRICES: 1lb jars, including lids, in boxes of 72 £23.50 12oz jars & lids remain at £29
for 72 8oz
round jars & lids are £34.50 for 128 8oz
hexagonal jars & lids are £34.50 for 108.
Spare lids available for all sizes.
I have been contacted by
a lady looking for local honey to sell at her farmer’s market in Cliftonville
once a month, she can pay & collect from anyone who has a surplus to pass
on. She’d like to start with10 jars.
Contact her asap if you
can help. Emma@realdealroasters.co.uk
South of England Honey Show 2022, 24th & 25th
September.
South of England Showground, Ardingly, West Sussex,
RH17 6TL, part of the Autumn Show & International Horse Trials. This
Honey Show, to be judged by Bill Fisher, presents a unique opportunity to
Associations, their members and individual beekeepers to get ready for perhaps
your own Local or County shows and certainly for the National Honey Show at the
end of October.
In this area, we have the East Kent Ploughing
Match, held locally in our area this year at Stoneheap Farm Little
Mongeham. CT14 0HS on Wednesday 28th September
Enclosed with this letter is the schedule, which in [VERY] small
print has details of their honey competition, [the only thing you can enter], class
8, section L [clear] & M [set]. Cut out the entry form, fill it in, attach
the 20p fee & post it before August 26th. Good
luck; Richard, one of our members, is the judge, so give him some work to do!
This month’s
meeting
Saturday 27th August, 2:30 pm at Ship House, The
Leas, Kingsdown CT14 8ER by kind permission of Mr Peter Finch.
It is a member’s apiary;
Terry Johnson has hives at this stunning house in its beautiful position near
the sea.
Terry’s directions: From the Kingsdown golf
course club house you should see DDBKA signs.
Go to Kingsdown golf club, go past the clubhouse and carry on up the
hill along the narrow road [The Leas], past all the nice houses until you see a
large white house with green shutters. Pass
this house and the next house is Ship House. Tea ladies, the elderly and
anyone with bulky or heavy items please turn right and park on the drive, you
will be directed to the pool room.
Everyone else, please carry on along the road until you come to a 5-bar
gate, turn right up the hill to the golf course and park there. Someone will be
there to show you the way to the house.
Terry plans to demonstrate
the use of oxalic acid treatments on his hives, so be aware that the site
includes an apiary & we urge you to take care in the vicinity of bees,
bring your beesuit & wellies if you have them, make sure you have informed
me of allergies & sting reactions if you are aware of them.
Jackie will probably just hold
a question & answer session. Honey is the hot topic at the moment -
extraction, processing and storage, lots to think about.
Tables & chairs for
our meeting will be provided, we will have tea as usual [£1] & the raffle.
Bring your own mugs!!!
Very much looking
forward to a change of scene! See you there,
Maggie
