Spring Bee Hive Inspection

As a beekeeper, I do regular inspections of my hives. I try to minimize the amount that I break into the hive, because I feel that, for the most part, bees do fine without human intervention.

This hive wintered over, and it was a nice warm day, so I decided to briefly check in on them. I kept it short because they don't like their babies getting cold.

They seem to be thriving. They are bringing in lots of pollen, which means the Queen is laying eggs. When I start seeing drones (male bees) I will split the hive into 2 hives. Bees do this naurally by swarming. A swarm happens when the hive gets too crowded. When they swarm, half the bees take the old Queen and fly away to a new location, leaving half the bees in the hive with a new Queen. That is how bees replicate and expand.

If you see swarming bees in the Tacoma and greater Pierce County area, give me a call 253-732-3434. I will come get them and give them a good home.

A look at the Secret Garden (greenhouse)

I was harvesting from our makeshift greenhouse today, and thought that I would post photos. 

We make the greenhouse by bending cattle fence panels over the raised bed and cover with clear plastic. I planted lettuce, chard, tatsoi, and bok choi last August. We have been harvesting and eating these greens all winter. Now that it is warming a little they are growing new leaves. 

When I opened the end to look in today, it was really warm in there. I wanted to climb inside and heat up. The outside temperature here is 45 degrees.

I planted seeds in there 10 days ago, and the new plants are coming up. They will be protected from frost. 

Interestingly, I have not watered all winter until today. Condensation kept it like a rain forest in there.

My honey bees kept landing on the opening and checking it out. They liked the water and the heat.

The Honey Bees are Flying!

Checked on the hives today and the bees were really active. It looked like the activity of a summer day. I love the intense buzzing sound of a busy hive.

Honeybee Swarm removal

Spring is coming! As the weather warms up, the honey bees will swarm. They are very gentle when they swarm and don't want to hurt you. Please call/text me if you see a swarm. I will remove swarms in Pierce County Washington for free! 253-732-3434.

Pierce County Washington

Tacoma, Lakewood, Fircrest,  University Place, Gig Harbor