Jennifer Sartell – Keeping Backyard Bees https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com Mon, 20 Jan 2020 20:24:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 https://i2.wp.com/www.keepingbackyardbees.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Jennifer Sartell – Keeping Backyard Bees https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com 32 32 Don’t Mow the Goldenrod https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/goldenrod-zbw1912ztil/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/goldenrod-zbw1912ztil/#comments Mon, 09 Dec 2019 13:55:08 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4463 I have allergies…let…me…tell…you…do I have allergies. Indoor, outdoor, seasonal…everything makes my sinuses upset. When I was a kid I did the whole allergy shot ritual, which seemed to do absolutely nothing except make me afraid of needles. I lived at our ENT specialist, tried every allergy medicine, nose spray, antihistamine there is and after all […]

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]]> https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/goldenrod-zbw1912ztil/feed/ 2 How to Diagnose American Foulbrood https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/how-to-diagnose-american-foulbrood/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/how-to-diagnose-american-foulbrood/#respond Wed, 12 Jun 2019 01:15:57 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4400 Every Time I’ve ever heard anything about American Foulbrood I’ve always heard that the disease comes with an odor. And while this is correct, often, by the time you can detect an odor, the disease has advanced.

There are other ways of telling if you might have American Foulbrood in your hive.

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]]> https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/how-to-diagnose-american-foulbrood/feed/ 0 What is American Foulbrood? https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/what-is-american-foulbrood/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/what-is-american-foulbrood/#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2019 00:21:52 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4399 In the 8 years I’ve kept bees, I don’t hear a lot about American Foulbrood. But I think it’s important, especially to new beekeepers, to understand the risks, the investment and the things to be cautious of.

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]]> https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/what-is-american-foulbrood/feed/ 1 Local, Raw, Pure or Natural Honey? https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/local-raw-pure-or-natural-honey-zbwz1902zsau/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/local-raw-pure-or-natural-honey-zbwz1902zsau/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2019 21:31:08 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4317 Sometimes it feels like you need to be a lawyer or a chemist to really understand what you’re buying from the grocery store. Wouldn’t it be nice if food was just food and we could read a label and take it at face value? Unfortunately, that is not the case. In recent years, many companies […]

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]]> https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/local-raw-pure-or-natural-honey-zbwz1902zsau/feed/ 4 The Best Methods for Uncapping Honey https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/best-methods-for-uncapping-honey-zbwz1902zsau/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/best-methods-for-uncapping-honey-zbwz1902zsau/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2019 23:19:27 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4308 Uncapping our honey harvest is probably the most satisfying job on our farm. Watching that luxurious curl of wax that slices off the frame and rolls away revealing the smooth golden honey is one of life’s great pleasures. There are several ways to uncap your honey frame. Whichever you choose, the end goal is to […]

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]]> https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/best-methods-for-uncapping-honey-zbwz1902zsau/feed/ 3 10 Steps to Requeening a Hot Hive https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/10-steps-to-requeen-a-hot-hive-zbwz1901zsau/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/10-steps-to-requeen-a-hot-hive-zbwz1901zsau/#comments Wed, 30 Jan 2019 19:14:04 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4259 It’s amazing the way a beehive can have a personality. While the colony is made up of thousands of individual bees, it is the overall collective demeanor of the group that makes it as if you are working with a single organism. If you have an overly-aggressive hive you can change the behavior of your […]

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]]> https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/10-steps-to-requeen-a-hot-hive-zbwz1901zsau/feed/ 6 Do You Have a Hot Hive? https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/do-you-have-a-hot-hive-zbwz1901zsau/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/do-you-have-a-hot-hive-zbwz1901zsau/#comments Wed, 30 Jan 2019 18:47:56 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4255 The governor of Michigan just declared a State of Emergency for our state due to record-breaking low temperatures. As I write this post (January 2019), it’s currently -6 degrees F with a wind chill of -30. So worrying if our hive is overheated is really not a concern right now…quite the opposite. However, coming this […]

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]]> https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/do-you-have-a-hot-hive-zbwz1901zsau/feed/ 7 Killer Bees Explained https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/killer-bees-explained-zbwz1811zsau/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/killer-bees-explained-zbwz1811zsau/#comments Fri, 30 Nov 2018 01:16:39 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4199 When my husband first showed interest in beekeeping, one of my biggest fears is that we would accidentally end up with a “Killer Bee” colony. I had heard rumors of Killer Bee colonies coming up from states like Florida to the north. Images of bee swarms chasing us in angry pursuit and thousands of deadly […]

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]]> https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/killer-bees-explained-zbwz1811zsau/feed/ 10 How to Harvest Honey From Start to Finish https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/how-to-harvest-honey-from-start-to-finish-zbwz1811zsau/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/how-to-harvest-honey-from-start-to-finish-zbwz1811zsau/#comments Fri, 30 Nov 2018 00:50:17 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4177 Every honey harvest is exciting, but our first is something I won’t likely forget! We’d been waiting and tending to our bees for almost two years… hoping, wondering and (frankly) worrying. But that first taste of golden nectar made it all worth it. Since our first harvest quite a few years ago, we’ve somewhat streamlined […]

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]]> https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/how-to-harvest-honey-from-start-to-finish-zbwz1811zsau/feed/ 10 How to Season Cast Iron With Beeswax https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/how-to-season-cast-iron-with-beeswax-zbwz1811zsau/ https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/how-to-season-cast-iron-with-beeswax-zbwz1811zsau/#comments Fri, 02 Nov 2018 00:26:21 +0000 https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/?p=4156 Let me tell you, if you’re not cooking with cast iron you’re missing out! For years I was intrigued by cast iron but the care and seasoning process intimidated me. It seemed strange and unsanitary that you didn’t use soap to clean it. It also seemed like a pain in the neck to have to […]

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