Backwards Beekeepers are starting organic backyard hives in L.A., and hoping to combat colony collapse.
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Thursday, 05 November 2009 |
13:10
EARTH TO KITCHEN: HONEY Second in a series on growing what you cook
and cooking what you grow.
Everyone by now has heard about the demise of bee populations from a condition termed Colony Collapse Disorder. Scientists, baffled, seem reluctant to blame current beekeeping practices -- yet anecdotal evidence points in that direction. At the very least, beekeeping methods may be one of a combination of factors that has led to a huge die-off in bees worldwide.
A beekeeping group called the Backwards Beekeepers has formed in Los Angeles. Its members are dedicated to keeping bees organically, forgoing chemicals and antibiotics. Commercial beekeepers routinely use an array of chemicals to maintain hives, and therein lies the problem: The intervention allows weak and diseased bees to survive, and thus risks the long-term health of the bee population.
Backwards Beekeepers use local feral bees and allow the bees to form their own comb instead of providing preformed beeswax sheets. (Preformed sheets can be tainted with residual pesticide and chemicals.) Feral bees collected through trapping become the nucleus for a new hive. Some cities in Southern California are looking into controlled trapping as an alternative to destroying unwanted bee colonies.
The typical beehive consists of 10 medium or large frames contained in boxes called supers. A three super hive can yield 35 pounds or more of honey annually with ample honey left over to feed the bees through the winter months.
Bee Food
Help your honey production by landscaping a bee-friendly yard including these plants:
Perennials Common Yarrow Borage Pride of Madeira Catnip Sedum Clematis Echinacea Lavender Globe thistle
Local laws can be unclear and inconsistent on urban beekeeping -- but so far the Backwards Beekeepers report no cases of forcibly removed hives. However, if you wish to have bees, it is both sensible and courteous to discuss it first with your neighbors -- and to share the honey with them.
Keeping a hive is not as daunting as it sounds, but it's wise to take classes and read up on the subject before you take the plunge.
Organic Beekeeping: What to Keep in Mind
New hives need to be in a slightly out of the way area; too much nearby activity disrupts the bees. A new colony is best left undisturbed for a month or more, so it can get on with the business of creating honey and brood.
Ants and local bees might attack the new hive to rob it of honey. The best way to prevent ants is to sit the individual legs of the hive into oil-filled containers (such as a tuna can). You can also sprinkle cinnamon or cayenne pepper around the base of the hive. If local bees or yellow jackets attack the hive, narrow the entrance, which allows the new colony to successfully defend itself. These two potential threats must be addressed; otherwise, you run the risk of the bees bolting for a better abode.
Harvesting honey is relatively easy. You can invest in a centrifugal extractor, which spins frames rapidly so the honey flows freely. Another method is to scrape all the wax and honey into a bucket and mash it up, then strain it through muslin overnight. It is slower but just as effective. Honey has remarkable keeping properties and does not need to be refrigerated. Store in an airtight jar, ideally at 70° F.
A hive consists of a super filled with frames. Photo by John Lyons. Top photo: honeybees on their comb. Photo by Martha Rose Shulman.
John Lyons is the founder of Earthmatters, a gardening school in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood, and The Woven Garden, a firm specializing in edible landscaping. He has written on gardening for the Los Angeles Times and California Gardener.
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