What did you do today? (2014)

Hi, there is an elderly couple (well they are older than I am) who have two or three bee hives at the far end of my garden, where there is an orchard. I see them occasionally attending thier bees. Have noticed one or two bees today while working outside. I have to say that the bees have never been a bother to me and I don't see all that many of them, but then they do have plenty of woodland and wild flowers to attend to around the back part of my place.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 17/03/2014 19:05:10

I like hearing about Clive's bees, but when is he going to offer forum members some free honey?

I've only seen bumble bees so far this year, big fat queen bees. The birds are singing - chiffchaff and greenfinch today, and I saw a pair of long-tailed tits when walking the dog earlier.

Neil

The subject of honey and honey sales is quite difficult, as I spin out the honey and then filter it and bottle I have to also conform to the legislation regarding labelling. Now you can hardly see the contents for the labelling that I have to put on the container. Damn the EU and all its interventions. Commercial honey producers do not spin honey out in a centrifuge anymore, they melt the honey and wax together, lots of combs together in a big hot cabinet. the honey and wax are then tapped off into buckets and allowed to cool. The wax hardens on the top and is lifted off for further processing. The honey in its liquid state is then filtered through micronic filters where 99% of the pollen grains are removed. To me that honey is dead and tasteless and has no theraputic action. The heat evaporates all the esters and flavours from the various plants that it is gathered from. This is processed honey just as you buy it in the supermarket!

The honey I produce is not in any way processed or heated and retains its taste and flavours from the fruit trees the bees get it from. The best honey is from a Beekeeper, you may pay a little more but it is pure and has theraputic effect. Particularly for Hayfever sufferers as it still retains local pollen.

The wax is used for medicine and candles, (Catholic Church candles are pure Beeswax) It is used in soap and hand creams. Industrial uses are for lost wax casting and treating thread used in leather work, it is also a flux for use with lead melting. Used as a resist in acid etching and of course it is used to make fresh foundation to put in the frames for the beehive. Used on emery cloth it gives a superior polished finish.

My bees (6 hives at the moment) produce about 200lb a year, I have a small clientele that come every year to buy it and I also sell through a local farm shop. It is purely a philanthropic hobby and I do not make any profit as I plough the money back into new equipment and frames and wax foundation. I eat about 1lb of honey a week myself, it is basically Fructose and there is no Sucrose in it so I feel it is not harmfull. I catch my own swarms and put them in a Nucleus box and bring them on and if they thrive I will hive them and they become part of my stock. Others I sell as 6 comb Nucs. I also make up hives and parts for the hives as some people are quite unable to do it and would rather pay than do it themselves. Honey will eventually crystalize and this is a sign of purity, to keep honey liquid it only has to be warmed but not more than 40c or it makes a chemical that is not good for you. Honey is used in Baking as a glaze and in cakes.

Hope I have not gone on too long.

Clive

Clive you are not alone The honey from my bees is just the same natural and it seems to have totally cured my hayfever. But I must be honest it is only a small affair and I just keep the honey laden combs and then use a knife to break the caps off the cells as I need some. It is nice having the bees around and they have done wonders for my fruit and runner bean crops.

As for that "stuff" sold by supermarkets under the lable honey

Jo

Hi there, all,

A couple of years ago, I attended a meeting where a speaker gave us a lecture on 'The Forensic Use of the Microscope'.

One of the many interesting parts of the lecture concerned helping Trading Standards in the identification of forged honey, i.e. honey blended with some from sources other than those claimed in the label. This was (is?) achieved by identifying the species of pollen grains, using the microscope.

Could that be why the commercial honey manufacturers now filter out the pollen grains?

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

I'm puzzled, genuinely ?

How can honey with pollen grains in it help hay fever sufferers ?

Let me add I don't suffer from hay fever and only have a passing knowledge of what it is hence the question.

Clive, I to am a bit more comfortable about honey than sugar in my morning tea (fructose) but I like to use local bee keepers honey since a friendly apiarist told me once that a lot of shop bought honey has been pasteurized. This, he explained, destroys the enzymes that are good for us.

Whether spooning it in hot tea kills them of I wouldn't know but it's not done me any harm. Keep up the good work!

Rik

If as in Clive's post heating over 40C is bad for the honey isn't hot tea a problem? I had a girlfriend who did that and it was bleedin' expensive.
I think the hayfever thing may be like homeopathic cures - continual mild exposure to the pollen stops the over-reaction that charactierises allergic reactions.

Taking honey as a cure for hayfever is more akin to immunotherapy which is a recognised treatment for severe hayfever. Whereas homeopathy is more akin to quackery. **LINK**

Gary

In my work as a Nurse, I'v used honey in curing infected wounds that would not respond to antibiotics. No special honey was used, just plain Clover Honey from the Hospital kitchen. The wound was dressed 3 times a day at first, it was flushed out with peroxide, then saline, then packed with gauze soaked in honey. Ian S C ps I like honey, get mine from a local bee keeper who seems to have a set up like Clive's. $NZ4. 50 for 500gm/ 3 for $NZ12.

Ian S C

The query about the Hay fever, the local honey will have pollen from local sources and as suggested sets up a slow non aggressive immunology. It is after all the immune system that is affected and it will then be exposed to a mild amount of pollen. Incidently Niphofia (Red Hot Poker) is one of the most irritating of pollens and should be erradicated from gardens. It also makes honey set like rock and makes it of no use at all.

Ians prices are about the same as here but I do sell it at a bit lower price of £2.00 per lb.Treatment of ulcers is one of the uses of honey, again, an old remedy. Honey used for a throat or mouth condition should be retained in the mouth as long as possible allowing a trickle down the throat. Heat will kill off the efficacy of honey so hot honey drinks are a no no.

Today I transferred a Nucleus of bees into a travel box and the new owner will be here at 1600 to collect, this meant I was down the apiary at 0800 transferring tired cold bees into a new box, much like herding cats!

Clive

Finished my take on the Universal Pillar Tool. Actually, only made for hand tapping but, and this is the important bit, all made from scrap,discarded items and leftover materials.

Quite pleased with the way it turned out. The most frustrating part of the build was that I had a number of smallish holes to tap! Ironic really but made me smile.

graham.

The Sugar versus Honey for sweetening, sugar ( Sucrose) when digested needs insulin to break down and thats why Diabetics have problems as they do not produce enough Insulin. Honey being Fructose does not need Insulin to break down and the Liver does the work and it is available as energy much quicker. Moderation in consumption is 2 Dessert spoon fulls a day! Also people who eat honey on average live 7 years longer ! If you eat honey in the comb the wax will not harm you as it is just roughage.

Fructose is obtained from many substances but mainly fruit and as a child I lived in the Garden of Kent and still do and my diet during the war time period was well supported by my knowledge of which cherry trees ripened first and which apples were best and also when the Mulberries were ripe. Unfortunately the storm in 86 destroyed the one I used to scrump from.

Today I transferred the bees from the Nuc. into a travel box at 0800 this morning and then at 1500 closed them down and brought them up to the house for collection. I got a sting on my nose for my efforts, the first this year.

Clive

I agree with Jason, I'm a type 2 Diabetic and I recently had my annual review and when asked how my diet was going I got a telling off for eating to much fruit as the sugar build up in the body is still as dangerous as sugar, the only difference is that it is absorbed by the body much slower than sugar.

Martin P

I don't know what to believe. My wife and I have both been told to reduce our cholesterol, and then today there's a study of 600,000 people that finds no link between dietary cholesterol and heart disease.

Neil

I made an end cap for my small vertical boiler project! (Tubal Cain "Polly" )

My 1st go with my new propane torch was interesting. I am very new to all this model engineering lark. Annealing and forming the copper cap was daunting, but after 5 mins it all made sense. Even swinging my new copper hammer no longer feels awkward.

Is it just me or do new hammers take longer than any other tool to become accustomed to.

Now feeling very smug.

John

Edited By John Bromley on 18/03/2014 19:20:47

Edited By John Bromley on 18/03/2014 19:21:13