Good evening BCBC members, I hope that your girls are doing well. Remember to check their stores and feed if necessary. They can go through a lot this time of year. You want them to be loaded up for winter. Also I hope that you have been checking the mite load and acting accordingly. This is a reminder that we are not having a September meeting. For our October meeting we have Sean Colinsworth from Killer Bee Honey presenting. A Certified welsh honey judge, Sean will be coming to talk to us about honey grading and activities at Killer Bee Honey. More to follow soon! We will be sending out information for our upcoming picnic which will be September 15th from 1Read More
08-31-2019 Apiary Workshop
08-31-2019 Workshop at Root Cause Farm (formally known as The Lord’s Acre) This Saturday 10 am to noon, at the BCBC Apiary we will apply the final Apilife Var mite treatment on all of the hives and talk about feeding your bees during the dearth and fall build-up. We will assign volunteers to feed the club bees, and Marshall will answer your questions. Always bring some water and a veil. I hope you can make it Saturday. Marshall Mullins, State Certified Beekeeper, Manager of the BCBC Apiary, 828-231-8284, mars1952@gmail.com Upcoming workshops 09-14-2019 Sugar Shake mite check. Inspection, Fall feeding 09-28-2019 Inspection, Preparing hives for winter. 09-21-2019 Sugar shake/Alcohol mite wash inspections. 10-12-2019 inspections. Oxalic vapor treatment for mites 10-26-2019 Sugar shake mite Inspection 11-09-2019 Mid-December-2019Read More
08-17-19 BCBC Apiary, Treatments and Feeding
Want to learn how to use a natural mite treatment in our bee yard this Saturday? We will use ApiLifeVar and Formic Pro if the weather forecast allows. (Under 85 degrees). 08-17-2019 Mite treatment and feeding during the dearth, 10 AM to Noon The Lord’s Acre is now called Root Cause Farm, same place. All BCBC members and guests are welcome at the Apiary workshops. Bring a veil and some water. Marshall Mullins, State Certified Beekeeper, Manager of the BCBC/Root Cause Farm Apiary, 828-231-8284 mars1952@gmail.com Questions? If you respond to this email, it does not go to me so be sure to cut and paste my address in you email. Upcoming workshops at the BCBC RCF bee yard this summer. 10 am-noon 08-17-2019 MiteRead More
BCBC Member Extraction Demo This Tues
Do you want to participate in the whole honey extraction process? BCBC is hosting an educational, honey extraction party for this Tuesday 08/13/2019, 6:00 pm. We will be extracting the honey of the club’s apiary on Root Cause Farm (renamed from The Lord’s Acre). Member Brian Friel has generously offered his house to get tagged with stickiness. He lives between Woodfin and Weaverville: 124 Naples Street, Asheville, NC 28804 Parking is limited. It is best to RSVP to Marshall Mullins, 828-231-8284, mars1952@gmail.com You will learn the set up of the club’s extractor (that members can rent), uncap the frames with the hot knife, see the centrifugal force it takes to remove the honey, strain and bottle the honey. Bring a rag, a snack/drink, a smallRead More
08-03-2019 BCBC Apiary Workshop
08-03-2019 Workshop at TLA This Saturday 08-03-2019 10 am to Noon, at the BCBC Apiary at the Lord’s Acre (directions at the bottom of this page): We will do a quick inspection of all of the hives and talk about feeding your bees during the dearth and I will answer your questions. Always bring some water. We have a mean hive at our bee yard. I have requeened it but it will not calm down until most of the old bee are dead and the new bees take over. I will close up the mean hive the night before the workshop and release them after so they will not pester us during the workshop. We STILL need a volunteer to host an extraction party. WeRead More
August BCBC meeting next Monday August 5th 2019
Good evening BCBC members, I hope that you and the girls are al doing well and will be enjoying the break from the oppressive heat we have been having.I hope that you will all be coming to next Mondays meeting on August 5th. We will have Karen Stegall come out and talk to us about the AZ hive that is very popular and used in Slovenia. Karen is a 4 year beekeeper, North Carolina Journeyman working toward master. She has been using the tradition AZ hive for the last 2 years. The AZ hive is used by most beekeepers in Slovenia. Here is a link to start to get you interested. https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/the-slovenian-beehive-arrives-in-the-us/ I hope to see you all there on Monday August 5th 2019 GroceRead More
Need Extraction Party Host
On Saturday 07-20-2019 10 AM to noon, at the BCBC Apiary at the Lord’s Acre: (Joe Jenkins Road, Fairview, NC) Three hardworking people showed up. The weather was sunny and hot. We inspected all of the hives and nucs (A Nuc is a Nucleus hive.) and they are all strong and queen right. There was no sign of EFB. WE ROBBED HONEY FROM THREE HIVES AND HAVE 12 DEEP FRAMES AND 24 MEDIUM FRAMES TO EXTRACT. WE ARE LOOKING FOR A VOLUNTEER TO HOST AN EXTRACTION PARTY where the newbees can get some hands on experience. Contact me and I will arrange a time. One of the hives at our yard is mean, too mean for a teaching apiary, and needs to be re-queened. WeRead More
Next Apiary Workshop 7-20-19 (not this Sat)
CANCELED This Saturday 07-06-2019 at the BCBC Apiary at the Lord’s Acre CANCELED We realize many will be away for the July 4th holiday. Next workshop 7-20-19 Upcoming workshops at the BCBC TLA bee yard this summer. 10 am-noon until further notice. 07-20-2019 Possible feeding if dearth. Sugar shake/Alcohol mite wash Hive #1 inspections. Raising queens and bees for winter. Do any splits need to be made? 08-03-2019 Sugar shake/Alcohol mite wash inspections all hives. Mite treatment. 08-17-2019 Inspection 08-31-2019 Sugar shake/Alcohol mite wash inspections. 09-14-2019 Inspection, Fall feeding 09-21-2019 Sugar shake/Alcohol mite wash inspections. 09-28-2019 Inspection, Preparing hives for winter. 10-12-2019 Sugar shake/Alcohol mite wash inspections. 10-26-2019 Inspection 11-09-2019 11-23-2019 December 2019 Final mite treatment with oxalic acid gas. February 2020 First spring inspection.Read More
Certified Test given July 10, sign up
TAKE THE TEST WITH US JULY 10 Dear BCBC Members and invited WNC members of other Chapters on the ladder for the Initially Certified Practical Test in NCSBA’s Master Beekeeper Program. The 30 minute written Initially Certified test (50 multiple choice and T/F) will be given on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 between 5:30-7:30 PM at 122 Lyman St. Asheville in the HomeGuage orange room. For non-members there is a suggested donation of $5 payable upon arrival. The NC Master Beekeeper Program (MBP) Ready for Beginner Certified Status Join the NCSBA ($15) Take a 50 question written test of multiple choice/T/F questions given: YOU MUST RSVP to Education Secretary, Janet Peterson at janetpeterson0@bellsouth.net right away so we know how many tests to print up. YouRead More
Week 7 Beginner Certified Class
Our last Beginner Certified Class at 6:30 at 122 Lyman Street in the River Arts District – June 26, 2019 Week 7 Join us (nominal fee)! PRODUCTS OF THE HIVE (taught by Brandon and Kimmie Delcambre, Journeymen “A Couple of Bees”) HONEY, LABEL LAWS, (taught by Scott Davis, Master Beekeeper) EXTRACTING METHODS -TBA EVALUATIONS OF HONEY FOR STATE FAIR (taught by Janet Peterson, Journeyman) Certified Testing- Written and Practical in July TBA