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SHAGBARK
FARM HIVES |
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Many
years ago, at the same time we were introducing the raspberries
to the field we took a bee keeping class at Ohio State University.
We thought keeping bees with the raspberries were a natural
combination. When that class concluded, we concluded that
bee keeping was far too much to take on at the same time
we were learning to produce raspberries well. Since we don't
do it unless we're going to do it well, we dropped that
idea. But that idea didn't really go away. In the years
since that decision, we've introduced flower gardens with
the intention of eventually keeping bees. 2017 was the year
for that. |
There's
been a lot of talk about the Flow
Hive™, we've heard pros and cons and we landed in
the camp that says Flow Hive™ is the way we wanted to
get into bee keeping.
The
Flow Hive™ is a truly amazing invention. It eliminates
a lot of the interfering with the bees traditional honey extraction
requires. The Flow Hives™ don't change how you keep care
of your bees. In order to keep your bees healthy, there are
tasks that must be completed if you have Flow Hives™ -
or not. It does allow the keeper to pour the honey directly
from the hive to the jars that the end honey product will be
sold in. This benefit also gives us the ability to say we are
offering pure, raw, unprocessed honey and really mean it.
This
differs greatly from the processing traditional beekeepers must
do which involves physical disruption of the colony, lots of
strainless steel and movement of the honey from the hive to
processing equipment before it ever sees a jar. Our honey is
100% pure, raw honey; never pasteurized or high-pressure filtered.
Unprocessed, unfiltered raw honey retains all the health benefits
like the live enzymes, trace vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants,
antibacterial properties, but most importantly, preserves the
natural taste and aroma of the honey.
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HONEY
PRODUCTION
Our
Flow Hives™ reside in the general proximity of the raspberry
field. This doesn't mean our honey will taste like raspberries!
It means our bees will enjoy all the flowers our raspberry plants
produce in the Spring. Our raspberry field also has chamomile,
dandelions, violets, blackberry flowers, strawberries and melons!
Plenty for them to do! We've also installed over the years, flowering
perennials for cutting, but now for the bees too!
And
if the raspberry field wasn't enough, Shagbark Farm is also home
to many flowering herbs, fruit trees and wild flowers. The surrounding
forested acres are filled with Tulip poplars, Locust, American
Red buds Elderberry, Spicebush - all put on a pretty spectacular
floral display in the Spring! Moving into Summer, the blackberries
and melons begin to blossom as well as Summer flowers like Monarda,
Hyssop, Yarrow and other Summer flowering herbs. Autumn brings
wild Asters, Goldenrod and Joe Pye Weed. A honey bee will fly
up to 2 miles searching for flowers. Since one has no control
over pesticides and herbicides that may be used in a 2 mile radius,
the prudent beekeeper attempts to keep his bees busy and local!
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Each
season brings a different type of honey as the nectar flow changes.
This allows for seasonal variations in the color and taste of
the honey, bringing out distinct floral flavors and aromas that
are representative of all the flavors of Shagbark Farm!! We harvest
honey in the Spring and in mid Summer, if production is good.
We avoid harvesting after August to allow the hives to build up
a store for winter. Bees in a hive need roughly 70-80 pounds of
honey for survival in the Winter.
The
Flow Hives™ don't change how you keep care of your bees.
In order to keep your bees healthy, there are tasks that must
be completed if you have Flow Hives™ - or not. The Flow
Hives™ change how you extract honey from the hives - less
invasively. In fact we weren't sure the bees would like the Flow
Hives™ and at first went with a hybrid setup mixing traditional
frames and Flow Hive™ frames in the Supers. The bees didn't
care. We harvested the honey from the Flow Hives™ and let
the bees have the honey from traditional frames for themselves.
HONEY
IS A SUPERFOOD
Honey
is made up of 38.2% of fructose, 31% glucose and only 1.3 % sucrose.
Raw unprocessed honey contains many substances important to human
nutrition. It has all of the B-complex, A, C, D, E, and K, minerals
and trace elements: magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron, calcium,
chlorine, potassium, iodine, sodium, copper, and manganese. The
live enzyme content of honey is one of the highest of all foods.
Raw
unprocessed honey has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal
properties. It promotes body and digestive health, it is a powerful
antioxidant, it strengthens the immune system, it eliminates allergies,
and is an excellent remedy for skin wounds and all types of infections.
Raw honey can also stabilize blood pressure, balance sugar levels,
relieve pain, calm nerves and can sooth ulcer symptoms. Raw honey
is also an expectorant and anti-inflammatory and has been known
to effectively treat respiratory conditions such as bronchitis
and asthma. Local honey also has the added benefit of reducing
symptoms of allergies. Consuming traces of pollen in the honey
may decrease the impact of some airborne pollen.
Read
about the hive products we bring to markets here.
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