New Tree Stock is Planted

April 30

I purchased some year old stock from Golden Bough Tree Farm in Marlbank. The trees were ready for me to pick up and I planted them with Isaiah. I planted an American Chestnut, Ohio Buckeye, two apple root stock, two types of peach Bailey and Tao peach, Harbin Pear, Manchu Cherry, American Plum and Hazel Filbert, and Shellbark Hickory. By increasing the diversity of the trees that I have here I hope to create some extra sources of protein and fruit. Every year I want to purchase and plant several new species of plants.


I checked in on the bees today. I wanted to reverse the old hive #1 and get the brood nest down lower. They are doing well though not bursting at the seams as I had hoped. There is a good brood pattern on many of the frames and many eggs ready to hatch into larva. A really good sign that the queen is working to her potential.

I snuck a peak in the wild hive and they had not taken to any of the started strips of comb above them, so I took some of the old comb that was drwan out from #1 and gave it to w1 (wild 1) . I am hoping that they take to the comb and start to move up the hive and use the box above them. I am concerned with how I am going to get them a bigger opening so that they are able to come and go with more ease. I guess that will have to happen when the wax in the lower part of the hive has been emptied and the brood have hatched out. That may be soon as there was a fairly good amount of brood that was capped and ready to pop out.

I was listening to a podcast today - Organically Minded Beekeeping - and was really inspired to continue my work with natural solutions for the bees like using small cell foundation, using natural chemicals - mehtnol and thymol for mites, my own wax for healthy bees that are not exposed to harmful chemicals. The speaker on the post was "Fat Bee Man" he was really down to earth and made a lot of sense. I'd love to someday work with my bees, my trees, my garden and just work at the pace of nature. Who knows maybe I have been guided thus far by a higher power.

Bee Stoic

Mark