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Beehive Update - November 2015

Spring 2015:Its been a very busy spring so far... so fast its nearly over!  Almost every hive has been split and most have been requeened with breeder queen cells. In general most of our sites are going reasonably well and despite the splits, bee numbers are satisfactory. There has been particularly good spring nectar flows in and around Hamilton so that's great.Hive numbers are now back to our standard 250 colonies and we have also made up an additional 100 colonies for a new beekeeping bu...

Why Are Beeswax Candles Better than Paraffin Wax Candles?

Beeswax is a remarkable by product of honey.  Beeswax is made by the youngest honey bees in a colony, they are too young to forage for nectar.  To produce the wax they gorge themselves on honey and link themselves together by the hundreds.   After several hours wax starts to flow from pockets in their abdomens.  Each bee then scrapes off the wax with their legs and chews it into soft pellets.  They then use these pellets to make perfectly engineered honeycomb cells....

What's Different About Sweetree Honey?

Honey is one of the oldest known sweeteners.  It has been an essential part of our diet since earliest times and there is increased interest in its culinary and health properties.  Not only is it delicious to eat, honey is hailed for its medicinal properties – it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and packed with highly valuable nutrients. ...

Good Neighbour Degustation Dinner

Last night we shouted my parents out for dinner to thank them for all the things they do to help us out.  They help us pack honey, paint bee boxes, harvest honey, etc.  We would be lost without them!  Anyway, we went to our local, Good Neighbour, for a 5 course degustation dinner matched with Good George Beer and Mills Reef Wine.  A beer and a wine were paired with each course and we had to rate whether the beer (grain) or wine (grape) matched best with th...

What Else Can we Do To Help our NZ Bees?

Here’s some ideas of what we can all do to help our NZ bees. Garden organically.  If you struggle with that idea then look for bee friendly sprays and use them at dusk when the bees are back in their hives.  Avoid neonicotinoids with these ingredients: acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam.  Also avoid spraying when plants are in flower.  Read information on this. Grow plants in your garden that attract bees.  Bees love plants with...

Waikato - The Land of Cheese, Honey & Beer!!

As you may know, we like to think Sweetree honey is a true reflection of Waikato's varied flora and locations.  Much like a great wine reflects the terroir of where the grapes have grown, Sweetree Honey’s different varieties reflect the area and season the bees worked their magic.  When you taste our different honeys it's like wine tasting, each one has it's own flavour profile, aroma and texture.  So what about pairing our honey with other special foods?We are lucky in the Waik...

Sweetree Avoids Plastic

Many people, including Martin and I, like to limit purchase of food in plastic packaging.  People do this for various reasons  but mainly for environmental or health motivations.  One way of limiting plastic is to purchase food in glass jars instead of plastic.  When we were deciding how to package our honey it had to be glass.  It is so much more healthier, attractive and environmental friendly. But have you thought about how honey is stored before it goes into the jar?...

Keeping your Kids Healthy this Winter!

I often get asked, "How come your kids never get sick?".  They hardly ever get colds, coughs or get sick and if they do it only lasts for a short period of time. I believe diet has a huge part to play, hence we avoid colours, favourings, preservatives, etc in food.  We eat like our grandparents used to eat and cook from scratch and try to ensure a good balanced diet.  I'm sure that has something to do with them being so healthy.They also have cod liver oil every day and vitam...

Sweetree Hamilton City Honey Wins Silver!

Sweetree’s Kirikiriroa Honey recently won a silver award in the ‘Beekeepers Special Reserve’ section of the National Beekeepers Association Honey Competition.  Sweetree’s Dried Bee Pollen also won bronze the national bee pollen section. The National Beekeepers Association awards are judged purely on the product with no packaging, marketing or gimmicks to detract from the product.  All honeys and pollens are entered in the same packaging and the products are judge...

The Healing Powers of Manuka Honey

Honey is one of the oldest known sweeteners.  It has been an essential part of our diet since earliest times and there is increased interest in its culinary and health properties.  Not only is it delicious to eat, honey is hailed for its medicinal properties – it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and packed with highly valuable nutrients.All honey has some naturally occurring antibacterial qualities (peroxide activity).  This is due to the high levels of sugar in the ho...

Honey for Skincare

Last year I wrote this blog for Oasis Beauty about how honey can help with skin care, so I thought I would share it here...Honey is one of the oldest known sweeteners.  It has been an essential part of our diet since earliest times and there is increased interest in its culinary and health properties.  Not only is it delicious to eat, honey is hailed for its medicinal properties – it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and packed with highly valuable nutrients.Honey can do won...

Beehive Update - June 2015

As I write this we are in the grip of winter and the bees are clustering to keep warm. Most of the queens have stopped laying and the brood comb is emptying out as the last of the new bees emerge. Hives are wintered down (surplus boxes removed), entrance reducers on to keep out wasps and mice. Varroa treatments have been administered and removed. Its now a case of keeping an eye on the hives to make sure they don't run through their honey stores too quickly.Most beekeepers would have had a great...

How to Protect Your Health Over Winter

It's that time of year again when it can be hard to avoid those winter ailments.  Coughs, colds, sore throats, blocked/running nose, blocked ears, feeling miserable.  And then there is the full blown flu - we want to avoid that! The best thing you can do to avoid these bugs is by having a good strong immunity to start with.  But with our fast paced lives these days there is often not enough time to exercise, get out in the sun or prepare nourishing foods.  And the physical an...

Uses for Honey

Here are some uses of honey that you may not realise.  Try some and let us know what you think! Rub honey on your lips and a natural lip balm, both soothing and healing. Mix 1 teaspoon of honey with half an avocado and mash together for a wonderfully moisturising face mask.  Leave on for 10 minute before washing off.Apply honey to fresh cuts - it's antibacterial and will not only disinfect, but aid healingSoothe a sore throat by slowly swallowing a teaspoon of honeyApply hone...

Flowers for Bees in the Winter

I've recently been asked what are good plants to have flowering in the garden over winter for the bees.  It was a very good question!  It's good to have plants flowering in your garden all year around for the bees. Bees actually spend most of the time in their hives over the winter and eat the stores of honey they have collected over the summer time.  Having said that if it's a nice warm sunny winters afternoon they will pop out for a little while.  I'm not a gardener bu...

What Happens to the Bees Over Winter?

Have you every wondered what happens to the bees after the long busy summer?  They deserve a good rest that is for sure!During the warm months bees would normally collect enough honey and bee pollen to keep them going over the winter months.  Beekeepers add 'super' boxes to the hives for the bees to collect more honey.  It is these extra super boxes that are extracted and packed for human consumption.  At Sweetree we leave enough honey and bee pollen in the hive for the bees ...

Beeswax Candles

All candles begin with wax, but now there are many waxes used which can be detrimental to our health. Most candles on the market are petroleum-based products and scented or coloured candles, setting the scene for polluted indoor air, which can aggravate existing respiratory conditions such as asthma. Natural waxes are created from plants such as soya beans and beeswax made by bees.  This wax was always in candle-making until the manufacture of paraffin became much cheaper....

Plant Trees for the Bees in Spring!

Autumn is the perfect time to plant trees and plants so they are ready for the bees to feed on in spring-time! Good carbohydrate (nectar) and protein (pollen) sources are critical to the honey bee’s survival and good health.   They need a good supply of flowers with good protein-rich pollen in spring for raising young bees and then diverse and abundant nectar sources throughout summer.A poor diet and malnutrition compromises the bee’s ability to withstand long term stresses su...

Lemon and Honey Drink Every Morning!

Ever since I can remember I have drunk lemon and honey drinks when I've had a cold.  My mum used to give them to me when I was home sick from school over the winter and I loved them.  My Irish grandfather used to add a bit of whiskey to his!  We don't get sick very often but if my boys are home with a sore throat or cold I add a few extra goodies to the basic brew and after a day of sipping away they are back to school the next day feeling good.  Have a look at this wond...

Beehive Update - December 2014

The first week of December and finally some warm weather and no wind and/or rain!  After what looked to be a promising start in September, October and November has been very tough on the bees.  The cooler temperatures and unsettled weather have made it difficult for new queens to mate and new colonies have struggled to make headway.  There was a significant dearth of nectar through November which saw honey stores disappear as the large quantities of brood take a lot of feeding!&nb...

Bees Arrival Sweeten Hamilton Attractions

Here is a media release the Hamilton City Council put out this week: Three of Hamilton’s most popular visitor attractions are about to get a whole lot sweeter. Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton Zoo and Taitua Arboretum are now home to bee hives, installed through a new partnership between Hamilton City Council and local beekeepers Sweetree Honey, who are part of the Hamilton Farmers Market. Martin and Stephanie Lynch, owners of Sweetree Honey, have placed 45 bee hives across three publicly...

The Curious Tale of Captain Puffleface & Tiger!

Our sons, Daniel and Matthew raise chickens from one day old chicks each year.  They have a little free range egg business, called 'Who Let the Chooks Out', and sell eggs to neighbours and friends.  While feeding his chickens one morning last week Daniel decided to look for new egg spots.  As he did he came across Captain Puffleface, one of his favourite hens, that had been missing for 2-3 weeks.  She was hidden in the corner of the garden sitting on un-fertilised eggs. ...

Beehive project gets city buzzing

Opinions on Hamilton are diverse and plentiful - but few have pondered what the city actually tastes like. The answer to that riddle could soon be revealed in specially produced jars of honey by Horsham Downs company Sweetree Honey. Owners Martin and Stephanie Lynch have struck up a partnership with Hamilton City Council in which 45 beehives will be put at three of the city's most popular attractions - Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton Zoo and Taitua Arboretum. The honey will be sold at the Hamilton Fa...

Beehive Update - September 2014

It’s raining so it must be spring! In the last four weeks the bees have been collecting pollen as fast as they can for new bee brood (you can see the pollen on the bees legs on the photo), and most of our queens are laying strongly. Many hives have good numbers of bees and they are starting to burn through their honey stores. The key focus has been to get our spring treatment in for varroa mite and ensure that all hives still have sufficient honey stores until the first flows start. There have...

Reusable Food Wrap

I was staggered to work out that I would use at least 220 metres of plastic food wrap a year just wrapping school lunches, let alone any other use!  It might not seem much but if most people do that it is a lot of plastic being dumped. Did you know we throw away 22 million plastic bags each week in New Zealand?  I wonder how much we throw out in glad wrap?  These take 20 years to break down in a landfills.  There is 189,000 tonnes of plastic dumped into our landfills eve...