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Farming

A Beginners Guide to Soil Preparation

It’s a blast getting soiled in the garden and I am quite happy to write for this audience.

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Starting Gardens From Scratch – Soil

Autumn is here, and this is the ideal time to be preparing ground for your future garden beds.  Here I will offer some elements I have learned and used over the years, and discuss their difficulties and merits.  As a way of weaving the story together, I will describe three different gardens I helped start.  There are physical material aspects, design considerations, and the realistic capacity of the players involved.

In 2009, some friends in Providence, Rhode Island were ruminating on the dire fact that nearly all food eaten in modern cities relies on massive supply chains thousands of miles long.  In the face of this, they began growing food in a few neglected lots in the neighborhoods we roam.  Some were guerrilla gardens, planted without any permission beyond the local will; others had some acknowledgment from a landlord, and another vacant lot was officially rented, becoming the Fertile Underground Communal Garden.

The space had formerly been a sort of parking lot behind an auto shop, so the soil was thoroughly steeped with oil, old shop rags, spark plugs and all sortsa junk.  It had been cleared of heavy material and was basically flat, a square green spot within a low-income section of Providence.  The team rallied all pickup trucks possible, and salvaged a bunch of old railroad ties that had been sitting for years.  These things were massive, probably 10x10s about 12 feet long apiece.  These were butted up to form squares in the garden, and plastic sheeting was lain on the ground, to prevent our food from tapping the toxic soil below.  Compost and soil was brought in to fill the beds, and the season began. 

Reviewing this technique, I point out that the capacity of excitable teamwork was essential, and the work happened without major strain on anyone.  The knowledge of latent resources in the area, like the railroad ties, made this process an instant success.  Its greatest positive is the immediate nature of establishing a garden in a solid day of group effort.  Afterward, we realized that these old railroad ties were soaked in creosote or some other tar, to prevent decay, but is also toxic and likely made our food less-than-organic.  In this case, a group of about 30 folks kicked in, and so buying soil to bring in was possible.  I believe there were 5 beds made, about 10 inches deep, perhaps 500 square feet of garden made in short time.

That garden grew well.  Composting began that year and was used to amend throughout the next seasons.  At one point we got a bulk dump of unsifted compost through a city gardeners group-buy.  We built our own simple sifter (hardware cloth in a basic wooden frame that we could toss shovelfulls at) and got the shells and leaf debris out of a bunch of yards of that compost.  Work was shared and food was harvested as one would.  The folks who were there a lot naturally harvested more.  It wasn’t a major concern about folks taking more than they put in, there was plenty to go around.  I built a greenhouse on site, there is another story.  We planted there for two more seasons until 2011. Suffice to say that this technique worked great.  It requires having a decent supply of people to help out, and to kick in some cash as well. 

The same year, one of our pals was buying a house in the city that had a decent size front lawn, about the same total footage as our old plot.  We planned to garden it anyway, but then as it happened our whole operation moved down there. 

I borrowed a walk behind roto-tiller from our friends the New Urban Farmers, and went ahead and turned up the whole lawn.  If one is aiming to break sod with a roto-tiller, begin with the depth set to a bit more shallow than halfway, the aim is to beat up the top grass layer.  In my experience, you will need to do two passes over grasses no matter what, so don’t hurt yourself.  You won’t get under it too much, but get the setting to where you are thoroughly beating its structure on the first pass.  Then, when you drop it to about ¾ of it’s full depth, you should be able to do some proper tilling and open the ground up.  

If one seeks the good farming literature you will likely encounter no-till farming, which is a super method, worth exploring.  In my experience, this works well in soil which has already been in use, but when approaching a thick layer of grass, drop the plow, sweetheart.  The basic lawn grass is not harboring the rich microbiotic landscape which a regular garden has.  The drawbacks of disturbing your soil layers are highly outweighed by the benefit of looser soil to plant in.  As you do the tilling, it can be helpful to have others just getting the grass clumps out of there.  Shake the soil off and haul it away.

In this garden, a few families of immigrants from Bhutan saw the opportunity of good ground, and essentially took on about 80% of the responsibility of planting and everything. This was a welcome change in our crew.  Although we couldn’t always speak, because of language barriers, it was always easy to garden together.  That garden, planted in 2012, is still growing today, and has developed in maximizing space, introducing vertical gardening, and many sculptures.  

In that garden, the tiller made it possible for an afternoon to yield arable ground.  I seem to remember amending the rows as we planted them.  The house has had chickens for many years now, and this has provided a lot of opportunity to continue feeding that ground.  To be honest, our Bhutanese friends work their magic there and I have been less involved lately, as I farm other plots now.  Again, the needs of this plan are tilling, and having a community who are willing to help, often.  This garden is tended every day during the growing season.  Much of its success may have been not from incredible soil, but from very diligent weeding.

A few years after that I had the opportunity to turn some more lawn space into a garden at our home.  A friend brought his tiller down and carved out a sort of triangle.  We live among tall oaks, so this space gets direct sun only about half the day, but it’s the best we got.  I added some compost as we make and it was available, but held off from spending much money to add the inch or two the whole garden could have benefited from.  I worked on a tree crew at that time, and began adding layers of wood chips for mulch.

During the first few years of gardening, I kept getting low results.  Low germination.  Getting busy and not watering enough.  The soil felt sandy and lifeless.  Usually one crop would do really well and most everything else didn’t.  Potatoes always grow.  I stick with what responds.

I kept adding the wood chips.  I found later that this method is described in the movie “Back to Eden”, which I would recommend.  I had come upon the same technique myself, and added some of his tips to what I was doing.  Basically, get in touch with a tree company who may be willing to dump a pile of wood chips near your garden.  I would seek out a conscientious crew who will take the care to bring you a load that’s not stacked up with sticks or logs or trash or anything foreign within, hopefully a good clean load that is mostly straight woody debris.  If they are super conscientious they will even make sure it’s not from a tree that was removed due to disease.  My hunch is that you would prefer a deciduous, not evergreen, variety, as those trees are known for being acidic to soil (and then would be ideal for placing underneath your berry orchard, again, another story).

Now, I began by saying that the ideal time to start your garden is in the fall.  To be honest, both those first gardens were started in May.  But to me, the best is the fall.  Another method I have used in the past is called sheet mulching, or lasagna gardening.  You can look it up, but there you are adding successive layers of material that will decay into your garden, bringing it fertility, structure, aeration, worms, microbial action, and beyond.  You can use almost anything you have in abundance whether that’s cardboard, leaves, or back issues of the Beartaria Times print edition retrieved from the future.  In this case I just used straight up wood chips.  Because they were free.  Because I chipped them myself.  Whenever I noticed a load that was clean, from a healthy tree, free of debris, and we were in my neck of the woods, I would ask for a contribution, and get the dump right near the garden.  Then I would peck away at the pile, one wheelbarrow at a time, over the course of a couple weeks, spreading a good few inches across the whole garden with a rock rake.  You see why this would be possible in the fall, or late winter, when the garden isn’t full of plants.

At first, this technique doesn’t do much, except act as a good weed suppressor.  You can move the chips aside and plant your stuff in the soil below.  But then you start to see immense amounts of mycelium in there, and the soil below gets looser and darker.  This technique is not fast, but it’s cheap/free, it’s simple, and once it’s rolling, it just works.  Mulching in general is a great way to keep the garden orderly.  Everything from making pathways clear to see, and keeping the weeds held back, just a bit. 

 Now this year, I finally went and bought a bunch of compost from my favorite local biodynamic composters, who use a lot of fish detritus, food scraps and tree elements on a massive scale.  I gotta say, the results were immediate, impressive, and very worth the money.  I would have done this sooner, looking back.  Yet I was surprised by how unwilling this ground was, when I began working with it.  My insight is that the type of fertilizers and chemicals the previous folks may have used on this lawn completely zapped this soil of it’s microbial life and structure.  There weren’t even many worms.  If you get any inkling of this, I would be prepared to add compost, and not just the little bit you make yourself, but a good bunch of bags or a truckload from an awesome composter.  Get on the woodchip train, but give that technique three years to really start giving back.

Growing a basic family garden, especially if you have need to be away from it for work or other stuff, it’s valuable to know the ways to support the plants, make them as resilient as they need to be, to deal with our own shortcomings as their caretakers.  I had a few years lately where I made most of the right efforts, yet did not see the huge bounty, mainly because of low soil quality.  I could have ponied up some cash and had a lot more success.  If you find compost that is rich in bacteria, it’s going to inoculate the whole garden, and help everything along.  Watch for the little signs and trust your intuition.

One final tip that’s not for everyone, it to be mindful of weeds.  Nature does not leave bare ground, that’s why we get the mulch in there to tuck it in.  Plants will come up when you make space, and not all of them will be your chosen varieties.  Yet don’t be so quick to pull everything out.  Make room for your plants, plenty of it, but wherever possible, leave those weeds.  Often I find that those are the plants that bugs are choosing to eat.  They may harbor beneficial insects.  They may be balancing the soil in some way.  You will get to know which of the weeds are your preferred varieties, and make your own selections of them as well.  The garden is a domain with its own language, and as a good leader, it’s best to govern with an easy hand.

Here is only a basic review of a few methods of getting a garden going.  Consider what unique assets you have in the process, whether it’s an abundant resource, big family and friends, or plenty of time on your hands.  You may find that it’s more productive to baby four cucumber plants than go plant 14 mounds.  You may find that just turning over an area in the ground and scattering some seeds willy-nilly (like I do, with some choice involved) performs just as well as laying everything out.  Mainly, you’ve got to have a garden that calls you in and keeps you engaged and active.  It’s a marathon, and there are key moments in any plants life where if you fail, it will suffer bad.  The more repetitive attention, even just ten minute stroll and observe, helps everything continue in a good way. 

It’s a blast getting soiled in the garden and I am quite happy to write for this audience.  I would happily receive suggestions for gardening topics to pursue in the future.  It’s a space that does not demand an expert, but appreciates expertise.  Get those long handled tools in your hands and keep that ground growing!!

Written by,

-Michael G (requesting to be bearified as Moss Bear)  imagined an approach called “World Gardening” wherein he accepts that this entire World is to be tended and cultivated.  It’s not unusual to find him saving seeds from an overgrown meadow or abandoned garden, pruning a shrub after ringing your doorbell, or throwing acorns from the window of a moving automobile. Lately he is imagining a more coherent cooperative project along these lines, called Earth Weavers. One of the first major projects may be the reintroduction of beneficial seeds to the clearcut hillsides of Americas Northwest.  To fund this endeavor he is offering a multitude of homestead skills.  More information may be found at www.earthweavers.art , and Moss Bear may be reached at earthweavers@protonmail.com or @dspacio on the gram . 

Farming

So, That’s Where That Saying Comes From!: Living the Phrases in my Beartaria

Living on a farm and living the phrases that come with it, you find yourself with lots of literal ‘Fences to Mend’ and ‘Gatekeeping’ to do.

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By FruitfulBear

My dynamic shift from a lifestyle of apathy to a fruitful focus on the good, the true, and the beautiful came with a new awareness of the possible origins behind previously trite catchphrases. I started noticing and found myself greatly entertained and oddly fascinated with phrases and sayings I’d grown up with.

In the summer of 2020, I started making the notes that grew into this article. The first time I ever harvested blackberries from a bush, they grew in the front yard of the house I lived in with my mother and sister. Several bushes were growing next to each other, and the hedge they made was brambly and mildly daunting to my newly awoken yard working ability.

I wore sleeves that weren’t thick enough, gloves that weren’t thick enough, and there was a very low yield on these bushes I was harvesting from. At 33 years old, the only food I had ever foraged for was tangerines off a small, short tree at the side of my grandparent’s driveway. By comparison, these blackberries presented as a ‘Thorny Problem.’

I came inside after my earnest endeavors and presented my roughly two cups of blackberries to my family. Delighted with the ‘Fruits of My Labor,’ I grinned as I explained my new thoughts on the ‘Low Hanging Fruit’ concept. The berries, though few, were delicious, and the tangible way I found myself living the phrases that had previously meant so much less was going to ‘Bear Fruit’ of its own for years to come.

We moved to 5 acres in Idaho at the end of 2021 and, in short order, found ourselves getting chickens, goats, ducks, and a garden. It has been an adventure-and-a-half, full of many opportunities to crush and lots of phrases to live. From our chickens, I came to new understandings about the phrases:

  • ‘Tough Old Bird’ – when harvesting old roosters
  • ‘Cocky’ – the attitude of said roosters every day before they were harvested
  • ‘All Cooped Up’ – the behavior of our flock on the rare occasions when we were forced to keep them in their roosting area all-day
  • ‘Flew The Coop’ – when we let them out after being cooped up, there is simply no other way to describe them practically launching themselves out the door to get back into the sunshine
  • ‘I’ve Got A Bone To Pick With You’ – when cleaning the chicken carcasses, separating all the meat scraps for soup
  • ‘She’s a Good Egg’ – I decided this must be shorthand for laying hens that produce good, properly formed chicken eggs
  • ‘Chickenshit’ – this insult doesn’t land quite the same after you’ve cleaned out the coop floor under a flock of roosting chickens
  • ‘Pecking Order’ – the chickens were developing one of these long before you and your co-workers thought to
  • ‘Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be’ – do I really have to explain this one

Now, if we move on for a moment to our ducks, ‘That’s a Whole Different Animal’ and ‘Like a Duck to Water,’ you can easily understand, if you are used to chickens by comparison, that ducks are a bunch of crazy ‘QUACKS!’ But, ‘Like Water off a Ducks Back,’ they don’t really care what the chickens are doing because ‘Birds of a Feather Flock Together.’

Living on a farm and living the phrases that come with it, you find yourself with lots of literal ‘Fences to Mend’ and ‘Gatekeeping’ to do. You ‘Travel The Well Worn Path’ to and from your barn all day. And, when you start finding hay and straw in more places than the sand manages to get to at the beach, you can’t argue against calling the feed bales ‘Flaky.’

When you’re trying to cut the ‘Ties That Bind’ on those same hay bales, and every single chicken that calls your barn home is demanding that you feed them their scratch grains, ‘Underfoot’ is definitely alive for you.

You’ll be tempted to ‘Cry Over Spilled Milk’ and find yourself turning the phrase ‘I’m Working Through It’ into a mantra of grit and endurance. The ‘It’ becomes muscle fatigue, headaches, or any other dis-ease in your life, physical or otherwise. You keep ‘Working Through’ because creatures big and small depend on you and don’t go away just because the work is more challenging to accomplish that day.

It becomes the highest of compliments when, at the end of a hot summer day after the sun has set, that first small breeze blows a whiff of cooling night air into the house, and you consider how nice it is to be compared to a ‘Breath of Fresh Air.’

Watering your garden as the strawberries, tomatoes, and other delectable produce start ripening enough to eat just a few before the full harvest, having ‘First Pick’ has never been more desirable.

Whatever temporary obstacles are between you and your Beartaria, I know you will ‘Get to The Root of the Problem,’ so just keep crushing.

I’ll end for now by wishing you all a ‘Crumby’ life since it means you got to have your ‘Daily Bread.’ And, I’ll ‘Level With You’ that I may reach out again in the future so we can ‘Chew The Fat’ while thinking about some more of our experiences as we live the phrases all around us.

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Farming

How A Christian Taught Me To Slaughter Halal

While thinking of God’s judgment over me, my nervousness began to leave.

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Reader discretion: This article discusses the processes of slaughtering lambs.


I begin with the name of The God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

So there I was, swimming in gravy and joy during the second annual Beartaria Times National Festival.

The bonfire roared and crackled, harmonizing with the diverse chatter of hundreds of people around the beautiful property. From outbreaks of laughter to questions that provoked silence and a subtle “woah” from engaged attendees meeting old friends for the first time, the atmosphere embraced you in a feeling of belonging, like a destination was found.

This destination, however, was not just the beautiful Missouri property but an environment manifested by all the legends that came with pure intentions, knowledge, wisdom, and guiding lights of family leadership, a meeting of lords and ladies from across the realm. Truly an elite class of prosperous minds and hearts.

The discussions were meaningful, and the light hearted humor was balanced with innocence and wit.

I had many moments of silence and reflection, smiling to myself as I felt the joy radiating from groups of legends around me.

While I had many valuable discussions, learned many things, and made many friends, one conversation made a huge impact on my life and assisted me in a 15-year-old goal and aspiration that seemed far from reality.

As I stood there, looking into the fire, having a moment to myself, I began to talk with an adventurous and inspirational legend that goes by Sidetracked Life Bear.

He shared all kinds of experiences with me, from his long-distance marathons that I have always dreamed of pursuing to his experience as a high-profile chef, business adventures in Norway, and now his sidetracked life of living in Missouri out of a converted school bus.

He began to tell me about his new venture of offering butchering services in Missouri. I was immediately intrigued and began to tell him about halal slaughter and my desire to be able to properly slaughter animals in accordance with Islamic requirements.

He comfortably and instantly resonated with it as he performs what he calls “Mercy slaughter”, a biblical slaughter that parallels Islamic guidance for slaughtering animals. I was super happy to hear this and saw the opportunity to ask all those questions I had about the preferred methodology of animal slaughter.

Almost 15 years ago, I began learning about halal slaughter. I found it fascinating and optimal for the animal and the consumer. It was instantly something I wanted to pursue. I never had the desire to do it commercially, but I wanted to be able to for myself, my family, and my wider community.

A little about halal slaughter and its requirements:

  1. The animal should have the name of God invoked over it during slaughter.
  2. The animal should be in a state of submission, mitigating all fear and pain.
  3. The animal should be slaughtered with one slice of the neck with a sharp blade. A clean cut without multiple cuts.
  4. The animal should receive food and water and be well kept.
  5. The animal shouldn’t be isolated or taken off alone to a strange place.

This process eliminates or minimizes the release of fear hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Now, I don’t own a white lab coat, so I won’t pretend to know much about it. But the idea is that the animal goes out peacefully, respectfully, and is content. The process should be an act of worship and gratitude, invoking God over the animal to remember the source and reason for the sustenance that has been provided for you.

Having gratitude empowers the will to appreciate and take care of what you have been blessed with. Animals are amazing creatures, and it is our duty to be the best of shepherds and custodians over them. As a duty, there is accountability over us, and while we may not realize the accountability over us in this life, if we neglect to acknowledge it, we often find negative effects of it in our life.

So as I began the discussion of halal and mercy slaughter, I was happy to learn that Sidetracked Life Bear slaughters sheep and goats with a knife. He would lay them down, say a prayer, and efficiently slice their throats with one clean stroke.

This was what I wanted. I was well-studied in the topic but never met someone who does this, let alone regularly and comfortably.

I had all kinds of questions for him, like what kind of knife to use, the positioning of the cut, managing the situation, and seeing through the process of the animal bleeding out.

Not only was Sidetracked Life Bear able to answer all my questions, but he was also able to instill confidence in me to do it.

I expressed that I had 2 lambs at home that were being prepared for slaughter in the winter of 2023. After getting all my questions answered, I really started to feel prepared to take this on.

As winter approached after the festival, the lambs were really starting to look ready. My neighbor here in Idaho was also a huge help, working as a processing butcher for many years, a big-time hunter, owner of a taxidermy business as well. His shop has wolf hides, mountain lion hides, massive elk antlers hanging on the walls, and every tool you can imagine.

I reached out to let him know I was planning on slaughtering the lambs and how I wanted to do it. It wasn’t common for him to see it this way, but he is familiar with it and offered to help any way he can.

Leading up to the day, I was feeling nervous. I had the right knives, I knew what I was doing, but the nervousness was from the fear that I wouldn’t do right by the animal and thus not right under God.

I spoke to Sidetracked Life Bear again, and he played it all out for me, he even FaceTimed with me as he demonstrated positioning with his dog as a participant in the demo!

This really helped calm my nerves as he is such a matter-of-fact kind of guy. While not being a Muslim, he slaughters animals biblically, which is very much in line with Islamic direction. We bonded on the intention, the motive, and the blessing of what we have been provided.

The morning of the planned slaughter, my neighbor stopped by, which I wasn’t expecting. I thought I would just bring them to him after they were slaughtered. At first, it made me nervous again as there is someone watching me perform something I have never done before. Although I quickly remembered that it is God that I should fear and God that I remember as the one that I am accountable to.

While thinking of God’s judgment over me, my nervousness began to leave.

One of my longtime friends went into the lamb pen and herded them out the gate, at which point I grabbed the animal and steered it only about 15 feet to under a tree that they grew up by. At this point, my nervousness was completely gone.

We lifted the animal’s legs, laid it down on its side, and put enough pressure to keep it down. I began to pet the animal, being firm and comforting to the beautiful lamb I raised since it was little, jumping around my yard with joy. The lamb then went limp and showed me that it had submitted to its position and where it was. I then spoke in Arabic. “I begin with the name of The God, The God is the greatest”. I repeated this as I positioned my knife and when things felt right, I said it again and made the appropriate cut.

Leading up to it, I felt as though it would be a hard cut to make, imagining a thick hide and a lot of resistance; however, with a firm, well-intended cut, the knife passed through the correct position quite easily. Its neck opened up, and it was as if the animal went instantly unconscious, limp, and breathing deeply as the blood started to flow without any sporadic behavior. The blood spilled out consistently for about 1.5 minutes as expected, then the animal gave its final impulse kicks, and it was gone.

My neighbor was very impressed, saying how amazing it was to see the animal go so peacefully and how it was such a clean, well-managed situation. He repeated to me that the animal had such a peaceful, respectful death.

I felt great knowing that it was done to the best of my ability. I did my due diligence, and the guidance given to me was properly executed. It also felt great sharing this with my neighbor and him witnessing a halal slaughter, which even in a rural homesteading area is not common at all.

I had one more lamb, the male, which was always a little more powerful and brave than the female. I repeated the same process with a little more time spent on making it feel comfortable on the ground under me. Just like the first, the animal did submit and relax. I felt its temper slow down, its breathing slowed down, as though it said “fine, okay, I’m here and I submit”.

The process was just as smooth, and afterwards, seeing both these animals laid to rest, I stood up and felt as though I rose from prayer.

We then took the animals next door, and my neighbor helped me half them and put them in his freezer. He refused to take any money from me, saying something to the effect of ,

“I’m at a point in my life where the last thing I need is cash. I want to share these skills with the youth and anyone that wants to learn because these skills keep us free and thriving.”

While the internet can often be filled with debates, disagreements, elevations of self, and identities pitted against each other, my experience with two men of different faiths supported me in mine, not because of their endorsement of an identity label but because of the unity of truth. Truth that transcends labels, social opinions, or branded demographics.

While I have loved the Beartaria Times community since its inception, this whole experience has proved it is what it was designed to be.

Not a community based on the unity of identity, but unity of truth, sincerity, and aspirations for better lives for ourselves and for others. To respect and appreciate the diversity of each other’s opinions and thoughts to empower us forward, not as a wedge to prevent sharing things that matter.

Islamically, upon the birth of a child, it’s custom to slaughter an animal and to give 1/3rd away to family, 1/3rd to friends, and 1/3rd to the needy.

In December 2023, my wife and I celebrated the birth of our first child. Alhamdulilah!

I gave away one of the butchered lambs, to which I received so many great reviews. It was said that it was the best lamb people have ever had, the meat was so soft, picky children even asked for more!

It really inspired people to look into cultivating lambs or supporting me in escalating things.

In conclusion, I want to say thank you to Sidetracked Life Bear for the amazing mentorship, thank you to my wonderful neighbor, thank you to the Beartaria Times festival team, thank you to The Beartaria Times and all the legends supporting it, thank you to the Big Bear for cultivating this community in a way where it is cultivating itself beyond the internet controversies and back to things that matter.

All praises to The All Merciful, The All-Powerful, Our Sustainer, and Our Provider.

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Farming

Beekeeping Basics

According to the American Beekeeping Federation, beekeeping today contributes around $20 billion in value to U.S. crop production.

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By: Tiffany Jones 

A Brief History 

Humans originally obtained their honey through wild harvest.  A cave painting located in Valencia, Spain, depicts honey harvesting dates back 7,000 years.  However, the thought is, that honey and wax collection dates back around 10,000 years.  Modern-day beekeeping dates back to the 18th century when Europeans changed beekeeping by the use of moveable comb hives.  Before that, the colony of bees would be destroyed to collect the honey. 

According to the American Beekeeping Federation, beekeeping today contributes around $20 billion in value to U.S. crop production.  Some crops, like blueberries and cherries, are 90% dependent on honeybees.  Honeybees are very important, helping improve both the yield and quality of many crops.  

My family also has a long history of beekeeping. When my dad was younger, he would hunt for wild bees with my grant grandpa to wild harvest. They would slowly track the bees back to their hive, where they would harvest the honey. My great-uncle Jim had a large apiary which he sold in 1975 to a friend of the family.  At the time of sale, he had around 250 hives, but at his peak, he had around 800 hives. 

After the family friend bought the honey business, he expanded, building the business back up.  My mom, sister and I would all work for the man who bought it in the late 90s and early 2000s.  My mom would work in the bee yard and honey house.  My sister and I would work in the honey house.  When I was around 10, before we started working for a friend, my parents also started keeping their bees.  

Today we keep around 15 to 20 hives in two bee yards, and the family friend is still our close mentor.  Our many products at farmer’s markets are honey.  We also make a range of honey infusions, including sage, lavender, orange, anise, vanilla, and cinnamon.  The wax is used in candles, lip balms, and salves.  The propolis is used in salves and tinctures.  The goal in the future is to double our number of hives once my dad retires in a couple of years.

The Langstroth Hive 

The Langstroth hives are the most commonly used hive in the United States and Europe.  And by using the Langstroth hive, it is easier to acquire equipment that is standardized.  There are two types of Langstroth hives a 10-frame and an 8-frame.  The only difference between the 10 and 8 is the number of frames a box will hold.  The hive itself is made of boxes stacked on top of each other and can be broken down into seven basic parts(starting from bottom to top):

Bottom Board-is the floor of the hive and provides a landing area.

Brood Chamber/Deep Supers – is where the queen lays her eggs.  Most hives will have 1 or 2 brood chambers at a time.  Some honey and pollen will also be stored here.  These boxes are the largest at 9 5/8 inches high.

Queen Excluder – is placed between the brood chamber and honey supers to keep the queen from laying eggs in the honey supers.  The worker bees are small enough to fit through, but it can slow honey production down.  So, most beekeepers will avoid using it unless necessary.

Honey Supers – is where the honey is made and stored.  There will be 1 or more honey super at any given time in the hive.  Honey supers come in 4 different height sizes comb super (4 3/4 inches), shallow super (5 3/4 inches), medium super (6 5/8 inches), and large super (7 5/8 inches).

Frames – are used for structural support to help the bees maintain a well-structured honeycomb.  They are put into both the brood chamber and honey supers.  Frames come in wood and plastic, but bees always seem to prefer wood. 

The foundation can be used inside the frames to help the bees start their honeycomb, but it is unnecessary. Although, it does help with increased honey production and keeping the hive more organized.  Foundation also comes in a variety of ways, including plastic, pure wax, pure wax wired, and synthetic foundation.

Inner Cover – creates a dead air space to insulate the hive against heat and cold.  Some covers will also have a vent for ventilation and honey production.

Outer/Telescoping Cover – is usually a wood top covered with heavy-duty aluminum to protect the hive from the elements. 

Many beekeepers will put the hive on some sort of stand/base to give support and keep it off the damp ground.  These bases are commonly made from wood or concrete. Some additional equipment will also be used in the winter to winterize the hive.

Tools

There are many tools when it comes to beekeeping, but there are three I would recommend.

Hive Tool – is one of the most useful tools and, I would argue, the most essential when beekeeping.  It has a multitude of uses in and out of the bee yard.  It can be wedged between boxes to free them, the sharp edge can be used to scrape wax/propolis off boxes/frames, it makes a decent hammer, and there is a hole in it to pull nails.

Smoker – can make caring for a hive much easier. The smoke helps to block the pheromone isopentyl acetate, which alerts other bees to be ready to attack.  There is an art to smoking because you can over or under-smoke.  Also, what you use to produce the smoke is important.  Natural twine works well.  But I prefer to use the dried fruits from the staghorn sumac.  This is what my great-grandfather used, and the bees like the scent.

Bee suit and gloves – are not a necessity but can be a good idea when first starting out. There are many factors that affect how bees will act, including weather, time of year, smell, location, and energy.  It is good to be safe in a suit until you understand the hive’s nature better.  

Honeybees

The European Honeybee (Apis mellifera) are amazing creator, traveling up to 3 miles in any direction to forage and using a wiggle dance to communicate. There are three members of a hive: the queen, the worker, and the drone.  There is only one queen per hive, and she is the biggest bee in the hive.  The hive is a reflection of her, and she is in charge.  But can be replaced if the workers find her incompetent.  She will live 2-7 years and can lay 1,500-3,000 eggs per day.  

The worker bee is the smallest member; on average, there are about 50,000 per hive during the summer.  They do everything from hive care, hive defender, foraging, and activities related to the queen.  In their lifetime, which can last 22-42 days, they will make about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey. The drone’s one mission is to mate with a queen.  If he has successes, it will kill him.

Honey

Honey, also known as liquid gold, has great value as a food.   It can be used in cooking, baking, or added to tea; in addition to that, it can also be eaten raw.  Honey comes in many forms and flavors.  The flavor can be affected by the time of harvest and the floral source/sources. For example, honey made primarily from blueberry can sometimes have a blueberry aftertaste, and basswood/linden tree honey can have a hint of mint. 

Honey’s many forms:

Crystallized or Granulated Honey – is just honey that has spontaneously crystallized.  It has not gone bad; it just needs to be heated to return to a liquid state.  The best way to do this is a warm water bath (do not boil).  Also, do not put it in the microwave, as this will destroy the beneficial enzymes and properties of the honey.  Granulated honey can also be eaten, and it just has a different texture.

Raw Honey – has had minimal to no processing done to it.  If heat is used, it will not be above 105-115 degrees Fahrenheit.  Sometimes it will be run through a minimal strainer during bottling.  But this honey will still have pollen, wax, enzymes, and the occasional bee part.  Most small-scale/local beekeepers will sell their honey this way in liquid or crystallized form.

Creamed or Whipped Honey – is crystallized honey where a starter seed is used.  This seed comes from a previously crystallized batch of honey and is much smaller than most naturally crystallized honey.  This makes it a smoother-spreadable cream.  It is lighter in color than liquid honey.

Comb Honey – is honey left in the wax comb.  It is harvested by cutting the comb out of the frames or by using special frames.  This is a lot more work for the bees because that have to draw out the comb every time.  Normally the drawn-out comb would be reused, saving the bees time. 

Infused Honey – is made with herbs and spices, such as mint, rose petal, vanilla, and lavender. The herbs are placed in warm honey and left in the jar for a few weeks.  The herbs are strained or can be left in.  I like to put the herbs in on a new moon and take them out on a full moon.

Beekeeping is a long-held tradition done all over the world.  This is just a basic look at how my family keeps bees and the amazing ability of bees. If you have more questions, I can be found on the Beartaria Times app Farming Artist or Instagram as farmingartist13. The farm website is jonesmoonlitfarm.com.  

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