Burning Lime wood.

[coppice cutter]

18 hours ago, Squaredy said:

Yes that is what the yanks call it.  And linden.

Sorry, missed this.

 

Knew of linden but basswood is a new one.

 

Related to it's use in musical instruments?

[GarethM]

Just what anyone wants in their garden, a tree that smells of c*m.

 

Roll out the queen victoria sketch.

[Stubby]

3 hours ago, coppice cutter said:

Sorry, missed this.

 

Knew of linden but basswood is a new one.

 

Related to it's use in musical instruments?

Yes . A lot of the " cheaper " electric guitar bodies are made from basswood .

[Paul in the woods]

6 hours ago, coppice cutter said:

With respect no, I'll not be contributing to the further demise of the honey bee by facilitating bee farming.

 

I do however intend to provide at least one wild hive in close proximity if not this spring then definitely next. And if it is a success I will add another.

Going a bit off topic but do you live remotely? If not aren't you just going to get a domesticated swarm of bees that will become overrun with varroa and die out?

 

I'm just a hobby bee keeper, so I don't farm ours, but if they were not treated for varroa I doubt they would last long.

[nepia]

6 hours ago, coppice cutter said:

With respect no, I'll not be contributing to the further demise of the honey bee by facilitating bee farming.

 

I do however intend to provide at least one wild hive in close proximity if not this spring then definitely next. And if it is a success I will add another.

Pardon my ignorance but if farmed bees aren't honey bees what are they?

[scbk]

Talking to a local honey producer, he puts a few hives in an area with mature limes, and he said you can actually notice a lime green tint in the honey!

 

They also put hives up in the hills to make heather honey, which sells for a higher price....

[Paul in the woods]

I would tend to regard farmed bees as honey bees selected to produce large amounts of honey which is then stripped off and the bees overwintered on some form of man made fondant.

 

Queens are often imported from abroad which will produce more productive colonies, which some argue are less suited to the UK. Some would also argue this leads to the importation of pests and diseases like varroa and possible small give beetle in the future.

 

Personally I've stuck to my locally reared queens and I over winter our bees on their own honey. I'm more of a bee small holder than farmer...

Edited January 20, 2023 by Paul in the woods

[coppice cutter]

3 hours ago, nepia said:

Pardon my ignorance but if farmed bees aren't honey bees what are they?

Yes, farmed bees are honey bees, but honey bees don't have to be farmed.

[coppice cutter]

3 hours ago, Paul in the woods said:

Going a bit off topic but do you live remotely? If not aren't you just going to get a domesticated swarm of bees that will become overrun with varroa and die out?

 

I'm just a hobby bee keeper, so I don't farm ours, but if they were not treated for varroa I doubt they would last long.

I'm not a bee keeper at all although much of what I read about natural bee keeping does definitely strike a common cord with my own experience of switching from intensive livestock keeping to more natural practices there also.

 

I'm not sure therefore if this is meaningful or not.

http://www.dheaf.plus.com/beekeeping_photos/gwynedd_winter_losses.jpg

 

 

[coppice cutter]

2 hours ago, Paul in the woods said:

I would tend to regard farmed bees as honey bees selected to produce large amounts of honey which is then stripped off and the bees overwintered on some form of man made fondant.

 

Queens are often imported from abroad which will produce more productive colonies, which some argue are less suited to the UK. Some would also argue this leads to the importation of pests and diseases like varroa and possible small give beetle in the future.

 

Personally I've stuck to my locally reared queens and I over winter our bees on their own honey. I'm more of a bee small holder than farmer...

I read that bees only need between a third and a half of their own honey to sustain them through the winter naturally and the rest can be harvested without detriment to them.

 

Is that accurate in your experience?

Edited January 20, 2023 by coppice cutter