Poor Valley Bee Farm - The Bee Blog

New products and some free shipping

2014-12-10T06:08:00-05:00

We are proud to offer a new line,( made just for us ) of ventilated jackets and full bee suits .We also offer new heavy duty cowhide ventilated gloves all with free shipping. We also offer a new product called oxalic acid vaporizers or varroa cleaner and also have free shipping on them. We would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a blessed new year.

New Equipment

2014-10-13T12:34:29-04:00

We will soon be offering ventilated bee jackets and suits,a new line of heavy cowhide gloves and regular jackets and gloves all with free shipping.

Bee Active

2014-02-24T06:46:26-05:00

I checked hives over the weekend and the bees are starting to raise brood on a bigger scale than i would have thought. They are bringing in nectar and pollen. The pollen ranges from a light tan to a dull gray. This time of year pay close attention to your bees, check them on warm days and feed if necessary.

Keep an eye on the website. We are going to add new equipment and lower some more prices. We plan to add top bar hives and 8-frame equipment and some other items. Get your bees healthy and have a great honey season.

Mercury's Rising, Prices are Falling

2014-02-23T22:04:57-05:00

It's been a wild winter here at the Farm, but we're finally starting to see signs of a thaw. And though we know we're not out of the woods yet, the warmer temperatures have us looking forward to the coming bee season. While our bees have been taking a well-deserved rest, we've been working hard developing relationships with manufacturers to help us deliver lower prices on a wide range of products. We've dropped our prices on everything from our 10" hive tool to our frame spacing tool and wood bound excluder. We shaved almost 10% off our frame wiring board and more than 20% off the price of our smoker fuel. We've even cut our prices on eyelets, eyelet punches, and 9-frame spacers. And we've done it all without sacrificing quality. Same great products; new low prices.

There's no getting around it: beekeeping is expensive, whether you're a hobbyist, a sideliner, or a commercial operation. Every penny matters, and that's why when we improve our operations, we pass the savings on to you, our customers.

February Warm Up

2014-02-15T12:10:29-05:00

The red maples are starting to bloom. With the warm up this coming week, it is time to see how your bees are doing. It is important to check for stores and to see if the queen is laying. It is a good time to put in a pollen patty and feed in small amounts: feed only what they will take in quickly as not to introduce more moisture in the hive. Bees can stand cold they just cannot stand to be cold and wet. Now is the time to check for nosema and to start treating them as you feed them. Be sure they have 15-20 pounds of honey to carry them to the honey flow. I hope your bees came through the winter in good condition and you have a great honey flow come april.

Christmas

2013-12-24T07:29:20-05:00

All of us at Poor Valley Bee Farm would like to wish our customers and friends a vey merry Christmas and a blessed new year.

Package Bees and a Promotional Drawing

2013-11-04T10:03:25-05:00

We will start taking orders for package bees and queens December 1, 2013 for delivery in the first week of April 2014, weather permitting. Be sure to get your order in early; we have a limited number of packages.

In the meantime, the first 200 folks to order supplies via our online store will be entered in a drawing for a 3# package of bees with a marked queen. Thanks to everyone for your interest in our business, and we look forward to serving you through the winter and into the 2014 season!

Let Us Not Have a Repeat of Last Year

2013-08-15T03:00:00-04:00

I checked my bees on Wednesday the 14th and found that the bees did not have a lot of excess honey stored for winter. If the weather pattern does not change, the bees will eat up what meager stores they have and will have no reserves for winter. I would advise everyone to avoid a repeat of last year and keep a close eye on their bees and feed if necessary, check for mites, and make sure you have a good laying queen.

Something To Think About

2013-08-11T03:00:00-04:00

We at poor valley bee farm would like to hear from people that visit the website, we are considering adding an online store to the website. We hope you will voice your opinion by e-mailing us at birdandbev@yahoo.com, or by leaving feedback on the blog or on facebook. We think we can offer a quality product at a very fair price with good customer service. Please let us know how you feel.

Honey Harvest Time

2013-07-28T03:00:00-04:00

It is time for some people to harvest honey. Be sure that the honey you harvest is of the right moisture content. It should be 18.5% or less water content to avoid fermentation, unless you want to make mead. Just remember to leave your bees adequate stores for winter in case we don't have a fall honey flow.

Bee Time Again

2013-02-26T03:00:00-05:00

The red maples are putting out, so it is time to get our bees ready for the spring honey flow. It is important to get your bees healthy so they are able to take the excess nectar and turn it into surplus honey. We as beekeepers should strive to get our bees healthy because if your bees are not healthy they will die. We need to make sure the queen is laying well and that the bees have enough stores. Treat your bees for mites and nosema at least 4 weeks before the honey flow. If your bees are in good shape and you want the increase, split your bees to prevent swarming and to ensure a good honey crop. I hope all beekeepers have a wealth of bees and a great honey crop and if you have any questions contact us and we will try to assist you.

Honey Flow

2013-01-09T03:00:00-05:00

The honey flow is in full swing be sure you have adequate honey supers on your hives to encourage the bees to store excess nectar that they gather. The bees cannot store excess nectar if your supers are in the garage or basement. Basswood trees are starting to bloom in this area and produce a very good honey. Keep an eye on your bees make sure they are healthy and that the queen is laying well.

Package Bees

2012-11-24T03:00:00-05:00

It is once again time to order your package bees. I hope no one has winter losses and just want to expand their apiary. I am now taking orders for package bees and queens for delivery the first week of April 2013, weather permitting. You can contact me at the web site or at 276-386-7786 or 276-690-6118. A 3 lb. package with a marked queen will be $85.00. Queens will run about $22.00 and will be marked.X

Winter Bees

2012-10-29T03:00:00-04:00

In doing your fall preparation for winterizing your bees don't do a quick look in the top to see if there are a lot of bees. I would advise you to check the brood chamber to make sure that there is capped brood and that the queen is there and laying. If you are short on stores feed as much as they will take and place a winter patty on the top bars so they will have something to feed on. If winter time temperature allows check for food stores and add winter patties as needed.

Fall and Winter To Do List

2012-10-22T03:00:00-04:00

(1) Make sure your bees are queen wright. Check to make sure there is brood. This is probably the most important factor.

(2 ) Make sure your bees have enough stores for winter. You need 40 lbs. to 60 lbs. of stores'

(3) Take off excess supers and store them so wax moths cannot get at them. Freeze them or use Para-Moth.

(4) Install entrance reducers or mouse guards to protect your bees.

(5) Check for mites, hive beetles, and other pests and diseases. Treat as needed.

(6) Make sure you equipment is in good shape. If not replace and repair old equipment over winter.

(7) What you do in the fall has a great deal to do with what kind of honey crop you have next spring.

Swarm Season

2012-05-12T03:00:00-04:00

If your bees have not swarmed you either did a good job of management or you are very lucky. Swarming is a natural way for bees to increase their numbers. It can be controlled somewhat if you don't want more bees and a good honey crop. You can do a controlled swarm on your bees by removing the old queen and about three frames of brood, one frame of honey and a frame of pollen and place them in a nuc and let the old hive raise a new queen. You can either keep the nuc to help boost a weak hive or sell it to another beekeeper. I hope everyone has a great honey crop and as many bees as they can manage.

Package Bee Day

2012-04-08T03:00:00-04:00

Saturday April 7th was package bee pickup at Poor Valley Bee Farm.We hopefully made several new beekeepers happy.

March to do list

2012-03-25T03:00:00-04:00

I'm sorry for not posting for a while there was a problem with the web site.

Check brood chambers.If all the brood is in the upper part of the brood chamber, reverse the upper and lower brood boxes. Reversing these will cause the queen to use both boxes to lay eggs. In about two weeks reverse the boxes again.

Feed overwintered colonies one-to-one sugar syurp to stimulate brood rearing.

Check the brood chamber for disease each time you open the colony.

Prepare honey supers with new foundation. The major honey flow is not far off.

Check for queen cells. Swarm season is just around the corner. This is a good time to split your bees if you want to increase your numbers or to prevent your bees from swarming.

Pollen!

2012-01-31T03:00:00-05:00

I placed winter patties on the bees today,which also serves as food since they contain sugar and Honey-B-Healthy protein and carbs.The bees were flying great and bringing in pollen.The red maples are putting out can spring be far off.

It's time to get ready for spring!!

2012-01-28T03:00:00-05:00

Now is the time to start preparing for the spring necture flow. Check bees for honey stores to make sure the supply is adequate until the necture flow starts. If stores are not sufficient, you can feed pollen patties, winter candy and, if they will take it, one to one sugar syrup. This should only be done if weather permits.

Welcome to Poor Valley Bee Farm

2012-01-10T03:00:00-05:00

Welcome to our new website! Please bear with us as we work out all the bugs and upload new content. For now, we hope you'll take the time to explore the site and contact us with any questions you might have. It's winter, so our bees are taking a well-deserved rest, but spring is just around the corner!