Weekly 101 (9/16/11)

Well, so I won't be hosting an inspection at Added Value this Saturday. But babies, don't you panic; you can get your beekeeping fix this Saturday at the FIRST ANNUAL NYC HONEY FESTIVAL!

I sure do like bees.  And festivals.
I REALLY like festivals.
Carnies everywhere.
That isn't true.

YES!

Come down to the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk at 96th St to check out more beekeeping activities and events than you can shake a package at.

Over the course of the day, we will be hosting:
LIVE EXTRACTION DEMOS!
BEEKEEPING 101 Q&A!
COOKING DEMOS HOSTED BY GROWING CHEFS!
HONEY TASTINGS!
SPECIAL BREWS FROM SIX POINT!
LIVE BEES!
AND MORE!

I AM PRETTY EXCITED!

Even better, if you are a local beekeeper, enter your honey into our Honey Tasting! The link to sign up is HERE! The honey deemed the best by our judges will receive prizes.

Good prizes.

An 8 frame copper top hive, donated by Brushy Mountain Bee Farm!
-and-
A matching 8 frame Ultimate Hive Stand, donated by Bee Smart Designs!

The Grand Prize for Best Local Honey!

Photo from www.BrushyMountainBeeFarm.com

PLUS, a sweet new Ultimate Hive Stand from Bee Smart Designs.
Jealous.  Ugh.

Honestly, I'm just sad that I can't enter.

So come out and say "Hi!" Meet some bees! Meet some beekeepers! See what all the buzz is about!

NYC Honey Festival
Rockaway Beach Boardwalk @ 96th St
Saturday, September 17th
10AM to 6PM
www.NYCHoneyFest.com

Weekly 101 (9/2/11)

First, a message from Meg Paska

Hey Everyone!

Happy Friday! I'm very glad to report that everyone at Newton Farm was kept safe from the destructive, deadly flooding in Greene County caused by Irene this week. There was quite a bit of flooding at the farm but Lynn, Cindy and Co were able to salvage a ton of produce. Beyond that, we are fortunate that our farm is situated on very well drained soil so we expect many of the root crops to be just fine.

I am writing because I just received a call from Lynn that she will be back in BK with a HUGE haul of produce that we will need to sell ASAP! Please come by the Renegade CSA to purchase some and support the farm. We will be on N11th street near Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, situated behind The Bedford (a restaurant and bar that serves our produce). We'll be out on the stoop drinking wine and marveling at how great it is to be alive!

We will also have with us:
- LOADS of heirloom tomatoes
- wonderful, crisp cucumbers
- tender collards
- massive bins of fresh herbs
- heirloom squash
- sweet corn
- potatoes
- beans
- soybean free, organic eggs

If you purchase any of our $20 CSA bags in the past and would like to pick one up tonight, bring a tote bag with you and we will honor that arrangement. It will include a half dozen eggs, and an assortment of greens, veggies and herbs.

It is also worth noting that there are many other farms in the area that were far less fortunate than we were. Please consider checking out this link on how you can help farmers and residents effected by the devastation Irene caused. Clothing, supplies, non-perishable food and monetary donations are all needed to help the families and businesses that have lost everything because of the flooding this week. We will have a box for clothing and non-perishable donations that will be dropped off by our farmers upon our return to the farm.

Thank you for your time and we hope to see many of you this evening!

Lynn is great, and so is Newton farm, so you should come out TONIGHT, say 'Hi!' and support local, healthy, sustainable, organic agriculture and beekeeping. Upstate New York took all the shit from Irene that we didn't, so come and lend a hand!


If you can't make it tonight, you should come out to the Added Value Red Hook Community Farm tomorrow for a FREE public hive inspection. The bees survived Irene, and so I'm going to be doing my first post-hurricane inspection, making sure that everyone is healthy, happy, and productive. I'll also be moving the hives back to their regular stands, so I could use some help lifting because I am a giant weakling.

Feel free to bring your own beekeeping gear and actively participate in the inspection. I love hosting guest beekeepers of all ages and experiences!

If you can, you should plan to stick around and help out at the farm after the inspection! They got hit pretty hard by Irene and could use all the hands they can get to help clean up and get the farm productive again. Hope to see you there!

P.S. DID I MENTION THAT IT'S FREE!?

It's all going down at the Added Value Red Hook Community Farm, located at 3-49 Halleck St, Brooklyn, 11231, and I'll be starting the inspection at 11AM.

To get there by Subway:

A/C/F train to Jay Street/Borough Hall. Exit the station and walk west to Boerum Place and Joralemon Street. Take the B61 bus going towards Red Hook. Exit the bus at the IKEA store, and the farm is across the street.
F/G to Smith and 9th Street. Exit the station to the rear of the train (there is only one exit in this station). Transfer to the B77 (right in front of the station) Take the B77 to Van Dyke and Dwight street. You'll find yourself in front of the Liberty Heights Taproom. Take a left crossing Dwight Street and proceed up Van Dyke to Red Hook Community Farm (one block walk, from the bus stop you can actually see the farm at the end of the street).

Finally, the NYC Beekeepers Association is hosting a free beekeeping talk on Tuesday, September 6th.

Welcome back bee lovers!

Join the NYCBA on September 6th at the usual place at 7PM. This month's speaker is NYPD's beekeeper, Tony "Bees" Planakis. Tony will regale us with his tellings of life as NYPD's beekeeper. From the 1970's when Tony started keeping bees with his father in Connecticut after the two of them spent a summer in Crete learning about beekeeping, which was a family tradition for the Planakis clan. Tony kept up with the bees as a teenager, and after a stint in the army, joined the NYPD and continued to work bees, large and small scale, until the present day. Most recently Tony has enjoyed some high profile sting operations in Chinatown and Little Italy, where he has captured swarms from mailboxes and lampposts, sometimes with some help from various NYCBA regulars.

Also, Honeydrop (www.Honeydrop.com) will be providing honey based beverages for everybody, so, come thirsty and drink up.

One and all always welcome in our urban hive.

Tuesday, September 6th
7pm-9pm
Seafarers & International House
123 East 15th Street

I probably won't be able to make it since I have to pick up my CSA, but it should be a really interesting talk. Tony was the beekeeper who rescued the bees from the damaged colony in Fort Greene Park, as recently featured in the NY Times.

Also, it's free. Hooray!

Weekly 101 (7/5/11)

It's a busy time in Beekeeping! There are 5 great events going on this week!

In lieu of my regular hive inspection, I offer you this.  Same location, more convenient time!

Calling all beekeepers and wanna-bees! We've got an exciting weekend of bee-ness coming up in early July. Kirk Anderson from the Backwards Beekeepers (Los Angeles) is coming to NYC to wax philosophical about treatment-free beekeeping and letting bees be bees. These are two aspects of the method of apiary management that he and his club practice known as "Backwards Beekeeping." I'm a big fan of Kirk's and I'm sure you will be too. Check out this video to see him in action in Los Angeles!

Joining us for a 1PM lecture at Brooklyn Brainery on Saturday, July 9th, will be Sam Comfort from Anarchy Apiaries in the Hudson Valley. After the talk, we'll walk over to Added Value's Red Hook Community Farm around 3:30 for some hive inspections and demos. Tim O'Neal from Borough Bees will also be there as he has been kind enough to let us take a look at some of his hives!

On Sunday , July 10th, Kirk and I will be over at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm for a 2pm workshop on ways to propagate bees naturally and a Q&A session on Backwards Beekeeping. Eagle St will be hosting an Ice Cream Social Fundraiser after, and then the Honeysuckle Rosies will be hosting another Bees N' Beers at 4PM in Greenpoint to allow all the beekeepers who attended to talk shop and share ideas (and of course drink some beerskis in the process!)

Best of all, the events are free. So come out, open up your mind and get ready to let the bees get in yr brains! :)

Yup... This is going to be good. I am going to be at all four events (Brainery, Red Hook, Eagle Street, and Bees N' Beers) so come out, say hi, and learn a metric shit-ton about alternative beekeeping practices.

While my own personal beekeeping style is somewhat more conservative than that practiced by Misters Anderson and Comfort, I am seriously looking forward to learning about their techniques and picking their brains.


Finally, the NYC Beekeeping Group is offering a small group hive inspection this Saturday, July 9th, from 9-Noon:

Been waiting to get a taste of hands-on beekeeping?

Been to class and ready to experience the real thing, but no hives of your own?

Hives of your own, but got questions and want the benefit of an experienced eye?


Here's an opportunity to join us for a guided inspection of a Community Apiary -

We have a limited number of open spots for this session.

Those waitlisted will have priority for the next one.


Please email with any questions: nycbeekeeping@gmail.com

Thanks!

As always with the NYC Beekeeping Group, the event is free and is likely to be very enlightening!

Weekly 101 (6/13/11)

Bees + Drinking = Love

Meg Paska of BrooklynHomesteader.com is putting together another one of her Beekeeping Gab n' Guzzles:

The next Beekeeping Gab 'n Guzzle hosted by The Honeysuckle Rosies will be at Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg (Metropolitan and Havemeyer) this coming Thursday at 7 p.m. in the back garden. Bring tales of swarm catching and requeening! Bring pictures of your rooftop apiaries! Or just bring yourself! All are welcome, new-bees and wanna-bees, or seasoned beekeepers!

We can't wait to see you all! BZZZZZZ!

It's goin' down at Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg Brooklyn on Thursday the 16th, starting at 7PM. Come and talk shop with us!


If you want something a bit more hands-on, I'll be at the Added Value Farm in Red Hook this Saturday, giving another one of my FREE Public Hive Inspections!

Starting at 11, I will go through a basic inspection for each hive, starting with a lesson on lighting a smoker, moving on to visual inspections of the comb and a short talk on what to keep your eye out for (with examples!), and finishing up with another short talk on what we should expect to see in the next inspection.

DID I MENTION THAT IT'S FREE!?

It's all going down at the Added Value Red Hook Community Farm, located at 3-49 Halleck St, Brooklyn, 11231.

To get there by Subway:

A/C/F train to Jay Street/Borough Hall. Exit the station and walk west to Boerum Place and Joralemon Street. Take the B61 bus going towards Red Hook. Exit the bus at the IKEA store, and the farm is across the street.
F/G to Smith and 9th Street. Exit the station to the rear of the train (there is only one exit in this station). Transfer to the B77 (right in front of the station) Take the B77 to Van Dyke and Dwight street. You'll find yourself in front of the Liberty Heights Taproom. Take a left crossing Dwight Street and proceed up Van Dyke to Red Hook Community Farm (one block walk, from the bus stop you can actually see the farm at the end of the street).

This event is taking place during the Farm's open volunteer hours, so anyone who comes out should consider sticking around for a while after the inspection to help out! I'll be sticking around for a while to answer any lingering questions and hang!

If you ARE feeling brave and want to help out, consider wearing light colored long pants and a collared shirt. I've got an extra veil I can lend out to particularly courageous volunteers!

Special thanks to Added Value for hosting this, and future, FREE PUBLIC HIVE INSPECTIONS! They're doing great work, and are always looking for volunteers. If you'd like to help them out, check out their website here!

Weekly 101 (6/3/11)

Bees! You can meet them this Sunday! At the Eagle St. Rooftop Farm in Greenpoint!

2 PM - 3 PM

Beekeeping with Brooklyn Homesteader

Join Megan Paska of BrooklynHomesteader as she discusses the start up, set up and spring activity of our three beehives. Whether you're a beeginner (oh yes we did) or a beekeeper with Q's for our Miss Meg, you'll get 'em answered

It's free, and you can check out their greenmarket while you're there! Follow the link for more details!

Rooftopfarms.org


On Tuesday, the NYC Beekeepers Association is hosting one of their monthly lectures:

Beekeeping: Local and Global

NYCBA will have double the fun on Tuesday, June 7, when Peace Corps beekeepers Dan Carr and Lebohang Moore share their international beekeeping experience.

Dan Carr is a beekeeper at Stone Barns, an 80-acre nonprofit farm and education center located in Pocantico Hills, New York, 25 miles north of Manhattan.

Dan is a Colorado native and holds a bachelor's degree in history and political science from the University of Montana. After working on a Scottish dairy farm through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program, Dan spent three years in Malawi as an Agriculture/Environment Peace Corps volunteer. While in Malawi, he fell in love with keeping bees and confirmed the notion that he wanted to spend the rest of his life working the land. Dan will share photos from his Malawi beekeeping days, discuss how he cares for the bees and livestock at Stone Barns, and reveal what it's like working with a cool chef and environmentalist (we are fans of both Dan's, Carr and Barber).

We are also pleased to welcome Lebohang Moore, a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College (B.F.A., Dance Performance) who was a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia and Peru. He now works in Zambia with Tiny Tim and Friends, an NGO that supports HIV-positive children through organic farming and an animal husbandry training program. Lebohang will talk to us about beekeeping in Bolivia and Zambia, including different markets, honey harvest methods, and use of traditional and new hives.


*Help sustain the NYCBA hive by renewing your annual membership. This event is $5 for non-members.*

Tuesday, June 7th
7pm-9pm
Seafarers & International House
123 East 15th Street

$5? International Beekeeping? Totally worth it!


As for me, I'll be at the Added Value Farm in Red Hook this Saturday, giving another one of my FREE Public Hive Inspections!

Starting at 11, I will go through a basic inspection for each hive, starting with a lesson on lighting a smoker, moving on to visual inspections of the comb and a short talk on what to keep your eye out for (with examples!), and finishing up with another short talk on what we should expect to see in the next inspection.

DID I MENTION THAT IT'S FREE!?

It's all going down at the Added Value Red Hook Community Farm, located at 3-49 Halleck St, Brooklyn, 11231.

To get there by Subway:

A/C/F train to Jay Street/Borough Hall. Exit the station and walk west to Boerum Place and Joralemon Street. Take the B61 bus going towards Red Hook. Exit the bus at the IKEA store, and the farm is across the street.
F/G to Smith and 9th Street. Exit the station to the rear of the train (there is only one exit in this station). Transfer to the B77 (right in front of the station) Take the B77 to Van Dyke and Dwight street. You'll find yourself in front of the Liberty Heights Taproom. Take a left crossing Dwight Street and proceed up Van Dyke to Red Hook Community Farm (one block walk, from the bus stop you can actually see the farm at the end of the street).

This event is taking place during the Farm's open volunteer hours, so anyone who comes out should consider sticking around for a while after the inspection to help out! I'll be sticking around for a while to answer any lingering questions and hang!

If you ARE feeling brave and want to help out, consider wearing light colored long pants and a collared shirt. I've got an extra veil I can lend out to particularly courageous volunteers!

Special thanks to Added Value for hosting this, and future, FREE PUBLIC HIVE INSPECTIONS! They're doing great work, and are always looking for volunteers. If you'd like to help them out, check out their website here!

Weekly 101 (4/20/11)

I have no internet at home right now (it went up in smoke), so please bear with my lame update.

For those of you who may have missed it on my calendar page, there is a showing of Vanishing of the Bees happening Thursday the 21st (tomorrow)at 6PM, sponsored by Whole Foods!

Vanishing of the Bees

http://www.vanishingbees.com/events/?event_id=191

Hosted as part of the Whole Foods 'Do Something Reel' Film Festival

Time : Thursday, April 21 2011 6.00 PM to 12.00 AM
Venue:City Cinemas Village East
Address
181-189 2nd Avenue
& East 12th St
New York, NY. 10012

Tickets are $13
For more information contact 212-529-6799
http://www.villageeastcinema.com
http://www.dosomethingreel.com/.

After the film, there will be a panel discussion and Q&A featuring YOURS TRULY, Jim Fischer from the NYC Beekeeping Group, my beekeeping apprentice and Slow Foods International Biodiversity Wizard Emily Vaughn, and other cool like-minded folks! Exciting!


Also exciting, I am going to be giving two short talks on beekeeping in the city at the Brooklyn Children's Museum on Friday the 22nd as part of their Earth Day Celebration!

Celebrate Earth: Busy City Bees

11:30 and 1.30, for ages 4 and up

Farming is the last thing most people think happens in NYC, but bee farmers help keep all community and window gardens full of fruits and veggies. Find out why bees are so important and what it is like raising bees in the city.

If you stop by, they'll be showing a short film and I'll be answering questions starting at 11.30AM and 1.30PM!

I'm going to have cool props and a cooler assistant (Emily!)

Admission to the museum is only $7.50. The chance to see NYC's largest snake is worth that price alone! It's shedding! So cool!


For those of you that have missed the latest crop of Beekeeping 101 courses offered in the city this spring, Meg Paska is teaching a late session of her excellent "Rooftop Beekeeping 101" course at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn, starting May 1st.

Beekeeping isn’t just for farmers anymore! Learn the ins-and-outs of keeping bees in an urban environment. Maintaining an apiary is easier than you think. All one needs is a relatively accessible rooftop with a lot of sun, 15 minutes a week and tolerance for the occasional sting. With some patience, you can harvest your own distinctive, local honey and contribute to the pollination of your community’s flora!

In spite of what you might think, Honeybees thrive in urban areas like New York City. With an abundance of flowering trees and weeds, pollinators have their pick of as much nectar and pollen as any country bee might. In addition, they don’t come into contact with pesticides like rural bees do, so colonies tend to be healthier.

In this class you will learn about honeybee anatomy and behavior, hive function and construction, neighborly relations, urban beekeeping pros and cons, disease and pests, legality and safety and much more. You will leave this class with enough understanding and confidence to start your own colony in the Spring.

It'll be too late to start a colony for 2010, but that doesn't mean you can't start getting ready for 2011! The class is $80 for 3rdWard members and $100 for non-members. Spaces are limited and Meg is a great beekeeper to learn from, so snag a spot WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

Sign up at www.3rdWard.com.


Finally, the NYC Beekeeping Group was kind enough to remind me that they have an upcoming seminar on solitary bees on Wednesday, April 20th! If you aren't ready (or interested) in keeping honeybees, hosting a solitary bee nest is an absolutely fantastic way to help support native pollinators with minimum fuss!

Bee Lovers !

Sign up now at the Solitaries Program (form link) to be included in the Bee Lovers's Solitary Bees program this year. You'll receive a nest with bees ready to hatch, and two seminars: an Introduction presented on [April 20th], and a Fall Lab Seminar where you'll check the health of your nest and discover what other pollinators may have laid there. PLEASE PICK UP YOUR BEES SATURDAY APRIL 16th AT THE HABANA EARTHDAY EVENT (12-5)

We're collecting $25 per unit to defray costs. All funds are used to support exclusively charitable and public purposes. Please bring payment, check or cash (checks preferred) when you pick up your bees.

$25 is a small price to pay for the satisfaction of helping to maintain a healthy and diverse population of pollinators!

Remember to RSVP at their website, www.NYCBeekeeping.com.