Hello from snowy Germany

[Calum]

Hi
I am a Scotsman living in Germany. I have been beekeeping for 10 years now and manage about 25 colonies. Most of my beekeeping income I make from propolis sales, making propolis solution for other beekeepers and selling about 20 colonies a year. As I work full time in the automotive sector and travel a lot I don't have much time for honey. Enough for house door sales and to make mead, not much more.
Looking forward to sharing experiences with all of you!
BR
Calum

 

[madasafish]

Same Calum as the SBA one I assume?
(I'm another exiled Scot)

 

[Calum]

The very same!

 

[Plenty of honey]

Hi
I am a Scotsman living in Germany. I have been beekeeping for 10 years now and manage about 25 colonies. Most of my beekeeping income I make from propolis sales, making propolis solution for other beekeepers and selling about 20 colonies a year. As I work full time in the automotive sector and travel a lot I don't have much time for honey. Enough for house door sales and to make mead, not much more.
Looking forward to sharing experiences with all of you!
BR
Calum

Hello and Welcome, whats you year in terms of flowers, do you have summer heather etc?

 

[Calum]

Hi Richard
Dandelion is the main spring crop. Then depending on the weather clover or "wood" honey . Usually 25kg a year, >40kg depending on the aphids...

 

[user 6228]

germany is a bit diverse on the climate front from not very different to southern england to alpine. Can you narrow it down a bit please?

derek (lived in both scotland and germany (glasgow & munich)

 

[Calum]

Hi
Spring crop is dandelion. Summer is either clover or "wood" honey depending on the aphids.
There is rape in other areas but dandelion sells better and payments to go to the rape seed at 15€ / colony hardly makes it worthwhile.

 

[Calum]

Oops double post as my phones browser didn't refresh. My bad. I live in South Germany on the shores of lake Constance. (Bodensee). It has a very mild micro climate close to the lake.

 

[madasafish]

Oops double post as my phones browser didn't refresh. My bad. I live in South Germany on the shores of lake Constance. (Bodensee). It has a very mild micro climate close to the lake.

Been there many years ago. Lovely spot. Swam in the lake - it was summer so bearable...

 

[wightbees]

You have to pay to put bees on the rape fields ? I would of thought you are helping them.

 

[Plenty of honey]

Hi Richard
Dandelion is the main spring crop. Then depending on the weather clover or "wood" honey . Usually 25kg a year, >40kg depending on the aphids...

Interesting thank you. Do you feel that the amount of Aphids around do make a difference? ive just asked this in a post on the main forum. When you say wood honey, is that Basswood or lime trees, also known as Linden?

 

[Calum]

Hi, no we get paid. I meant payments by the farmers. These days I will not move my bees for honey. Too much work with little reward unless you have numbers. There is much better money in selling colonies and propolis beats my honey sales by quite a margin today..

 

[Calum]

Hi by wood honey I mean honey from aphids. They provide copious amounts if the aphid populations are big enough. A lovely rich dark brown honey. If you are unlucky you can get supers full of honey that crystallizes in your frames. Not great fun when it happens - I don't bother to do anything with that- just remove it and use it for feed for young colonies (because of its mineral content it is not great winter feed- and bees need water to decrystallize it)

 

[Plenty of honey]

Hi by wood honey I mean honey from aphids. They provide copious amounts if the aphid populations are big enough. A lovely rich dark brown honey. If you are unlucky you can get supers full of honey that crystallizes in your frames. Not great fun when it happens - I don't bother to do anything with that- just remove it and use it for feed for young colonies (because of its mineral content it is not great winter feed- and bees need water to decrystallize it)

thanks Calum, very interesting. Interesting to hear of a beekeeper that directly equates aphid populations to honey flows!! thank you, i will paste this in to the thread on the main forum. Thanks for answering

 

[Calum]

Hi
My bad explanation , we get paid to go to the rape- at least in some regions (not bavaria). But it's not worth the effort and not really much fun for the bees. Myself I can't stand that honey it's almost as bad as chestnut honey...

 

[Hivemaker.]

Hello, Callum and welcome, often read your posts on the Scottish forum, like the latest ones on propolis.