Thank you to all who attended Honeybee Awareness Day
Thanks to all who attended Honeybee Awareness Day at our farm on May 29th. We were excited to have Natalie Chambers of the Land Conservancy’s Pollinator Project and The Capital Regional Beekeepers Association there to add their knowledge to our day. Thanks also to volunteers Edward and Ruth, Karen, Mom, Susan, Tracy and Brett, David, Brenda and Loraine. Guests commented on the incredible amounts that they learned about bees from all you incredible people.
Some thoughts to take away. Here are 8 ways to help bees on a daily basis.
1 Stop using insecticides, especially for cosmetic gardening. Use biological controls.THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE CAN DO TO SAVE BEES
2 Avoid seeds coated with systemic pesticides, Clothianidin and other pesticides render the whole plant poisonous to bees
3 Read the label on garden compost, beware of hidden killers Imidacloprid (often reads on label as vine weevil protection) is deadly to bees.
4 Have a wild space in your garden (behind shed?) tidy gardens are not too wild friendly
5 Plant bee friendly flowers-buy wildflower seeds and scatter in bare areas
6 Make a wild bee house –see www.friendsofthebees.org
7 Support your local beekeeper-buy local honey
8 Become a beekeeper, or take a course and share what you’ve learned with friends and family.
Bee well!
Dana and Bob
Bees and Honeycomb
Honeybee Awareness Day May 29th, 2011
That’s right, a day to celebrate the humble bee. At Tugwell Creek Honey Farm and Meadery we will be having a special day of educational and fun activities to show what bees do for us and what we can do for them. Did you know that one out of every three bites of food we eat is pollinated by bees? Join us between 12pm and 5pm and be ready to watch, learn, and enjoy!
Bees emerging from our hives in spring
Want to learn more about Mead?
Come and see the most thorough mead seminar yet in Vancouver. Find out the history of mead, how to pair it, characteristics to look for in mead. All this at the beautiful new Legacy Liquor Store on May 2nd. Please open the invitation and see what all the excitement is about. You must RSVP by Friday as space is limited.
Moving towards organic treatments in our bee hives
Bees emerging in spring
Happy Spring! As we see the bees emerging and hear that losses of bees on Vancouver Island are high we thought we would talk a bit about what we are doing to try to make a change in the fate of our bees. We have been trying to find effective alternatives to using pesticide strips developed over 20 years ago to knock down Varoa mites in our beehives. While new chemicals have come out and are being used in many bee operations we feel that they may pose greater harm to the bees and don’t want to use them. We are trying to get away from this cycle of having to use stronger and stronger pestisides to control mites as they seem adapt to these pesticides rapidly. Along with trying to selectively breed queens that will groom the mites off of themselves (varoa resistant/hygenic stock) which is a very difficult task, we have switched to using Oxalic and Formic acid as well as Thymol. Our system is moving towards a more integrated pest management strategy. So far, mite loads are down and we are feeling hopeful about this working. Ultimately we are trying to breed stronger bee stock.
Best chance to try Island Wines
The Wine Islands Spring Tasting Event is happening this Tuesday April 19th, 2011 in Victoria the Fairmont Empress Hotel. So far there are 27 wineries, cideries, and meaderies tasting. This will be the best opportunity to try many island wines in one place at one time. Most wine makers will be present and able to talk in detail about their wines with you. I hope we see you there!
Honeybee Awareness Day May 29th, 2011
Honeybee Awareness day was created to raise awareness of honeybees, their importance to us, the fact that they are in trouble, and how we can help them. Feel free to join us for a day of learning at our farm on this day, join in another celebration, or just do something nice for bees this day!
I will be leading up to Honeybee Awareness Day by letting on some interesting facts about bees.
Did you know….that bees polinate approximately one third of everything on our plate at mealtime?
stay tuned for more interesting facts about bees!
Cheers,
Dana
Bob checking his hives at our Jordan River beeyard
Work with us….
Job Description:
Tugwell Creek Meadery is looking for a new member to join our tasting room staff. We are looking for an enthusiastic person with a passion for wine and working with the public. Candidates must be articulate, self-motivated, customer service oriented, and must be able to work Sundays with the occasional extra day.
Wages: DOE
Working Hours: Varies. Typically 11:30 – 5:30
Roles & Responsibilities:
Responsibilities:
Greet and serve guests in a friendly, gracious manner
Describe meads, mead making techniques, and meadery / /honey farm history
Provide information and education about our meads and case club; handle routine point-of-sale transactions, cash, and shipping orders
Help with routine housekeeping tasks to maintain a neat and orderly working environment Receiving and stocking
Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by manager
Qualifications:
Must be at least 19 years of age
Must be able to lift and move up to 45 lbs
Must be willing to take and pass a Serving it Right certificate before 1st day of employment.
Have knowledge of and passion for wine
Must be available and willing to work weekends.
Must be able to stand for extended periods of time
Minimum 2 years of wine sales experience is preferred
High energy and work well in a fast-paced environment
Must be capable of working independently, and of managing multiple tasks at once
Excellent communication skills
Must be computer literate and have experience with POS systems
Team player in an environment that requires flexibility and multi-tasking
contact us at info@tugwellcreekfarm.com
Posting Expire Date: 04/15/11
What is happening to our honeybees?
The following is an interview with Bob Liptrot of Tugwell Creek Honey Farm and Meadery and Reese Halter, Author of The Incomparable Honeybee. For anyone interested in what is happening with honeybees and how we got here, this is a very informative interview. The book is excellent as a further read into the plight of these amazing creatures. Read more about Bob at www.tugwellcreekfarm.com.
photo by Earl Nichols
[audio:http://tugwellcreekfarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/01-cfax-interview-copy.mp3|titles=Interview with Reese Halter]
Food Security
Food security is something we hear about and it is often on our minds these days. We were honoured to be in a documentary by Nick Versteeg titled Food Security that premiered at the Victoria Film Festival. The vital link between bees and food is discussed in detail amongst other important topics. If you missed it, you may be lucky enough to see it in your community. Nick and his team will be taking it to several communities on Vancouver Island and showing the film and having a discussion on it in the near future. Apparently there will be a shorter version available for schools as well. It is very positive in its approach and the message is so important. I hope you are able to see it!
Take Care,
Dana and Bob
www.tugwellcreekfarm.com
Kickass Currant is back!
Tugwell Creek Honey Farm & Meadery is proud to announce the release of our
Kickass Currant 2009
photo by Kerry O'gorman
Just in time for Valentines Day! A rich cassis flavour with an intense mouth appeal combines with a subtle honey background and a gentle kiss of oak. This past Bronze metal winner pairs beautifully with spring lamb, cured meats, cheeses, wild mushrooms, rich red pasta sauces, or dark chocolate. This release now comes in a 750 ml bottle for the same price of $29.95! With only 115 cases released, this will not last long. Get it at our tasting room Saturday or Sunday 12-5 pm or get at these fine retailers:
Sooke-17 Mile Liquor Shoppe, Buffy’s, or The Castle
Victoria-Cascadia Beer and Wine(Hatley Park), Strath Beer and Wine, Hillside Beer and Wine, Liquor Plus (Douglas Street)
Up Island-Beverly Corners Liquor Store (Duncan), The Oxy Liquor Store and Cross Road Liquor Plus (Nanaimo)
Vancouver-coming soon
Learn to keep Bees
Bob Liptrot of Tugwell Creek Honey Farm & Meadery will be teaching Introduction to Beekeeping March 29 & Intermediate Beekeeping February 8th. Courses will be held at Royal Roads University with a field day held at Tugwell Creek Honey Farm & Meadery. Please contact Andrea Turnbull <Andrea.Turnbull@RoyalRoads.ca> for more information or to book your course.
Welcome to the new blog
Bob is getting ready to check the hives in the spring. He is looking for healthy colonies and depending on how the bees come through winter, we start getting the bees to build up strength and numbers so they are ready in May for collecting Blackberry Honey.
visit our website at www.tugwellcreekfarm.com