Posts Tagged ‘Natural Beekeeping’

These days, everyone seems to be preoccupied with going green, eating right, and growing, buying and eating organic products, and this includes organic honey. If you have noticed, there aren’t that many organic honey producers, and that is not necessarily because beekeepers don’t use natural beekeeping methods, but because the organic regulations are extremely strict.

Let’s take a closer look at Organic Beekeeping and what makes such a product truly organic…

-The Definition of Organic Beekeeping-
When you implement organic beekeeping, it means you use methods, and treatments that are natural, and that you avoid any type of pesticide or harmful materials. The organic beekeeper uses nutritional supplements and specialized practices which create strong honeybee colonies. Yet, everything he uses can be safely handled or even eaten by the self same beekeeper. And organic beekeeper has to follow FDA rules for organic farming, and this involved preventing disease, and treating diseases without pesticides, or chemicals.

-Hive Insulation-
An important part of the organic beekeepers job is keeping the bees healthy without having to use any type of chemical, and an important part of doing this is protecting the honeybee colonies in cold seasons. This is probably the most important way of preventing disease within the bee hive. Bee hives that are not protected in winter have a higher chance of getting tracheal mite or nosema, so when you help protect them, you can more easily produce organic honey. Honeybee colonies create their own warmth, and when they are helped then they won’t starve or become too chilled during winter.

There are lots of ways to insulate for winter, but probably the most cost effective method is by using Styrofoam panels and tarp. Another less expensive method is, using bubble pack that is backed by foil. Just be sure that the hive entrance isn’t obstructed.

-Healthy Feeding Solutions for Longer Bee Life Span-
Bees that are not maintained organically have a shorter lifespan, and that is because commercial beekeeping has exposed the bees to toxic substances. These toxins, plus the toxins in our environment, like that of the air, soil, plants, and water stresses the honeybee’s immune system.

You need to pay attention to local surrounding water supplies, and crops that may have severe chemicals used in them. Most organic beekeepers are required to be away from population, traffic, large commercial crops. This is just one of the reasons organic beekeeping is so difficult.

An organic beekeepers job is to improve the immune system of his hive. This process required a great deal of care and dedication. As an organic beekeeper you may not see the fruits of your effort in this regard until the second generation of bees. But once you have healthier and stronger bees, they will produce more for you. You just have to be patient and stay the course, the results will come if you give it time.

There are many beekeepers that care for their bees naturally but few can be classified as organic because of the stringent rules of the FDA.

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Organic beekeeping and natural beekeeping are similar, yet different. In this article, I’m going to explain to you the very subtle differences and what makes them different. Hopefully this will clarify the differences for you in a simple and straightforward approach.

Organic beekeeping is like natural beekeeping, except that it is governed by very stringent regulations set by the FDA. You can be an all natural beekeeper, yet still not meet all the requirements of an organic beekeeper.

Natural beekeeping is a term that has been set by the beekeepers themselves, so it is not really regulated by legalities, whereas organic producers are. Legality…that is the main difference between organic beekeeping and “natural” beekeeping.

There are actually three main factors that both the natural beekeeper and the organic beekeeper focus on, the hive, and the place where the bees get their nectar from, and the environment the bees are in. Let’s take a closer look at all three and go into a bit more detail on each of these three main factors….

The Place where the Nectar Comes From
The reason why there are so few organic beekeepers is because the FDA requires that the hives be located in isolated areas away from population, traffic, farm fields that are treated with chemicals, industry, and away from landfills. Now the hard part is that bees fly as far away as four miles. That is why the area has to be isolated. Now, natural beekeeping is not as stringent, but natural beekeepers are ever watchful for stagnate water, chemicals in the air, and want to know where the bees are getting their nectar from and keeping it as clean as possible from harmful chemicals.

Most commercial bee keepers do not practice natural beekeeping techniques. This has lead to an overall weakening of the bee colonies, because of the amounts of chemicals these commercial beekeepers use to avoid mites and other illnesses. They also feed their colonies with supplements and syrups, which beekeepers, who practice natural beekeeping do not.

The Management of the Hive
Most natural beekeepers want well constructed hives, which are designed well with the best interest of the bee in mind. They tend to get hives that are made out of cedar, because this type of wood keeps its warmth better and doesn’t tend to warp.

Natural beekeepers will also pay attention to ventilation, water sources, and the location of the apiary, and the areas from which the nectar will be extracted. The water sources will need to be clean. Bees tend to cool their hive in the summer with water droplets, and are not really picky about where they get their water from.

Hopefully this article will help you realize the difference in natural and organic beekeeping. This information can assist you when starting out or learning how to start beekeeping, or if you are just beginning beekeeping.
Now, get out in the sun and start your beekeeping today!

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