It was cold, windy day for OJ Blounts first Natural Beekeeping Field Day on Feb. 27, 2010 in Lower Alabama but 20 people showed up on short notice, some driving from hours away. (He’ll be holding these on the last Saturday of each month. Go to alabamabeekeepers.com for updates, agenda and directions). Much of what he talked about can be seen on the first three videos posted here so I just took a few segments from the day to give an idea of how it went. He started out with a funny story from his beginnings then showed how and why he customizes his beehives. He also provided information on bee supplies. If you have not yet seen parts one through three then you should do so as they show in detail how to clean out the hive from the back without disturbing the bees and how to put together his customized hive.
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Backwards Beekeepers TV: How To Make Starter Strips
Backwards Beekeeper Kirk Anderson (aka Kirkobeeo) shows how to make starter strips and put them in your hive frames. Starter strips are the Backwards Beekeepers’ alternative to the wax foundation traditionally used in beehive frames; the wax sheets sold commercially usually come from hives that use chemicals and fungicides. Letting your bees draw their own comb also means that they’ll build cells that are the size they want, not the size you tell them to build. This means you get bees that …
