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Welcome to
THE BUZZ
What's the Buzz?
The Buzz is a beekeeping blog by Master Beekeeper, Christine McDonald.
Through these articles, I share my experiences and advice in a way that is concise and easy to understand. If you would like me to speak at an upcoming club meeting or event, you can learn more about my speaking engagements here. And if you've found this valuable and would like to buy me a cup of tea, you can do so here.
Bee well!
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Combining Hives
Combining hives is a bit of a last-resort move that we use when we have a queenless colony at a time of year when queens are not...
rushingriverapiaries
Apr 6, 20222 min read
Boosting a Weak Nuc Above a Strong Hive
Coming out of winter, we had a handful of nucs that were not building up like they should be. They were queenright, but just had too...
rushingriverapiaries
Mar 28, 20222 min read
Condensing a Weak Hive
One of the best things you can do for a struggling hive is to reduce the amount of space they have to work in. That can mean reducing...
rushingriverapiaries
Mar 12, 20222 min read
Cleaning up a Dead Hive
It's not a pleasant job, but it's got to be done. Most of what is inside your hive can be reused, either in other hives or by the new...
rushingriverapiaries
Mar 3, 20222 min read
Making a Sugar Board
Making a sugar board for your bees can provide extra food for them if their honey stores run low and can provide peace of mind for you as...
rushingriverapiaries
Mar 1, 20222 min read
A New Queen for the Hive
Whether it's you or your bees who decide that it's time for a new queen, here are some tips and tricks for facilitating an overthrow of...
rushingriverapiaries
Feb 28, 20223 min read
Assembling a Bee Box
Bee boxes are most commonly sold pre-cut but unassembled. Putting them together is a fairly simple task, but you do want to make sure...
rushingriverapiaries
Jan 18, 20222 min read
Making Splits for Growth
Unless you are planning something exponential, there's no need to buy more bees as you grow your apiary. Splitting the colonies you have...
rushingriverapiaries
Jan 4, 20221 min read
Spring Feeding for Growth
If you've got ambitions to grow your apiary, a good feeding strategy will help you meet whatever goals you have set for building up your...
rushingriverapiaries
Dec 13, 20212 min read
Propolis Salve
A healing salve is a must-have in any natural remedy toolkit, and propolis is the perfect healing agent to be used in such a salve....
rushingriverapiaries
Nov 30, 20212 min read
Making a Propolis Tincture
Hippocrates himself is said to have used propolis tincture to cure many an ailment, and who can argue with the father of medicine?! This...
rushingriverapiaries
Nov 22, 20212 min read
Making a Candle Mold
Sure, there are lots of cool commercial candle molds out there, but how much cooler would it be to get creative and make a mold yourself...
rushingriverapiaries
Oct 27, 20211 min read
Oxalic Acid Vaping
Oxalic Acid is an inexpensive and highly effective mite treatment, but can be intimidating because of the equipment involved. Here are...
rushingriverapiaries
Oct 24, 20212 min read
Show me the Honey (Extraction Process)
How do we get the honey from the hive to the jar? The truth is, it's a sticky process! We had our biggest honey harvest ever (yet?) in...
rushingriverapiaries
Sep 19, 20212 min read
After the Honey is Pulled: Preparing Your Hive for Winter
You had a honey harvest. Your equipment is still sticky from the mess, and you're tired from the lifting, uncapping, spinning,...
rushingriverapiaries
Sep 14, 20213 min read
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