Ginger Gold Apples are Here

I love the start of apple season.  There are many early apples, my favorite is Ginger Gold; it is crunchy and sweet.  For all you tart apple lovers we have a small amount of Paula Red apples, they are just starting to be harvested.

Time flies and before you know it September will be here, Macintosh apples will have started and we'll be well into a multitude of apple varieties.  We are sourcing our apples from the same grower as last year.  John Hordyk is located in Port Burwell.  Jim developed a good relationship with him last year during the apple shortage.  Liking his quality he will support him once again this year.

John grows amazing pears as well and we will be sourcing our Flemish and Bosc pears from him.  Something to look forward to.

Tomatoes Have Begun
Depending on the day you can look out the back door of our market and see an expanse of tomatoes in bushels along with staff trying to wash, sort and basket them.  Our crop is looking fantastic so far and Jim is working hard at keeping it that way.  Check out the abundance we have of cherry tomatoes, round and even roma varieties.  We will soon be into canning season.

Sweet Peas
Who would have thought they'd be sweet and plentiful in August especially since they got fried in July.  These past two weeks of beautiful, cooler weather has allowed a late crop of peas to flourish and we're enjoying them immensely.  Get them before they are gone.  You can even pick your own.

Celebrate Honey
Another successful day on the farm.  Attendees had the opportunity to learn more about bees and honey in a fun and tasty way.  Mark your next years calendar for the civic holiday Monday Celebrate Honey on the farm day.   Here is Rebecca with the beekeeping equipment.

Celebrate Honey Monday August 6th

Our Spring Blossom Honey is now available. Come Monday August 6th, the Civic Holiday, to celebrate all the hard work the bees do to give us honey. Enjoy the farm and all our weekend activities. Learn more about bees and the honey making process with extra activities throughout the day. Best yet sample the different honeys we have to offer. This is the last weekend in August our Enchanted Forest is open. We use the time this month to freshen it up, getting it ready for the fall. So, enjoy a walk in our woods this weekend. The Enchanted Forest reopens Labour Day weekend. Wagon rides around the farm are still available. Check out our website for details.

Bee Pictures from the Workshop

Chech out the C shaped larvae.

Getting stung and removing the stinger properly. Here's a drone, hold gently by the thorax. Opening and checking the hiveMelanie showing us a brood frame

These are some photos I took at the workshop

Introduction to Bees Workshop

We've had beehives producing honey on our farm for over 20 years and in this time I've managed to pick up a lot of info from our beekeeper David. Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend an Introduction to Beekeeping workshop held at Dancing Bee Apiaries and led by the Ontario Beekeepers Association Tech Transfer Team.
It was a fascinating day. They covered most of the information necessary to start up your own hives and I gleaned lots of details to fill in my knowledge gaps.
Some of the session was hands on and I say hats off (better keep that hats on) to Tammy, Les and Melanie as they opened up hives for us to find the queen, see the brood, pollen and honey. Melanie showed us how to be stung and properly remove the stinger with venom pump from your skin.
It must have been premonition but I bought a better veil hat before the workshop started. Glad I did as the bees were not too happy to be disturbed on a rainy morning. Nothing more distracting than trying to listen and have bees crawling across the screen of your veil hat. A bee got inside and as I tried not to panic outwardly in getting it out I still managed to get stung. Can't complain when I hear Melanie tell us how she gets stung on a regular basis, I guess you get used to it.
Here are some interesting tidbits I learned.

• All beehives in Ontario are registered and beekeepers have an amazing backup team of researchers, tech support and regulations to keep our honey source safe and flowing.



• Honey bees are not considered aggressive, they are defensive and will not sting you unless you are threatening their home or them personally. If you are stung without any provocation it won't be from a honey bee.



• I see the honey bees clustered around the rabbits water dish and now know they collect water to cool their hive by placing droplets around the inside and fanning for ventilation. Heat is absorbed with the evaporation. They don't drink the water, they get all the moisture they need from the nectar they collect.



• Honey bees are a social insect with a structured hierarchy and specific roles for the workers, drones and queen. The whole colony overwinters (except for the drones) so they produce a lot of honey, some of which we can have. Other honey producers such as the bumblebee only produce small amounts of honey as only the queen overwinters.



• There are many threats to the bees - disease, mites, insect infestation, predators such as mice or bears, climate change. You have to be passionate about beekeeping to work against the odds to keep healthy, thriving and productive hives.
  
  All in all it was a really interesting and informative day. I've always had respect for the efforts of the beekeepers and a fascination with the bees. Not sure if I have the courage yet to start my own.
  Next time you have a spoonful of honey thank the bees and the beekeeper!

STRAWBERRIES ARE LOOKING GOOD.

What goes better with honey than some strawberries. There are tiny fruit on some of the varieties and lots of blossoms. I could be a good year if the weather behaves. It won't be long before they're ready for picking - approx 1 - 2 weeks for the market, no more than 3 weeks for pick your own. Check around the 10th of June for fresh picked berries.