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bees [2025/12/30 06:32] – created goulash51bees [2025/12/30 06:40] (current) – goulash51
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 We all know bees are really important part of the environment. Here at Vitae Essentia’s base we are growing herbs and a food forest, therefore pollination is an essential process, hence the need for hives and also the importance of supporting these essential insects. Any honey, wax or propolis gained from the hives are great by products, if available, as long as the bees are not left short or compromised. I am happy to keep the bees happy and grateful for the pollination they do for my crops. Previously we used to rent a bee hive, I learnt a little from the apiarist who looked after the hive but things did not work out with a rental hive. The decision was made to keep our own hives, although with a little trepidation at first, learning to looking after a colony of stinging insects will do that to many folk. However the art of bee keeping, for that is what it is, has really grown on me. I love spending time with my buzzy friends and they have taught me so much. I am actually glad the rental hive didn’t work out otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen to learn beekeeping. We all know bees are really important part of the environment. Here at Vitae Essentia’s base we are growing herbs and a food forest, therefore pollination is an essential process, hence the need for hives and also the importance of supporting these essential insects. Any honey, wax or propolis gained from the hives are great by products, if available, as long as the bees are not left short or compromised. I am happy to keep the bees happy and grateful for the pollination they do for my crops. Previously we used to rent a bee hive, I learnt a little from the apiarist who looked after the hive but things did not work out with a rental hive. The decision was made to keep our own hives, although with a little trepidation at first, learning to looking after a colony of stinging insects will do that to many folk. However the art of bee keeping, for that is what it is, has really grown on me. I love spending time with my buzzy friends and they have taught me so much. I am actually glad the rental hive didn’t work out otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen to learn beekeeping.
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 The garden I am using is on the top of a hill, I have had a garden here for a little while. I reclaimed it 2 years ago. I am gradually replanting the slope of the hill. When we moved to the property it was just bare grass, grazed by sheep – green desert, all grass and nowt else. Now the sheep have gone and nature is having her way. We have a whole bunch of trees now growing on the bank of varying sizes when full grown. Some have been planted by me, others have self planted. At the top of the bank I have grown kumara, pumpkins and corn and cucumbers. Winter is always the time when you have to really knock back the couch grass. I am very grateful this grass holds my hill together, being as though previous occupants here stripped the trees away. However, the couch grass is invasive and needs to be removed, the easiest way is to shad it out but plants have to grow tall enough to shade it out. Therefore, areas of couch grass are removed so other plants can establish. The root network of the other plants as they grow will take over holding the land together, particularly the trees, shrubs and deep rooted plants i.e. comfrey, burdock and chicory. The garden I am using is on the top of a hill, I have had a garden here for a little while. I reclaimed it 2 years ago. I am gradually replanting the slope of the hill. When we moved to the property it was just bare grass, grazed by sheep – green desert, all grass and nowt else. Now the sheep have gone and nature is having her way. We have a whole bunch of trees now growing on the bank of varying sizes when full grown. Some have been planted by me, others have self planted. At the top of the bank I have grown kumara, pumpkins and corn and cucumbers. Winter is always the time when you have to really knock back the couch grass. I am very grateful this grass holds my hill together, being as though previous occupants here stripped the trees away. However, the couch grass is invasive and needs to be removed, the easiest way is to shad it out but plants have to grow tall enough to shade it out. Therefore, areas of couch grass are removed so other plants can establish. The root network of the other plants as they grow will take over holding the land together, particularly the trees, shrubs and deep rooted plants i.e. comfrey, burdock and chicory.
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-Wheelbarrow of ThymeI have been stripping back the garden, harvesting any seeds and then weeding plants out. Along the edges there are small blueberry bushes, I am going to plant several more along the bottom row. There is a nice sized lemon balm and some feverfew. At the end of the garden sizable patch of spearmint. I have harvested a handful of stolons to grow for the other bee garden. Spearmint is an awesome plant for bees, its essential oil is used as a treatment for varroa, a parasitic mite that can be deadly to honey bees. So I am going to encourage this wee plant to grow. I also have a sizeable patch of peppermint, also used in the treatment of varroa, again this may be helpful in supporting the bee health.+{{ :wheelbarrow_of_thyme.jpg?direct&400|}} 
 +I have been stripping back the garden, harvesting any seeds and then weeding plants out. Along the edges there are small blueberry bushes, I am going to plant several more along the bottom row. There is a nice sized lemon balm and some feverfew. At the end of the garden sizable patch of spearmint. I have harvested a handful of stolons to grow for the other bee garden. Spearmint is an awesome plant for bees, its essential oil is used as a treatment for varroa, a parasitic mite that can be deadly to honey bees. So I am going to encourage this wee plant to grow. I also have a sizeable patch of peppermint, also used in the treatment of varroa, again this may be helpful in supporting the bee health.
  
 So back to the garden, the couch grass was tamed back, compost added to the top soil to aid in soil nutrition, and the area the topbar is going to be situated has been paved. Underneath the topbar a bed of thyme plants has been added. The aim being the aroma of the thyme will constantly float into the hive. When the plant is in flower, the bees can forage of the flowers utilsing the medicinal affects of the plant. Thyme essential oil is also a treatment for varroa, it is also used in commercial bee products, an extract of the essential oil being used as the active ingredient. Other plants to be included in the garden are oregano, marjoram, lemon grass, dandelion, sage, hibiscus and strawberry. So back to the garden, the couch grass was tamed back, compost added to the top soil to aid in soil nutrition, and the area the topbar is going to be situated has been paved. Underneath the topbar a bed of thyme plants has been added. The aim being the aroma of the thyme will constantly float into the hive. When the plant is in flower, the bees can forage of the flowers utilsing the medicinal affects of the plant. Thyme essential oil is also a treatment for varroa, it is also used in commercial bee products, an extract of the essential oil being used as the active ingredient. Other plants to be included in the garden are oregano, marjoram, lemon grass, dandelion, sage, hibiscus and strawberry.
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 I intend to experiment with this garden and see the effects these medical plants have on bee health. Unfortunately bees that are commercially used for pollination experiencing a greater amount of stress. They are moved from one location to another and then mainly feed on one food source, the crop they are pollinating, often this is a monoculture. The lack of diversity in the food and therefore their nutritional intake would undoubtedly mean there is a decrease in the amount of macro (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and water) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Hypothetically, it seems to make sense that a lack of nutrients would exacerbate stress and therefore be detrimental to the bees health, similarly to humans. It was really interesting when studying the signs of illness in bees the correlation to some human presentation too. i.e. there is a virus that paralyses the bee, one of the signs is the bee loses its hair. The paralysis virus is also linked with low amounts of pollen, which is also a rich source of vitamin B complex. Lack of vitamin B complex in humans can also lead to hair loss. Obviously, the anatomy and physiology of a bee and human are very different but the similarities in these presentations makes one question. Therefore, the aim is to provide a rich a diverse bee friendly garden and observe the impact on the bees. I look forward to sharing my findings. I intend to experiment with this garden and see the effects these medical plants have on bee health. Unfortunately bees that are commercially used for pollination experiencing a greater amount of stress. They are moved from one location to another and then mainly feed on one food source, the crop they are pollinating, often this is a monoculture. The lack of diversity in the food and therefore their nutritional intake would undoubtedly mean there is a decrease in the amount of macro (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and water) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Hypothetically, it seems to make sense that a lack of nutrients would exacerbate stress and therefore be detrimental to the bees health, similarly to humans. It was really interesting when studying the signs of illness in bees the correlation to some human presentation too. i.e. there is a virus that paralyses the bee, one of the signs is the bee loses its hair. The paralysis virus is also linked with low amounts of pollen, which is also a rich source of vitamin B complex. Lack of vitamin B complex in humans can also lead to hair loss. Obviously, the anatomy and physiology of a bee and human are very different but the similarities in these presentations makes one question. Therefore, the aim is to provide a rich a diverse bee friendly garden and observe the impact on the bees. I look forward to sharing my findings.
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 +© Vitae Essentia 2026
  
  

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