Organic/Natural Beekeeping
The notion of “going green” has affected every area of modern life. Anyone who has dealt with insects in their home or garden has been privy to their annoying characteristic of building a tolerance to any given chemical. Whatever product is being used stops working, and a more toxic product must then be used.
Beekeepers sometimes must face the varroa mite. It is usually treated by a poisonous chemical, but the destructive mites have shown signs of a growing resistance. Organic beekeepers take a different approach. Natural hive maintenance is a holistic alternative to the chemical treatments of modern beekeeping.
Many scientists and beekeepers believe that bees have been mistreated by beekeepers for so long that their immune systems and blood functions have been debilitated, making room for more diseases and pests like parasites to cause them harm. Organic beekeepers have turned to a more harmonious relationship among the bees and the environment.
This form of beekeeping is a more natural way to co-exist with bees, and it creates a healthier lifestyle more conducive to the repair of their immune and blood systems. In much the same way as human beings, honey bees can improve their health by removing the unhealthy factors from their environment.
The natural beekeeper extols the use of a positive attitude as an important beekeeping tool. Coming to the bee yard with a positive, fresh, and focused attitude makes a big difference in how the visit goes. Natural beekeepers believe in the philosophy that bees are like animals — they can sense fear, irritability, and stress, and they can react to it.
The idea behind successful organic beekeeping is to use the bee’s natural tendencies, biological processes, and instinctive characteristic to help maintain a productive hive. Work with them instead of against them, as it were.
An important question to consider when deciding whether to make your beekeeping organic: What is the difference?
Chemicals found in normal farming activities make your product non-organic. But the manner in which your storage and harvesting is done is just as important as where your hives are located. Organic means all-natural growth without chemicals that would destroy the natural production of your final product.
In natural and organic beekeeping, chemical means it does not occur naturally in nature and is generated by human manipulation of chemical components. Everyone must decide how closely they will follow the guidelines of being completely organic in nature with respect to their beekeeping and honey production.
The downside of organic beekeeping is that honey output is not always at its highest level. The health and well-being of the bee is the top priority to the organic beekeeper. The focus is on quality as opposed to quantity.
Any beekeeper who plans to sell his or her honey and who has followed the natural ways of beekeeping still might not be able to label the honey as organic. This is because bees — as is their nature — forage wherever they please and may forage in gardens treated with pesticides. Some regulations require organic honey come from bees that have only foraged on an organic farm.
Backyard beekeepers, with a conscience toward respecting the needs of the honey bee, can make a difference and have a positive change in this balance. Farmers and the general public can also have a positive impact through making simple choices about when to spray or mow, as well as planting trees and flowers that provide valuable food for both domestic and feral bees.
Organic beekeeping practices include a variety of treatments that must use all-natural materials. These can be honey bee nutritional supplements, but there is a whole technique of specialized natural beekeeping tasks that encourage strong honey bees.
Many people think that bees are dangerous, and to some they can be deadly; however, honey bees are amazing, gentle creatures. They live in colonies that function as a single organism, with each honey bee working for the betterment of the entire colony. Their work pollinates the earth, helping the fauna of the planet while providing many useful goodies for mankind. But honey bees are also in dangerous decline, and we all need to become more aware of their plight. Though it may not seem important now, if the supply of honey becomes an issue of shortfall, it might be too late to change the amount of the damage we create in not being concerned.
Natural Beekeeping
Natural beekeeping and organic honey production go hand- in-hand for any natural beekeeper, but the latter is harder to accomplish. It is possible to keep your bees naturally and still not accomplish all of the requirements for the production and sale of organic honey.
Many natural beekeepers blame today’s large-scale weakening of bee colonies on those beekeepers who do not apply natural beekeeping techniques. Most beekeepers, especially those who produce commercially, now use large amounts of what are considered dangerous chemicals to battle mites and other diseases. They also feed their colonies with artificial foods like syrups and supplements that make the production of honey from the honey bee less than all-natural. Those beekeepers are unable to label and sell their product as organic.
The source of honey and hive management are the two main aspects of natural beekeeping. Finding the best possible apiary location is an important part of natural beekeeping. Look for bee yards in protected areas close to water and flowering crops or wild flowers.
If honey is to be certified organic, the apiary must be placed in isolated locations that are several miles away from populated or industrialized zones and from farm fields that have been treated with chemicals and landfills. Organic honey producers cannot keep their colonies where a risk of corruption by any of the forbidden materials exists within a 4-mile radius of the hives. Finding an area that can be certified organic can be difficult. This explains why there are so few certified organic honeys on the market.
Other important factors
Be careful when choosing an apiary for organic beekeeping. Even in nature, there are numerous details to consider. It has been discovered that pine trees are capable of killing various microbes within a considerable distance of an apiary. It is also a known fact that feral bees that live in forests are usually healthy. If there is no forest in your area, you can plant some pine trees near your hives. These trees will also act as windbreakers.
Situate your hives so that when the sun rises, it shines on the front side and wakes your bees. This teaches your bees to become active early in the day and to get first dibs on the supply of nectar. During the hottest hours of the day, your hives should be shaded. Do not place apiaries near areas used by bears and other intruders.
Wet and warm air creates a perfect habitat for many types of bacteria. Although it is impossible to design an ideal beehive, especially for climates with frequent temperature changes, it is a goal worth pursuing. Improvements in ventilation would decrease hive humidity and reduce the need for beekeepers to intrude into bees’ lives in order to help colonies to fight against bacteria. The fewer intrusions, the more productive our bees can be in producing the best possible product we could hope for — and an even larger quantity, as well.
The bees chosen for natural or organic beekeeping should be those that can survive the winter in your area and be able to get an early start in the spring, but organic beekeepers must breed their own queens.
Unless you have a trusted neighbor who can supply you with bees, many experts recommend purchasing a package from a large, reputable package supplier. Suppliers can be found in many areas of the country. For those who want a special strain of bee (such as one that is particularly mite-resistant), your best bet might still be to purchase a package from a supplier and promptly replace the queen. Most of the queen breeders who specialize in mite-resistant queens do not produce or sell packages. The queens cannot be clipped or use artificial insemination, and plastic hives cannot be used, though plastic can be used when packing the honey.
Pre-made wax foundation can also pose a problem for organic beekeepers. They can contain pesticide residues and non-organic feed (mainly corn syrup and sugar syrup) that create a less favorable product.
The extracting facilities must be inspected by federal food inspectors and, in order to get the organic label, a beekeeper must be certified by an official certifying organization. The requirements can vary by certifying organization and country. In some instances, a beekeeper must reside in a remote area — 4 miles or more in all directions from residential and agricultural areas.
But production per hive is likely to be much less in organic hives. Reports show the average organic production at 50 pounds per hive in 200 hives, compared with 150 pounds average in 1,300 conventional hives. Such differences are partly because of losses due to mites and partly a result of locations in remote areas with less productive forage.
It is worth it financially because certified-organic honey commands such a high price — sometimes three or four times higher than conventional honey.
Often, organic beekeepers will not use protective gear when opening the hive and going through the bees. Instead, they opt for going on the most advantageous days, staying focused, and making optimal use of the smoker.
Natural beekeepers will only use certain materials in their smokers. The gaseous products that begin combustion are replaced with dried and cured materials that are easily flammable on their own. They also choose to open the hive on the sunniest and warmest days, when more bees are away foraging. Many organic beekeepers do not find it necessary to use as much or any smoke on these days and, in fact, are not subjected to smoke at all.
Natural pest control
Before the creation of all the dangerous chemicals used in the control of pests and other harmful issues, essential oils were used to control pests in a natural way without creating a harmful climate. Plants produce many powerful chemicals, some of which are used to defend themselves against animals that eat plants as well as disease organisms. Natural essential oils are peppermint, clove, citrus, lavender, thyme, and rosemary oil. Certain combinations of these essential oils are effective and have low toxicity insecticides. Until recently, the availability of plant-based insecticides was limited to a few products such as neem oil and pyrethrum. Though these products are effective and exhibit low environmental impact, they have a limited range of uses.
To be a truly effective alternative to conventional insecticides, botanicals must be available in a range of formulations that can be used in a variety of pest-control situations. A pesticide formulation is simply the physical form of the product and the way in which it is applied. Dust, aerosol, liquid concentrate, and wettable powder formulations are all useful in different situations.
Be aware that not all pests are bad for the hive or organic honey production. Although wax moths do not kill healthy hives, they do eat what is left when a hive dies. Empty stored combs are unattractive to wax moths if they have never had brood in them. Wax moths avoid sunlight, are inactive in the cold, and are killed by hard freezing.
To manage foulbrood organically, it is important to inspect your hives regularly and promptly burn infected combs or equipment. In many locations, small hive beetles never cause enough trouble to even be noticed. If they should become a problem, try a cooking oil-based trap to drown them. This is a simple task of setting out containers of cooking oil with a small entrance near the hive. The beetles will go in but will be unable to get out.
Beekeepers who use excessive amounts of antibiotics are probably harming their bees as well as endangering other beekeepers. Honey bees have microorganisms in their digestive tracts that are negatively impacted by antibiotics. There are also resident bacteria and yeasts in the hive that are considered to be beneficial, e.g. those that help process pollen and nectar into bee bread. Excessive use of antibiotics selects the bacteria exposed for resistance to the antibiotic.
It has been strongly suggested that beekeepers learn to identify important bee pests (like American foulbrood and varroa mites) and carefully examine their hives on a regular basis. Problems recognized and properly treated early can generally be overcome without horrendous losses.
The organic payoff
Organic is the preferred choice for many of us when it comes to our foods, and honey is no exception. The requirements to deliver a truly organic honey are not easy to achieve and can become very costly. Honey can be a challenge to gather in non-organic climates. To create a truly organic product requires not only dedication to providing the best and most honest product possible, but also many resources and even more restrictions.
Can you imagine starting out in beekeeping with the plan to create only an organic honey product and what it would really entail? We know we would need to basically live in the middle of nowhere, on land that had never been used for production of crops or, at best, had not been used for the production of crops for at least the last ten years. We would need to have extensive knowledge of all-natural herbs to ensure we are using non-chemically based insecticides. We would need a good background in science and, more specifically, biochemistry. We would also need to have extensive knowledge of bees and their way of life.
Then there is the topic of crops and pollination. We would have to make sure there was enough of the right crops for the bees to use for pollination so that we would get the highest quality product possible.
Beekeeping as a hobby is a good way to start out, but be aware that it can grow to be an expensive and, at times, overwhelming task to get a product that is totally organic. For those who are seriously interested in creating the highest quality, naturally organic honey, it is an undertaking well worth the investment of time, research, and finances.
The eventual profit might take a while to see, but with so few true organic honey apiaries in the country, those who are willing to spend time studying, researching, and gathering information from the many beekeeping societies and experts could become pioneers in the field.
Once that is accomplished, however, you will have grown to love what you have most likely started as a hobby, and you can be proud to say you are one of the few truly organic honey producers.
So, here is to honey — pure, simple, sweet, and natural — a product not only of nature, but of a true desire to see something special develop that can make a real difference in the lives of those who dedicate their time to creating only the best product available.
