Wild Sprout 2018 Pollinators

Pollinator Chart Here are our primary pollinators, along with my attempt to describe the differences of what is generally referred to as “bees.” Actually, we have bees and wasps in our farm helping us with the crop. Common Name Honey Bee Bumble Bee Yellow Jacket (wasp) Bald-faced Hornet (wasp) Scientific Name Apis Mellifera Bombus vosnesenskii…

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Zen-Sunday in September

Chinese Forget-Me-Nots This has been our first summer where we have been able to focus on our little farm. On this Sunday, with clouds-sun-clouds in the air and feeling very much like autumn, I took some time to prep the gardens for winter. My bee-friends were hanging out with me so I grabbed my new…

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The Making of Wild Sprout Honey 2018

We’ll probably label our honey something like Wildflower Honey to indicate that we are not located in the middle of 3-5 acres of delicious white clover. But in the spirit of  clarifying what it takes here in Bellevue, WA to make our honey, I’ve collected some more details to share. Over the last five years,…

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Picture of the Month-2018

April 2018 Honey bee gathering pollen from the first blooms of the season: candytuft May 2018 May started a very long drought season. Bees were searching hard for water, so we added these chick water stations throughout the raspberry patch. Worked great. June 2018 Our bees love thyme, which gives us the earliest blooms and…

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Wild Sprout Apiary 2018

Choose equipment that is right for you. Love this hobby because I’m confident that I’ll always be learning something new! The one thing I’ve learned in these first 5 years is simply this: there is no one-size-fits-all equipment list for bee keepers. There are so many variables you must assess: weather, nearby foliage, local laws…

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BeeCam Step 3: It’s Alive!

Now that the Raspberry Pi (RPI) is set up, it’s time to get the BeeCam up-and-running, quickly and inexpensively. For my project, I wanted the ability to view the bees at various times throughout the day. For this project, I’m not interested in saving pictures or videos (like a security camera might do). Prerequisites The…

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