Tara here, and you’ve found Queen Bee Homestead! Located in Western New York, I have been beekeeping for eight years and now I’m expanding into other ventures. Follow along as we build a barn, get some goats, rabbits, and help you learn along with us!
Getting Started in Beekeeping
So, you want to be a beekeeper? Good choice! You could say I’m partial to it, but I think it’s a great beginning to self-reliance. Bees are fascinating creatures and honey is a great bartering commodity. It can be a higher initial investment than some hobbies, but honey fetches a great price and never spoils…
Free Bees by Splitting Hives
Swarms are a great way to get free bees, but if you’re already a beekeeper splits are another great way to increase your numbers! That’s right, you can get free bees by splitting hives! So, What is a Split? A split is a term used when a beekeeper manually takes one beehive and makes it…
A Great Dual-Purpose Breed: Kinder Goats!
I researched for a long time and flip-flopped on what exactly I wanted in a goat quite a few times. Eventually, I landed on the Kinder goat. This breed has some of the highest butterfat content milk available (averaging around 5.5% and many going much higher). High butterfat means better taste and more products that…
Cheesy Ramp Frittata Recipe
After foraging for your own ramps (wild leeks), you will, of course, want some recipes to go with them! While ramps can be substituted into many dishes, this cheesy ramp frittata utilizes the bulb and leaves! Versatility of Frittatas A frittata is a crust-less quiche. And much like a quiche, you can throw almost any…
Rendering Your Own Beeswax- it’s Easy!
Rendering your own beeswax is easier than you might think! There are expensive gadgets out there that can help the process, but with a little patience, you can do it yourself without spending any extra money! Rendering Your Own Beeswax After processing your honey frames, you will be left with all the cappings. I would…
Keeping BEARS out of Beehives
Bears can really wreak havoc on a beehive, ask me how I know! No matter how good you think they are strapped down, the bear WILL just peel it open. Yes, even the little innocent-looking black bears! So, how do you go about keeping bears out of your beehives? Bears and Bees An iconic duo,…