Seven years ago, my apiarist friends finally convinced me to take up the hobby of beekeeping. I bought two hives and, that same year, split them into four after acquiring two more queen bees. I extracted the honey using a borrowed 2-frame extractor. My goal was to produce enough honey to supply the Avonlea Colony, but as word got out that we had our own hives, I was led to increase my number of hives to keep up with sales requests. Four years ago, I also started making beeswax candles. I am currently running 21 hives and using a 20-frame motorized extractor. I raise my own queens so I can make more hives if I need to.
Different flowers, such as wildflowers, canola, sunflower, and goldenrod, have unique flavours. By removing the honey supers when certain flower sources stop blooming, I can offer a variety of flavour choices. I love hearing what other people think of these flavours – it makes the extra work worthwhile.
People often ask me, “Is your honey organic?” My answer is always “no” because I can't control where the bees collect the nectar from. Bees will fly up to 2-3 miles to collect nectar, so even if I put the hives in a patch of wildflowers, there’s no guarantee that the bees will only visit the wildflowers.
Beekeeping isn’t without its challenges. The first year, I went through a huge learning curve. The second year, a bear tore my hives apart. In the winter of 2018, I lost all of my hives and had to start over again. Despite all of this, beekeeping is a great summer hobby and, as a full-time teacher/principal at Green Ridge School, it helps me to recharge and get ready for the next school year. I’m thankful for the support of my community, including my grades 5-8 students, who usually help with the extraction process.
My honey is available at Avonlea Colony and RV Meats at Ridgeville Colony. It will soon be available at Can-Am Corner, as well. If you have any questions, or would like to place an order, please feel free to contact me at 204-712-6477 or derek@greenridge.me I’ll also be at the next Corner Farmers’ Market on August 19th.
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