On the House

The Little Beekeeper

Laylah Hunt is generating buzz over her honey and syrups

Story and photos by Leah Chester-Davis

Thirteen-year-old Laylah Hunt knows that a good story is one way to create some buzz for food buyers as they stop by her family’s booth “The Little Beekeeper” at the Flavors of Carolina food show held in Concord each spring.

Hosted by the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and designed to put North Carolina products in front of hundreds of domestic and international buyers, food entrepreneurs get a rare chance to tout their tasty creations.

“It was so interesting because I got to tell my story over and over and I got to meet all kinds of new people,” Laylah says, who very well may have been the youngest businessperson at the event (though being a trailblazer for her age group is nothing new to the curly haired, smiling, outgoing middle school student.)

Her family’s product, The Little Beekeeper, is named for the moniker she earned three years ago when she became the youngest certified beekeeper in the state after completing the introductory beekeeping class taught by the Gaston County Beekeepers Association and passed the certification exam. Laylah got her start when she attended classes on occasion with her Mom, Cindy. When her Dad, Johnnie, signed up for the class the following year, Laylah decided it was time to learn more.

“I begged him to take me with him so I could take the class, too. I took it pretty seriously. I have a whole

notebook filled with notes,” she says. She also gained a mentor, Burton Beasley, who she says makes bee school fun. “He takes it to a whole other level.”

The family’s original intent was beekeeping as a hobby.

“We wanted to help the environment and keep pollinators on our property,” Cindy says.

But the attention Laylah received as The Little Beekeeper resulted in requests for their honey, and it has turned into a full-blown business. The family, members of Rutherford EMC, now has 30 hives with plans to add more. Laylah has been interviewed by WBTV, the CBS affiliate in Charlotte, and was recognized on the cover of Lake Norman Woman magazine for its 8th Annual Amazing Lake Norman Girls issue.

The Little Beekeeper products — local raw honey and elderberry syrup — are now in 35 stores and can be ordered from the company website, thelittlebeekeeper.com. While Laylah’s major responsibility is checking the hives, she is learning business basics beyond the meet-and-greet sales experience at trade shows.

A self-professed entrepreneur, she has a beeswax lip gloss under development. When she came up with the idea, her parents asked her to find out what ingredients she needed, to shop around for prices, determine types of containers and labels she would need, and to give them a cost analysis. When Laylah participates in trade shows and other events, her parents ensure she hones analytic skills and people skills.

“We are a small family company, and we are trying to teach her about having a good work ethic and to be a good, well-rounded human being,” explains Cindy.

With the product being named for her and the company’s logo an illustration of her likeness, Laylah takes her role seriously, not only as a representative for the company, but as an ambassador for the tiny insect that captivates her interest.

“It’s fascinating to see how they work in perfect harmony,” Laylah says. “You can learn a lot from bees, especially because of how small they are but how big of an impact they have on the world. Without bees, almost all of our fruits and vegetables would perish. It would be super, super terrible if bees ever went extinct. So that’s like a good little memo that you are never too small to make an impact.”

Carolina Country Contributing Editor Leah Chester-Davis has her own business, Chester-Davis Communications (chester-davis.com), specializing in food, farm and lifestyle brands and organizations.

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Fall for Loose-leaf Lettuce Keep things growing with this cool-season veggie

Story and photos by L.A. Jackson The summer vegetable garden is beginning to wind down, but there are still opportunities with home-grown edibles to be had — it’s time to switch gears and get growing with cool-season vegetables. One of my favorite veggies to crank up this time of year is loose-leaf lettuce, which is easier to grow than the common head lettuce and more nutritious. Plus, it’s very tasty—salads and sandwiches just don’t have the edible oomph without it.

September is a good month to start loose-leaf lettuce by seed or plants, but in the upper elevations of our state, go with starter plants early this month to get a good crop going before any early hard freezes bite. For the rest of the state, starter plants are also a good idea to be munching on crunchy lettuce as soon as possible.

Although they take longer to mature, seeds do have the advantage of being easy to find. In addition, you will have more cultivar choices to pick from if you go with seeds rather than starter plants.

One key to success with lettuce seeds is to plant them properly — they germinate better when kissed by sunlight. In an open, well-worked, heavily amended spot in the vegetable garden, scatter the seeds on top of the ground and lightly press them into the soil. Keep the seeds evenly watered and, when plantlets begin to sprout, thin them out to a couple of inches apart. To extend harvest time, pick the outer leaves first on mature plants.

While the veggie patch is the typical place to grow loose-leaf lettuce, I’ve started turning some into potted pleasures. Even common varieties such as “Green Oak”

The potted pleasures of ‘Truchas” (left), “Breen” (right) and “Drunken Woman” (background).

and “Black Seeded Simpson” are pretty little plants, so adding them to containers six inches in diameter or larger on decks and patios creates feasts for the tummy as well as the eyes.

Looking for more visual zing? Try “Red Sails,” “Red Oak” or “Lollo Rossa,” all popular cultivars that sport frilly foliage dipped in shimmering shades of crimson.

Last year, just to grow something different, from Johnny’s Selected Seeds (johnnyseeds.com), I tried two eye-catching romaine varieties that are close in looks and taste to the loose-leaf clan: “Truchas,” a dusky delight with smooth, dark leaves and the similar, but lighter colored “Breen.” And from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (southernexposure.com), I just couldn’t resist the frizzy sass of “Drunken Woman” (although no telling how it got that name).

L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener Magazine. Contact L.A. at lajackson1@gmail.com.

Daffodils on parade.

Garden To-Do’s for September

The beginning of autumn will find garden centers starting to offer seasonal selections of fall-planted, spring-blooming bulbs, and while buying early will get you the best selections, planting early will result in a poor flower show next year. Let the soil cool down so the dormant bulbs won’t be encouraged to start growing too soon. Late October well into November is the best planting time.

F Keep your store-bought bulbs in a cool, dark place. The refrigerator makes an ideal “chiller” as long as the bulbs are kept away from ripening fruits, which emit ethylene gas that has detrimental effects on the bulbous sleeping beauties.

F Indoor plants that have vacationed out on the porch or patio this summer should be returned inside before nighttime temperatures dip into the 50s. While moving them, check their leaves carefully for bugs and (especially) clusters of insect eggs.

F Herbs from the garden such as chives, oregano, parsley, mint, lemon balm or thyme that have served you well in the kitchen this growing season can be divided, potted up and brought inside to grow on sunny window sills to continue providing fresh zest for winter dishes.